THE founder of dating agency, Lunch Actually, Ms Violet Lim, 28, used to get clients who asked: "Will I get my money back if the company folds? With your company having expanded, will you attend to me personally, or will it be your staff who are less experienced?"

Clients make upfront payment of $850 to $1,650 at Lunch Actually for its dating services.

Their reservations about Lunch Actually's credentials can now be allayed.

Lunch Actually and six other matchmaking companies, as well as nine dating practitioners, have become the first batch of firms which received the Social Development Unit (SDU) Trust Mark yesterday.

The rest are GoMovieDate.com, Clique Wise, Eteract.com, Singles Mingle, The Dating Loft and Who Works Around You. The dating practitioners are either owners or staff of the seven dating agencies.

To achieve the accreditation, the owners of the seven agencies and the dating practitioners had to go through a course co-developed by SDU and the Workforce Development Authority to obtain a Statement of Attainment (SOA).

An on-site assessment and a document audit, which includes submission of an operation manual, training policies and refund policies, were carried out. The accreditation process took about six months.

Ms Deidre Pereira, 34, general manager of Lunch Actually, said: "The accreditation means that we are following a set of regulations and guidelines and we are not a fly-by-night company."

Another matchmaker saw benefits of other kinds. Chief executive of Singles Mingle, Mr Kelvin Ong, 35, told my paper that the SDU trust mark meant boosted publicity for his company as "there is more exposure and mention" of his company in SDU's in-house magazine, Duet.

There are about 200 dating and matchmaking agencies here. Membership in dating agencies went up by 20 per cent since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged singles to consider joining in his National Day Rally speech.

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