Advice on Contacting and Meeting People
At Holiday-Buddies we take every reasonable step to ensure undesirable characters do not gain membership and to ensure you remain in control of who you choose to talk with, meet and ultimately holiday with. The experience of being introduced to new people with similar interests, talking to them, gradually getting to know them and finally actually meeting is very rewarding and exciting. If you are apprehensive, that's good; it shows that you are a thinking, sensible and normal person. Just the sort of member we want.
People meet people all the time, at work, socially and through friends and family. We cope with these associations all the time. Some people we will choose to speak with again and others won't appear on the same wavelength, or may simply not feel right. The same is true of people that we might meet on-line, through chat-rooms, instant messaging or even email. We all make choices when we connect with someone for the first time.
The Internet opens up many more possibilities for us to meet new people but it also exposes us to the more undesirable characters that choose to be less honest. The Holiday-Buddies service reduces your exposure to such people through its membership scheme and by only making introductions between people who have similar interests. However, in the unlikely event that a rogue slips through the net, we recommend you exercise some basic precautions in the early days of getting to know someone. In particular:
- Make your first contact by phone or, preferably, email.
- Don't immediately reveal too much information; such as your full address or who you work for (telling them the type of work you do is fine).
- Use your real name; it will be difficult to build trust if you use a pseudonym that you later reveal was false.
- Make sure that within the first 2 or 3 occasions of a new buddy contacting you, that you learn how to contact them.
- Then contact them to validate the details they give you; don't always wait for them to initiate the contact.
- Expect that others might be exercising caution too; remember they don't know you either. Some people take longer than others to build trust; it is worth giving these buddies time and a little latitude.
- It is possible that the occasional membership will have been gained for a friendly bet or as a prank. This is illegal under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 but does happen. Fortunately these people should be quite easy to spot once you get talking to someone. Report any concerns to us.
- When you do meet, arrange this for a public place and let friends or family know when and where, and what time you are expected home.
- Consider asking a friend to call you on your mobile phone during your first meeting with a new holiday buddy.
- If you have received more than one introduction, consider all meeting at the same time but note that not everyone will necessarily have received the same introductions as you (as may happen if they specified that they only want to be introduced to someone of similar age for example).
- We recommend you take extra care if you decide to arrange a holiday with someone you haven't met. You can learn a lot from a face-to-face meeting and looking into someone's eyes. It is much harder to learn the same detail over the phone or, particularly, by email.
- Remember, the ultimate aim is to have an enjoyable holiday; don't jeopardise this by agreeing to go away with someone who is not compatible with your beliefs and values.
- Make your own bookings in your own names and pay for your holidays as individuals. Never give someone money to do it on your behalf.
- Keep your personal bank and financial details private.
- If somebody offers you something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be suspicious.
- Report any concerns to us and we will consider removing the person from the membership. Serious or immediate concerns should be reported directly to the Police.
- Go with your instincts, if someone doesn't seem right, break off the contact.
- Remember, you are in control. Go at your own pace and make sure you only reveal what you want to reveal and agree only to what you are happy to agree with.