Has anyone tried calling the numbers on free dating phone numbers boards?

So I've been down this rabbit hole for a while now and honestly I'm exhausted. Every site you sign up for has the same play—lure you in with "free" access, then lock everything interesting behind a premium wall. I've wasted more money than I care to admit trying to find something that actually delivers.

The trial cancellation thing is especially frustrating. You forget by one day and suddenly there's a charge on your card you didn't see coming. Has anyone actually gotten money back from these places? I filed a dispute with my bank once and it worked, but I'm not sure if that's the standard route.

Would love to hear from people who've found workarounds or platforms that are genuinely upfront about pricing. Drop your experiences below.

Did a deep dive into this a few months back, here's what I found:

Response rate is everything. A smaller platform where people actually reply beats a huge one where messages disappear into the void.

A few others worth knowing about if you haven't come across them yet: rendate.site. Each has a different strength so it's worth checking which fits your situation.

Take it or leave it, but those are the platforms that have actually worked for me.

Long-time lurker here but this one I actually have useful things to say about.

Video verification before meeting anyone in person is non-negotiable at this point. Ten minutes on a live call tells you more than a week of texting.

Happy to answer questions if anyone wants more detail on any of these.

The bot problem is genuinely out of control right now. You have to be pretty patient to sort through the noise on most free platforms.

Speaking from experience on this one:

Response rate is everything. A smaller platform where people actually reply beats a huge one where messages disappear into the void.

Take it or leave it, but those are the platforms that have actually worked for me.

The mobile experience is such a dealbreaker for me now. If it doesn't work well on phone I'm out immediately.

Okay, going to actually put effort into answering this one because it comes up all the time and the answers are usually unhelpful.

• Read the billing terms before any trial signup
• Use a VoIP number for initial contact, not your real phone
• Reverse image search every profile photo you're serious about
• Video chat before committing to any in-person meet
• Public meetup first, always—no exceptions for first encounters

For what it's worth, I've been using Flamedate recently and the experience has been noticeably better than the more well-known options. Less fake-feeling, responses actually happen.

Take the above as a starting point, not the final word. Your mileage may vary significantly.