Instagram model Holly Valentine claims she was banned from Tinder because her matches kept reporting her account as fake. After signing up for an unspecified premium package on the dating app, which she said cost her $86, she found that people believed she was a catfish because they didn't think she would be using Tinder.
"I used clean pictures, did everything I was supposed to, swiped right on a couple people, I got some matches and then started binge watching Game of Thrones," she said, per the British tabloid The Sun. "Then after a couple hours I went back on saw a couple previews of messages and then got locked out of the app. The previews that I did see were 'you’re probably not real,' 'why would a girl like you be on tinder.' I didn’t even get to meet anyone or even really use the app."
She has since requested a refund from the company for her subscription, assumedly Tinder Gold or Tinder Plus, but has yet to hear back. "I figured I must have gotten flagged on there so I contacted Tinder and Apple asking for a refund," she added. "Tinder gave me no response and Apple said refunds are up to the discretion of the app. Tinder isn't agreeing to it but they won't tell us why."
The refund policy of Tinder is unclear, as Best Company reported in 2019. In the terms and conditions on Tinder's website, the app instructs users that refunds are handled by Apple. This contradicts what Valentine claimed, making it even less obvious if she is entitled to her money back or not. Since her account was falsely flagged as fake, however, Valentine believes she should receive a refund.
"The second you pay someone for something, I'm sorry... I'm ok with them kicking me off, but they have a contractual obligation to tell me why they're taking my money and not refunding me," she said during a recent Instagram Live stream. "I really think it's unfair of them to be like, 'Hey we're going to take $86 from you.'" She also explained on Twitter that she has yet to receive any refund or explanation from the company.
Complex has reached out to Tinder for comment but have yet to hear back.
The 26-year-old is based in Los Angeles, previously working in marketing and branding before launching her modeling career through sites such as IG and OnlyFans.
