Mindwire,
a telephone call wont prove very much, as again it could be anyone on the other end of the phone particularly if her english is not to good ,
Flowers will prove if it is the girl, but its better to use someone independent, and not the marrage agency as they could use a old photo, from a previous client etc,
I knoew someone in Odessa who could do this he has a marrage agency as well as apartments,dont put all your eggs in one basket, I have found and many others have said that you will find out more about the girl, weather you like her or not within the first 10 minuites than 100 letter will prove, aslo ask a couple of questions that would require a answer,
, so have a plan B and maybe even plan C,
but remeber tat if it seams to go to be tue, it proberbly will be, particularly in the Ukraine !
good luck with your trip,
if you want to know anything else you can e-mail me on
chris.campling4@btopenworld.com
Chris, sounds like the guy's got a legit complaint on that one... Any idea if it could have been qualified by sending her some flowers, a telephone call, or a simple background check...... At least before travelling to Odessa to see her on letters alone.....
So what's the program for making sure you're not writing to Boris... or Borislana... ?
MARTIN:
Sounds like the Kiev airport is a lot like crossing the border into Mexico! I wouldn't use one of the shark-taxi's you speak of just because I find that approach irritating and don't do business like that. Hell, I'd rather walk! I like the idea of having the people who rent the apartment pick me up. Makes a lot of sense....
MIKE:
Your post (above) looks like it comes from several sources. The Attorney(?) David Starkey, John Watt (from who-knows-where in the UK), and Terry Rankhorn of the FBI....
As I said I'm a Sceptic.... so I tend to inquire....
Terry Rankhorn: There is no Agent Terry Rankhorn at the FBI in San Diego. The info is bogus according to both of my contacts there, and Mark (the Duty Officer at the San Diego FBI), says ALL Russian Dating Sites should be considered a scam. They (the San Diego FBI) did nail a couple of scammers in a Russian Dating Scam though.
Here's the link....
http://sandiego.fbi.gov/pressrel/2003/mccoy.htm
David Starkey: The listing is a Claremore, Oklahoma number (Southwestern Bell is the carrier), the # you give is his cell phone. As soon as I mentioned a web-post, he said "Oh!, the whole Anastasia thing!" He says "Hell NO!", he is not an attorney, but that he has gone on tour with Anastasia & LoveMe.com. Said he got scammed for about $22,000 by Anastasia (Didn't provide details). He says 50% of the women on Anastasia are only pictures & that they have a buch of old ladies & men writing letters. He recommends LoveMe.com (A Foriegn Affair) & EuroLadies.com (European Connections). Says these services are both very honest & sincere. He was travelling outside the coverage area so we ended the call a little before I would have liked.....
I also use both of these services (AFA & European Connections) already & will focus more on them, but since I've already been writing to women on Anastasia, I will find out if they're real (or if they are actually the ones I've been writing to) when I get to Ukraine. It won't break my heart if the women from Anastasia don't pan out because I'm not putting any stock into this whole thing until I meet some ladies and find out what they're actually about.... Hell, maybe I won't like any of them!
If I had more than one person telling me (From Experience) that they got burned by Anastasia, I don't know if I'd be any more cautious..... probably not..... either way, the flight is booked & I plan to make it a fantastic adventure regardless of what happens!
Since, as far as I can tell, Fiance.com & Anastasia partner for their tour packages... It does make me wonder about Fiance.com. Why would they partner with a site that has such a reputation, and what does that that say about their service? Any thoughts on this???
In review of all of the above, it seems that David Starkey & John Watt forgot to read the user agreement at Anastasia. Part 12 reads:
Disputes. If there is any dispute about or involving the Web site and/or the Service, by using the Web site, you agree that the dispute will be governed by the laws of the State of Kentucky without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You agree that all such disputes shall, prior to the institution of litigation, be submitted to mediation in Frankfort, Kentucky. You agree that in the event you initiate litigation, such litigation may only be initiated in the state or federal courts of Frankfort, Kentucky, which courts shall have exclusive personal and subject matter jurisdiction and venue over the entirety of the dispute.
I'm not sure what the difference is in Kentucky, but I would imagine that their attorneys advised them to put this into their user agreement because of some loophole in the law that will insure that they will Always prevail in any dispute.
Just Plug in Anastasia International and you can find hundreds of complaints about their services and practices, Anastasia International and Anastasia web all of the same ilk.
As far as putting any trust in the FBI, I'm not one buying into that yet. I already had read the link you posted here, a long time ago.
As far as thoughts on Fiance.com, I really don't have any, first and foremost they are not an agency but a clearinghouse for agencies, so buyer beware here also. The one advantage is you don't pay per letter, so in the Case of Anastasia international where a letter is 8 bucks a pop, well you can do the math from there. You still will deal or choose not to deal with an agency later when you meet your girl. The agencies try to create a dependency with their woman, as they can't successfully meet a man without their help and services and use the women as a pawn in this production.
I've learned alot about the practices of agencies, some are good, some not so good, so it is our responsibility to weed out the bad ones. As for Mr. Starkey, {Funny how that name sounds Like Ringo Starr} if he got bilked out of 22 grand, sounds like he's not very sharp. Who in their right mind would spend that kind of money with an agency? Not me.
Mike;
I did a search on Anastasia at the top of this page. Now I understand why you say it's Old News! Looks like this has been covered to death! Some good feedback, some negative, some obscure.... and even a little irrelevant....
Oh well, this whole thing is like shootin' dice in the middle of the road as far as I can tell!
