by Henry
(Florida)
Hello,
I just had some dealings with AFA and wanted to add them to your observations. First just like you said I put in a profile with no pictures and right away started receiving dozens of requests to connect. The women are the most gorgeous I have seen of any dating site anywhere. No doubt about that. But I would get multiple solicitations to communicate at 9:00 PM my time which is 3:00 AM their time, and they would have as their occupation, doctor, or Accountant, it surely did not make sense. Young really hot women just don’t approach a man like this without some type of prompting.
Anyway I sent them an email asking some questions about details on their virtual email service, and their executive service. I will put my email and their response below.
My email first:
I have been evaluating your site compared to some of the others. I want to make a trip to Eastern Europe this spring. And I need to gather more information before I make my plans.
I noticed on your site that when going through the profiles there are lots of beautiful and accomplished women. Then in their respective profiles, they have an option for virtual email address or email address. But only a few have email address available.
If I understand correctly I can order virtual email addresses by paying directly or being a platinum member. The platinum membership appears to be the way to go.
However, it does not say in the platinum membership description if that also allows me to get their direct email address or if I have to still order it and pay directly?
My final question is that it seems that so few women have actual contact information available. Why is that? Virtually all eastern European women have an IPhone, and a computer, email, WhatsApp, Viber, Skype, why is this information not available? It appears to be available on many other sites.
Also, I did not see on your website the cost of the executive tour. Could you please let me know what that costs?
Thanks,
Then AFA’s Response;
Only the women with an actual e-mail address on file will have a virtual e-mail address available.
The virtual e-mail address works just like any other e-mail address, once we send it to you it is used to send a message from your own personal e-mail account (yahoo, hotmail, etc). That e-mail is initially forwarded to our server, it remains there while we forward your background information (which is now required by federal law) to the woman’s actual e-mail address. As long as the woman reads your background information and then clicks a link agreeing that she received it, she will then receive your actual message and be able to reply directly to your personal e-mail if interested. When sending your e-mail message to the woman’s virtual e-mail address you can attach photos, just as you would anytime you send a regular e-mail.
If you use the virtual e-mail address properly there should be no additional charge to send your message because it is supposed to be sent from your own personal e-mail account.
You can tell whether the woman has an e-mail address by looking in her profile. If the woman’s profile contains a button that says “add e-mail address to my order” that would mean she does have an e-mail address available. If you do not see that button, that would indicate the woman does not have one. If you are on the hot list this option will say “order (xxxxx)’s e-mail address” instead.
Obviously it is each lady’s choice how often she checks her e-mail and whether she is comfortable with direct contact. Because it has become so impossible for us to guarantee that each lady will check her private e-mail on a some what regular basis, we have now made the decision to phase out virtual e-mails all together. Soon, it will no longer be an option.
We are an IMBRA compliant web site….
Due to IMBRA (International Marriage Broker Regulation Act) we are no longer allowed to provide direct postal or e-mail addresses for the women profiled on this site, not until they receive and acknowledge having received your Background information. We are not able to release phone numbers for the women either and this is something we have never done, even before the law went into effect. For more information on the new law please click this link: http://loveme.com/information/qna.shtml.
The way in which the IMBRA form and the ability to exchange contact info. play out depends on the service.
With the Express Mail…
Because of these restrictions (for IMBRA), we have to remove contact information from the letter sent/received via the Express Mail system. With the Express Mail method of writing the woman has to go into the local office to request your background information and then sign the IMBRA waiver acknowledging that she saw it before any information can be exchanged. You can relate this to the woman when you send her your next letter.
So… it has to do with the lady and when she feels comfortable/ready to visit the local office to sign the necessary paperwork. You can ask her to do this in your letter.
In your letter, you can ask the lady if she is willing/able to visit the local office to request a copy of your background form. The lady would have to visit the local office where she originally registered and ask them for a copy of your background form. They will also have her sign a release for at that time. It is completely up to her when/if she does this, but once it is done you exchange contact information within your letters.
The executive service is great option. It allows you to work with a personal consultant in order to do a very refined search of the most compatible ladies who would like to meet you.
The total cost for the executive plan is $15,000. There is a $5,000.00 non-refundable deposit. Another $7000.00 is due before the personal meeting to review chosen candidates. The last $3,000.00 is due before your departure for the chosen country to facilitate the personal meetings.
This service is mostly used by busy professionals who need help with all the leg work that goes into narrowing down potential candidates prior to travel, but it can be used by anyone who wants additional support to make their search easier. It offers hands on support throughout the entire process and a lot of special treatment.
If you want a lot of personal attention and individual support, this service is well worth the price. If you have any additional questions or if you are serious about getting started please reply with your phone number and I will have the president of A Foreign Affair call you to make arrangements for your first meeting with your personal consultant.
You can also get started by completing the specialized profile form found at the following link: http://www.loveme.com/information/executive/questionnaire.shtml
If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to send me a reply and I will be happy to help.
Have a nice day!!
Liz
AFA Customer Service Manager
A couple of items to note. They are very professional and seem to be offering legitimate services. However, the email thing and the hot young girls contacting you without a profile picture puts the whole system into question.
The price for the executive service seemed to be way too high. $15,000 they need to guarantee me a successful marriage to a 10. lol What could they possibly do to justify $15,000?
I compare this to an agency you have recommended Daisy Brides and there is no comparison. Daisy has beautiful girls and they give personalized service and it’s only $320 for a 3-day tour. Pretty darn good. If it does not work the first time you can go back and try a couple of more times.
One final thing there is another agency that appears to be pretty good. With a combination of beautiful women and honesty and good service. It is run by a Ukrainian bride from the Ukraine and she seems to be very serious. It is called Inter-Marriage.com. Just curious if you know anything about them?
Hope this helps.
Tom’s Answer:
Wow, thanks for such a thorough post!
I don’t know what I could possibly add.
Funny, they act like they don’t like this IMBRA thing at all, but now it is the cornerstone of their scammy business giving them one more excuse why you can’t communicate directly with the women without AFA as the intermediary.
About Inter-Marriage.com, I have never used them. They DO offer Pay-Per-Letter services which automatically puts them in the highly-suspect category.
BUT I know the person who operates the Nikopol/Ukraine affiliate of this operation and I can vouch that she is conscientious, honest, and serious, and has a list of happy marriages that have resulted from her work.
Additionally, when I search for women on that site in Kyiv I see some that I actually know.
And besides that, let’s apply a little common-sense test… Compare the front page at Inter-Marriage.com with that of AFA and AnastasiaDate. It’s not the same thing. It looks a lot more “real” to me.
Comments for More Information On A Foreign Affair
Clarification
by: Anonymous
I see what you mean about the pay per letter on inter-marriage.com. But they do offer a $40 per month unlimited letters. And they do allow you to exchange contact information anytime you want. Looks pretty legit to me.
Oh and they give a free trial where they will exchange an introduction letter and reply translated for free. Seems like a pretty good deal.
And I thought the same thing about AFA and the IMBRA form. They are cynically using this requirement to not give out contact info.
Also thanks for running this site. It really does provide a great service. I wish more guys would participate and share their experiences.