Young people at a Qixi matchmaking event in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province in August 2020

A man identified as Zheng Chen (pseudonym) from Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province, has been promised some amount of refund after becoming entangled in a "marriage insurance" scheme following multiple requests and media intervention.

In May, Zheng purchased a "six-month matchmaking service" from online dating platform Baihe Jiayuan for 1,999 yuan ($280). 

Since this initial interaction, Zheng claimed that he was repeatedly encouraged to "upgrade services" and "consolidate orders" by multiple staff members. As of August 1, he has purchased more than 10 orders on Baihe Jiayuan, and has paid a total of more than 130,000 yuan.

According to the commitment made by the staff member and the terms of the "marriage protection" contract, if the service is purchased and the client  successfully marries a partner recommended by the platform within one year, 60 percent of the fees will be refunded. 

The service includes matchmaking and personalized recommendations based on the client's criteria for a partner.

These workers have recommended about 10 women to Zheng, but none of whom met his expectations. Some were not the person shown in the photo sent by the matchmaker service. 

Back in June, he already started to seek a refund. Despite his numerous requests for a refund, he has not received a penny.

Only after Chinese media outlet The Paper exposed the case, the online dating platform promised to refund 110,000 yuan back to Zheng.  

Global Times - The Paper