Sometimes You Win....
Sometimes You Lose...
Sometimes You Get Hit By a Truck!
I personally feel that the same is true of Americans--maybe not to an equal degree. But I am certain you have heard of many fractured,dysfunctional, and scattered families here. And also,we have only the opinons of the women to say that they had no part in any wrong doing. SUrely there are many men in Russia who love and support their families. I think we need more input from some of these men.
Mindwire,
If when you get to Ukraine in December, and if it does all go horribly wrong, then before you travel, I could provide you with the contact information of my friends in Zaporozhye so you would not need to be by yourself nor pay for an agency tour, they could introduce you to some ladies and it would only cost you the meal(s) & transport.
I can recommend this apartment in Kiev http://www.uaapartments.com/apt/KV223 . Perhaps the best night's sleep I've ever had in Ukraine, comfortable bed, curtains that actually keep the light out and good soundproofing. Across the road, to the right, is TGI Friday's and to the left, a good travel agent that speaks English should you need to book any last minute tickets.
My experience of taxi drivers, in April, in Odessa was the worst. I had arrived in ODS on a domestic flight and had a 4 hour wait for my international flight. As soon as I arrived it was taxi, taxi, taxi, the bastards were folowing me across the car park, everywhere. I disappeared inside the terminal, to drink some beer, but one cannot smoke inside so each half-hour that I had to go outside again, it was taxi, taxi, taxi and this went on for 4 bloody hours and they wondered why I became irate!
Chris;
It opened for me with a copy-paste action. Looks like decent prices....
Martin;
Contacts are good! How far from Zaporozhye to Kiev?
I'm not too worried about being alone in Kiev.
My attorney here recommended that I at least make contact with a law firm that has offices here as well as in Kiev. Seems reasonable.... He suggested a firm based in D.C. that also has an office in Kiev. Still waiting for a call-back from them....
Zaporozhye is 1hr 20mins by air from, dependant on the day, one of the Kiev airports or 1hr (morning & evening) or 1hr 20mins (afternoon) from KBP airport to Dnepropetrovk then 45 minutes in a car. Check out http://www.ukrainefare.com/internal-flights.php for flight schedules, fares are cheaper if you buy locally.
That apartment is, by our standards, just a little tatty around the edges, as are many in Ukraine, but the most important thing to me is a good night's sleep and in that respect I cannot fault it.
And the wairesses at TGI Friday's are so professiuonally friendly, should you be by yourself, then a reasonable place for a meal. On my final day, in transit, on January 2nd this year, I'd had such a fantastic time in Zaporozhye I was really happy, but with a really sad appearance, and in TGI's one of the staff came and sat at the table with me because she was so concerned. OK, they knew me from a couple of weeks previously but they really are genuinely nice, and Yulia on the front door, she wears black, she's a dish and funny with it!
Already have that site up (behind this page), but not sure if I'll have time to see too much at one time.... I didn't think it (the lawyer) was too big of a deal either when he mentioned it, but he says "Just make an initial contact", if you need them they're already aware that you'll be in Kiev. It won't cost you unless you need them".
These guys must get some kinda kick-back from other attorneys. The women that are Scamming could probably learn a thing or 2 from U.S. attorneys..... ok... forget I said that..... bad idea.....
Mindwire,
it opened this time, anywhere near TGI fridays is good, the apartments look slightly expensive,
I have stayed in Sergy's apartments many times either near TGI's or O'brians, about $50 a night,
http://www.ukr-apartments.kiev.ua/cataloge.php?rooms=1
never any problems and he can meet you at the airport, and if you are at a loose end his mother has a marrage agency,
Mindwire.
If it helps, I've been writing to a lady since July through an agency that seems to be very helpful and genuine; http://www.ukrainianwomen.com If she and the agency are fake, I'll eat my computer! I've done just about every check possible and have all the contact details for them, including the owners mobile number! They have an office in Kiev and do all the usual arrangements, Car & driver, appartments etc. etc. The appartments are $65 per night in Kiev. If you're stuck, you could give them a try.
Wong;
I'll check it out... I don't think I'll get stuck though.... seems to me there's a lot of helpful people around. It probably helps that (from what I can tell) I've over budgeted for what the trip will actually cost... It would be kinda funny to see you try to eat the computer though!
As far as Anastasia web is concerned. I used them and discovered their fruad after about $200 of letter writing. Good thing is I have a a good credit card company and was able to do a charge back on all cost. That is why some agencies don't alllow credit card charges of more than $50.00. Had I taken the time to read the fine print of Anastasia web's policy I would have never got that deep into them to begin with. They do not allow the exchange of personal contact information such as phone numbers or email. They will only allow postal address. With a phone number you can contact your girl and verify who she is. Anastasia knows this and that is why they don't allow it. They want to lock you into the email forwarding system. They are a total scam agency. Bar none!
What a swindle!!
I pay $8 for each letter with reply. If I write 2 letters and she combines them to answer me they still charge the same price. I consider this fair. Elena cannot speak English and certainly cannot write it. They are doing me a service and will always pass short messages for nothing. They just call her.
The difference here is that I know and have met this lady. I also know all the people at the Agency. I will be returning in November and they are helping me again. Then I will teach her how to use email and the internet cafe. KP don't care because they know that I will use them again for many different things and the advertizing from both sides (me and Elena) is invaluable. Success stories with good feeling on all sides is far better to have than randomly ripping people off and then having folks charge back their credit cards.