Frequently asked questions

• What denominations are your members?
• What age groups do you cover?
• What nationalities are your members?
• Why don’t you have a trial period and why is membership for a full 12 months?
• What is the difference between the Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum subscription levels?
• Why do you have four different levels of subscription?

• What level of subscription do you advise me to take?
• How do I join friendsfirst?
• Can you tell me how many members you currently have?
• Can I upgrade my membership?
• How do I terminate my membership?
• Can I put my membership on hold?
• Do you give refunds?
• What is your bespoke service?

MEMBERSHIP

What denominations are your members?

friendsfirst has members in almost every denomination of the Christian church. These are some of the denominations listed by our current members: Anglican, Apostolic, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Brethren,   C of E, Charismatic, Christian Fellowship, Church of God of Prophecy, Church of Scotland, Church of Wales, Community Church, Congregational, Ecumenical, Elim Pentecostal, Evangelical, Free Church, Free Methodist, Independent, Lutheran, Methodist, New Frontiers, New Life Church, Pentecostal, Pioneer Network, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army, Society of Friends, URC, Unitarian, World Wide Church.

What age groups do you cover?

friendsfirst has members from the age of 21 to 88 and everything in between.

What nationalities are your members?

friendsfirst members are mainly British in nationality but the organisation is open to people of all and any nationality and we do have members who are not British: for example, Africans, Brazilians, Australians, Caribbean, Dutch, German, Greek, South African, etc.

Why don’t you have a trial period and why is membership for a full 12 months?

Making new friends takes time and cannot be rushed. Finding the right person if you are looking for a meaningful relationship also takes time, and success rarely happens overnight. At friendsfirst we provide you with all the information you need to decide whether we are an organisation that will suit you. You don't need a trial period to find this out. If you are committed to finding new friends, and/or a relationship, then you need to commit to a proper amount of time to doing so, and we consider a year's membership to be at least the right amount of time for this.

What is the difference between the Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum subscription levels?

The different levels of subscription relate to how often we send other people's profiles out to you. Therefore, if you are on the Bronze membership, you will receive a mailing of selected profiles twice a year. If you are on the Silver membership you will receive a profile mailing four times a year – i.e. every quarter. If you are on the Gold membership you will receive a profile mailing every other month – i.e. bi-monthly, and if you are on the Platinum membership you will receive a profile mailing every month. However, whatever level of subscription you are on, your own profile will be circulated to other members each month.

Why do you have four different levels of subscription?

Our four levels of subscription were put in place to reflect the variety of needs that our members have. First, some people are happy to work their way slowly through a list of profiles received every six months. Others perhaps have more time and want to be really pro-active and receive profiles very regularly, so the Platinum level is best for them. And there are those who would find every month a bit too much and prefer to stagger their receipt of profiles to every month or quarter. With four different levels of subscription, you can choose a delivery of profiles that matches your lifestyle and how pro-active you wish to be.

Secondly, people's incomes differ and friendsfirst wants to be able to provide everyone with a service. We can keep our costs down by sending out profiles less frequently to some people, and these cost savings are reflected in lower subscription prices.

What level of subscription do you advise me to take?
This is a difficult question for us to answer because only you know how pro-active you are going to be and how much you value finding new friends and/or a partner. Our Bronze level of membership offers the best value for money but there is the drawback that if your Mr or Mrs Perfect joins the month after you do then, although they will receive your profile, it will be another 5 months before you are sent theirs, by which time someone else may have struck up that special relationship with them. For this reason our advice is to join the highest level of subscription you can afford. In all cases we are delighted to discuss your own personal circumstances with you and help you decide which really is the best level of membership for you.

How do I join friendsfirst?

friendsfirst is very easy to join. Simply fill out our application/profile form (either on or off line) and submit or send it to us. You also need to send us a form of identification. You can either pay on line through using the Pay Pal service or you can send us a cheque.

Can you tell me how many members you currently have?

We are more than happy to discuss how many members we have in the age groups that relate to you. This information is what is relevant to you personally rather than how many members we have in total. Please feel free to ring us  on 0121 427 1286 and we will tell you how many members we have that are relevant to you and also which areas of the country they live in.

Can I upgrade my membership?

Yes, membership can be upgraded to the next subscription level at any time you want.

How do I terminate my membership?

You can terminate your membership at any time by contacting us by telephone, post or email to let us know that you no longer wish your membership to continue.

Can I put my membership on hold?

You can put your membership on hold at any time by contacting us either by telephone, post or email, and you can reinstate your membership at any time as long as you are still within your membership year.

Do you give refunds?

We have a no - refund policy in our Terms and Conditions which all members agree to before joining. We only give refunds in exceptional circumstances and they are only ever considered after a full year's membership has expired. Refunds for subsequent payments made originally by standing order will only be given on a pro rata basis. Very few similiar agencies offer refunds - so it's not just us being mean!

Some people ask us for refunds because "No-one contacted me" but the way our system works is that you receive profiles too and you are supposed to be proactive and contact other members and not just wait to be contacted yourself. If you choose not to then that is not something that we can control.

What is your bespoke service?

We can offer a few members a highly personalised and individually tailored bespoke service to meet any particular needs they have whether that's because they need additional support or are lacking in time to meet people themselves. Every bespoke service offered is different – if you think we can help you in additional ways, we'd be delighted to discuss our bespoke service with you. Please call us.