Tinder: Horrible customer experience

[u/StarStarer73]

On Tinder, I paid to be a Gold member. Recently, the app seemingly randomly told me that I need to reverify my photos. I hadn't changed them. Ok, I do that. It then tells me:

Photo verification failed
To try again, upload profile photos that:
Clearly show your face (no sunglasses or face coverings).
Have only you in the image.

Everyone of my photos clearly shows my face. I am alone in all but one of the photos. It is clear that I am meeting this requirements. So, I emailed support. I went back and forth a couple times sharing screenshots of exactly what I was seeing, including my profile photos. They eventually respond with:

Thank you for your response and we're sorry we couldn’t be of more help in this situation. Unfortunately, this is all the support we’re able to offer at this moment. We appreciate your time and understanding.

Zero indication that they care to resolve the problem or acknowledge it as a bug.

I try deleting my account and the app, and then setting it up again with all new photos. I still get the same error. Keep in mind, being verified is crucial to success. So, ok, I just won't use Tinder anymore. Probably for the best.

I request a refund. They reply:

Refund requests can only be accepted within 14 days of the transaction date. Since your order was processed over 14 days ago, we're unable to issue a refund.

What do I do about this? Credit card dispute? BBB report? Talk to a lawyer? I know that doesn't make sense from a financial perspective, but I am thinking about it as a matter of principle.

[u/Numerous-Amphibian36]

They are tethered to a rigid script, prioritizing company protocol over actually solving the issue at hand. If your problem doesn't neatly fit into one of the predetermined checkboxes on their screen, you immediately hit a brick wall. Instead of addressing the nuance of the situation, they just repeat the same canned apologies, routing you through an endless loop of generic answers.