Are dating sites a scam?
On Suomi24 the question comes up year after year. We go through the claims one at a time.
There is no clear yes or no about Finnish adult dating sites, and that is the whole problem. Some platforms operate honestly, some do not, and most are somewhere in between: the service is real, but it is built so that you pay for longer than you intended. The complaints on the forums split roughly evenly between the justified and the mythical. Below is each one taken separately, and a way of checking a particular site in ten minutes.
What the forums say most often
On Finnish forums the subject of paid dating services comes up year after year, and the complaints repeat almost word for word: the profiles are not real, people only reply until you pay, unsubscribing is impossible, money is taken after cancellation. These are anonymous posts about the market as a whole, not verified facts and not complaints against a particular service — below we work out which of them are borne out by verifiable sources and which are not.
What is curious is something else. No Finnish editorial site has answered these complaints to this day — the ranking sites prefer to write about which platform is “the best” rather than work out whether the grievances are fair.
We will take each of them. Some are borne out, some are not, and mixing them up is harmful: if you treat everything as a scam, you stop noticing the real traps.
Is it true that the profiles are not real
Partly true, and it depends on the platform. Three different things occur that users pile into one.
The first is outright bots. An account writes first, answers beside the point and steers you to an external site. This does happen, and on weak platforms it happens on a large scale.
The second is “profiles to liven things up”. Some services keep profiles created by the platform itself, formally noting this in the terms in small print. Legally they are covered; in substance they mislead.
The third is real but old profiles. Someone registered three years ago, logged in twice and forgot. The profile is real, but there will never be a reply. Formally there is no deception; the feeling is exactly the same.
How to tell them apart: look at whether the service shows the date of last login. A platform that hides it is not hiding it by accident.
Is it true that unsubscribing is impossible
Until recently, often true. Now it is expressly prohibited by law, and the date is worth remembering.
Two rules have to be kept apart here, and they are constantly muddled. Since 19 June 2026, under EU directive 2023/2673, a contract concluded through an online interface must carry a withdrawal function — but the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority defines it precisely: it is a functionality through which a consumer exercises their statutory right of withdrawal, those fourteen days. Terminating a subscription already running is a rule of its own: under Consumer Ombudsman decision KKV/981/14.08.01.05/2025, termination must be arranged at least in the channels where contracts are concluded, and a telephone alone is not enough for a contract made online.
Before that, the standard trick was to hide cancellation inside a correspondence with support, which answers slowly and always after the next charge. That scheme is now unlawful.
The second restriction, which few people know about: the notice period for termination cannot exceed one month. A term requiring “three months’ notice” contradicts Finnish law regardless of what the contract says.
Does the fourteen-day right of withdrawal work
It works, but with a caveat that leaves most people with nothing.
For digital services the right of withdrawal is lost if **both** conditions are met: you consented to start using the service immediately, and the seller warned you **in advance** that the right of withdrawal would thereby be lost.
The key word is both. If the service did not warn you about losing the right before you paid, the right remains even if you have already logged in. This is worth checking against the payment screen and the confirmation email.
For digital services the clock runs from the moment the contract is concluded, not from first use.
How to check a particular site in ten minutes
The routine is simple and works almost every time.
- Find the company details. A Y-tunnus or registration number, a real address. Nothing there is an immediate minus
- Open the terms. Are they in Finnish, is there a clause on auto-renewal, is a notice period stated
- Find how to cancel the subscription before you pay. If you cannot find it in two minutes, you will not find it later either
- See whether the service shows users’ date of last login
- Check whether there is a note about profiles created by the platform. It is usually right at the bottom of the terms
- Search for the service’s name together with the word kokemuksia — Finnish reviews are more informative than international ones
Where to complain if you have already been charged
The order is stepwise, and skipping steps is a bad idea — a complaint to an authority without an attempt to resolve it directly is usually sent back.
First a written complaint to the service itself. Written, not through a chat: you need a correspondence you can attach.
Then the consumer advice service kuluttajaneuvonta on 09 5110 1200. It works on weekdays, Monday to Wednesday 10–12 and Thursday 12–14. There is an online form too, but an answer to it takes about a week.
If that does not help, the Consumer Disputes Board, Kuluttajariitalautakunta. A decision takes time, but there is no fee.
In parallel: if the charge went through a card, it is worth contacting your bank straight away about disputing the payment.
