Parship

Parship (or Parship GmbH) is an online dating agency based in Hamburg, Germany. It was part of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. Its stated goal is to encourage and forge long-term partnerships.
History.
The agency was founded in 2000. Parship went online on 14 February 2001 (Valentine's Day). In collaboration with psychologist Hugo Schmale of the University of Hamburg, a questionnaire and associated profile-matching algorithm was developed with the purpose of bringing like-minded couples together. On Schmale's initiative, the matching algorithm is based both on behavioristic principles and on psychoanalytical theories of personality.
Gay Parship.
Simultaneous with the 2001 launch of Parship, Gay-Parship was launched. Due to the large success, in 2005 two separate portals were launched, catering explicitly to a homosexual target group. Here, too, the agency defines itself as focusing on a high level of education and income, and with the goal of a long-term partnership.
Memberships and cost.
Parship offers two basic services, a free and a pay account. The free membership includes registration, an automated evaluation of the questionnaire and the possibility of inspecting the profiles of other members, but not photos.
For actual contact between members, including responding to received contact offers, and for exchanging photos, a Premium membership is required. Subscription costs range from 30 to 60 Euro monthly. According to the Parship website, 38% of their members are Premium members.
An automatic renewal clause (Clause 5 of the T&Cs as listed on the UK website, document dated 13/06/2014) applies to memberships, including special offers.
Reviews.
The unaffiliated review website reviewcentre.com at the time of writing listed 169 reviews of Parship. Of these 169, 92 reviewers rated Parship '1 star', or 'Terrible'. Dissatisfied customers cite the 'hidden' auto renewal clause and subsequent appointment of debt collectors as a grievance, as well as the low number of appropriately matched profiles.
International.
In 2002 Parship became international and is now active in 13 countries in addition to Germany: Belgium, Denmark, France, UK, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Mexico.