Is Match.com mismatched?

A group of online daters have filed a lawsuit against Match.com, an Internet dating site where my husband and I met.

The federal lawsuit alleges that Match.com goaded members into renewing their subscriptions by having employees send phony romantic emails to members and in some cases, employees posed as Match.com members and even went on dates with subscribers.

Match.com spokesperson Kristen Kelly told USAToday.com that the company "absolutely does not" hire people to go on dates with members or send members misleading romantic emails. The company has about 15 million members worldwide and 250 employees.  

But plaintiff Matthew Evans said in the suit that he went out with a woman he met through the site who turned out to be nothing more than "date bait" working for the company. The relationship went nowhere, according to his suit. Evans says Match set up the date for him because it wanted to keep him from pulling the plug on his subscription and was hoping he'd tell other potential members about the pretty woman he met through the service, according to the suit.

If Match is guilty of what the daters have accused them of, then shame on them.  It's hard enough to date these days, but to be tricked into going on a date or deceived by fake emails is horrible. For some people, online dating is a big step. People are worried about the connotation it sends - that they are desperate. I have a friend who met her husband on Match.com, but didn't tell anyone how they met until after they were married because she was worried about what people would think of her.

I truly hope the accusations are false, because I'm a big cheerleader of the site, since it worked for me. But if the Internet dating site is guilty, I'm putting down my pom-poms.