What such a subscription really costs
The price in the shop window and the price on the card statement are almost never the same thing, and that is not an accident but a way of presenting it.
The first trick: the monthly price is shown as a conversion while the charge is taken for six months at once. “9.90 € a month” in large type, “when paying for 6 months” in small type beside it. A person sees ten and sixty leaves the card.
The second trick: a trial for one or two euros that turns into a full subscription by default. Formally this is stated; in practice it is stated in a way designed not to be noticed.
The third: the discount applies only to the first period, after which the price returns to normal. People find this out on the second charge.
Two figures have to be worked out, not one. What will be charged today — and what will be charged over twelve months if you do nothing. The difference between what you thought you were paying and the second figure is usually the real price of the service.
This phenomenon is neither Finnish nor specific to dating: according to the KKV, roughly one in ten residents of the EU and the United Kingdom has fallen into a subscription trap. It simply occurs more often in this niche, because people are reluctant to argue about such charges — the subject is awkward.
How to stop a card charge in Finland
There is an important detail here that most people learn too late: cancelling a subscription in your account and stopping a payment are two different operations. The first depends on the service’s goodwill, the second does not.
A sensible order is this. First a written cancellation with the service itself, always with a copy kept: an email to their address, or a form with confirmation on screen. Then the bank.
Getting a new card, contrary to common advice, does not always help. Visa and Mastercard have automatic details-updating services (Visa Account Updater, Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater) that pass the merchant the new card number without your involvement. The charges continue from the new card, and people genuinely do not understand how that is possible.
Something else works. The Finnish competition and consumer authority puts it plainly: a bank is obliged to refund unauthorised charges on a debit or credit card to its customer. Moreover, a bank may not require you to sort things out with the merchant first, and it is for the bank, not for you, to prove that you consented to the payment.
In practice this means: you write a complaint to your own bank and attach a screenshot of the payment screen and the correspondence with the service. If the auto-renewal term was hidden and you did not consent to a recurring payment, the bank has a duty to return the money.
How to write a complaint that gets answered
The difference between a letter that gets lost in support and a letter that gets answered is not in the tone but in four elements.
First: specifics instead of indignation. Not “you have cheated me” but “on 14 August 94.80 euros was taken from my card, the subscription was cancelled on 2 August, a copy of the confirmation is attached”. Emotion speeds nothing up, while facts with dates move a letter out of the complaints category and into the demands category.
Second: a reference to a rule. One sentence is enough — for example, that a notice period longer than one month does not accord with the KKV’s position in Finland, or that the total price for the contract term was not stated. It shows that you know what you are talking about and that the next step will not be another letter.
Third: a specific demand and a deadline. “I request the return of 94.80 euros within 14 days.” A letter without a demand reads as a complaint that can be answered with an apology.
Fourth: a written channel. A chat will not do — a chat log can rarely be exported, and that is exactly what you will need later. Write to the email address given in the terms and keep a copy of what you sent.
And what is worth writing at the end: that in the absence of an answer you will contact the consumer advice service and your bank. That is not a threat but a statement of the next step, and it noticeably changes the likelihood of a reply.
If there is still no answer, the sequence is as described above: kuluttajaneuvonta, then the Consumer Disputes Board, with a bank complaint in parallel.
So is it a scam or not
Put honestly: a significant share of platforms do not deceive in the legal sense but build a business on the fact that people will not read the terms to the end and will not find the cancel button.
This is not fraud in the sense that a romance scheme extracting money is fraud. It is a different genre — dark patterns — and since June 2026 there has for the first time been a clear rule about them.
The practical conclusion is this. Do not expect a platform to turn out to be noble. Do spend ten minutes before paying on the checklist above — that is enough to filter out the worst options and to avoid ending up in a situation you then spend six months unsubscribing from.
Complaints from the forums: what is borne out
| Complaint | How true it is | What to do about it |
|---|---|---|
| The profiles are not real | Partly. Bots, platform profiles and dead accounts are three different things | Look at whether the date of last login is shown |
| Unsubscribing is impossible | It was true. Termination must work in the same channels as subscribing | Find the termination route before paying |
| They charge after cancellation | It happens. Usually because of the notice period | A period longer than a month is unlawful |
| The money cannot be recovered | Not always. The right of withdrawal remains if you were not warned | Check the confirmation email |
| They only reply until you pay | Not provable. More often coincides with dead profiles | Judge it by profile activity |
The legal part follows KKV (Kilpailu- ja kuluttajavirasto) material, 2026.
Frequently asked
Are adult dating sites a scam?
Not all of them and not entirely. Some platforms operate honestly, some use bots and profiles created by the service itself, and most count on unsubscribing being difficult. Legally this is more often not fraud but dark patterns — and since 19 June 2026 there has been a direct EU rule about them.
What do I do if I cannot cancel a subscription?
Termination must be available at least in the channels where contracts are concluded: under Consumer Ombudsman decision KKV/981/14.08.01.05/2025, a telephone alone is not enough for a contract made online. Separately, since 19.6.2026 an online order must carry a withdrawal function, which concerns the fourteen-day right. If neither exists, write a formal complaint, then contact kuluttajaneuvonta on 09 5110 1200. A notice period longer than one month is unlawful in Finland.
Can money paid for a subscription be recovered?
Sometimes yes. The 14-day right of withdrawal for digital services is lost only when both conditions are met: you agreed to start using it immediately AND the seller warned you in advance that the right would be lost. If there was no warning, the right remains — check the confirmation email.
How do I tell whether the profiles on a site are real?
The main sign is whether the service shows the date of last login. If it hides that, there is something to hide. Additionally, look in the terms for a clause about profiles created by the platform: honest services state it, usually in small print at the bottom.
Where do I complain about a dating site in Finland?
First a written complaint to the service itself. Then kuluttajaneuvonta, 09 5110 1200, Mon–Wed 10–12 and Thu 12–14. If that does not help, the Consumer Disputes Board, where there is no fee. If the charge was on a card, contact your bank in parallel about disputing the payment.
How do I stop a charge if the service ignores my cancellation?
Cancelling in your account and stopping a payment are different things. Cancel in writing with the service and keep a copy, then file a complaint with your own bank. On the KKV’s position, a bank is obliged to refund unauthorised card charges, may not send you to the merchant first, and it is for the bank to prove that you consented.
Why do charges continue after I get a new card?
Because of the automatic details-updating services — Visa Account Updater and Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater pass the merchant the new card number without your involvement. So a new card does not stop the subscription: what is needed is a written cancellation with the service and, if necessary, a complaint to the bank.
How do I write a complaint to a service that gets answered?
Four elements: specific dates and amounts instead of indignation, a one-sentence reference to a rule, a specific demand with a deadline (“return 94.80 € within 14 days”), and a written channel rather than a chat — a chat log cannot be exported afterwards. At the end, state the next step: contacting kuluttajaneuvonta and filing a complaint with the bank. That noticeably changes the likelihood of a reply.
What is the mandatory cancellation button?
A requirement of EU directive 2023/2673, in force since 19 June 2026: a contract concluded through an online interface must carry a function through which a consumer exercises their statutory fourteen-day right of withdrawal. The KKV describes it in exactly those terms, and it is not a button that ends any subscription. The requirement that terminating be no harder than subscribing is a separate rule, resting on Consumer Ombudsman decision KKV/981/14.08.01.05/2025 rather than on the directive.
Is it a scam if a site has profiles created by the platform itself?
Legally usually not, if it is stated in the terms — and services acting in good faith do state it, most often in small print at the bottom. In substance it misleads. It is worth checking for such a clause before paying: its absence guarantees nothing, but its presence at least shows that the service is not hiding the mechanics.
Where do I complain if the service is not registered in Finland?
Start with kuluttajaneuvonta on 09 5110 1200 anyway — they will explain the procedure. In a dispute with an operator from another EU country the case is usually passed to the European Consumer Centre, and that takes longer. In parallel it is worth filing a complaint with your own bank if the charge was on a card.
How long does a dispute take?
A written complaint to the service, from a few days to a couple of weeks. Kuluttajaneuvonta answers its online form in about a week. The Consumer Disputes Board takes longer, but there is no fee there. A bank complaint is usually the fastest route, which is why it should be filed in parallel rather than afterwards.
Sources
- KKV: mandatory cancellation function from 19.6.2026
- KKV: the right of withdrawal in online shopping — the two conditions for losing the right
- KKV: terminating a contract — notice period one month at most
- KKV: consumer advice — 09 5110 1200
- KKV: subscription traps can be complained about to the bank — the bank must refund unauthorised charges
- Kuluttajariitalautakunta
2829 words