I’m a Gold female member. It was my third time going to a location, and we had agreed beforehand on an allowance of 70,000 yen. Afterward, he said, “Actually, I’ll give you 50,000. That’s about standard, right?” and “If you want 70,000, then let’s go another round.” What should I have done in that situation…? Since it was only our third meeting, I wasn’t sure at the time whether I should report him to the club. I’d appreciate any advice.

I’ll answer too. I can’t believe there are such underhanded people among Universe members... Even if it’s a free-form relationship, I wish people would keep their promises. Maybe he had always wanted to meet twice, but couldn’t get her to agree, so this was his strategy for getting her approval for a second meeting. Even so, I don’t think that was an acceptable way to go about it. If he wanted to do that, he should have negotiated it beforehand. His method was wrong, but if that guess is correct, I do think there may be some room for sympathy toward the man. There was a discussion about going rates a little while ago, but the questioner also taught us that there really aren’t any fixed rates. Considering that he was willing to date a woman he liked, regardless of her class, at the allowance she requested—as long as it was within what he could accept—I wonder if he might actually be a decent man. Perhaps he had seen the discussion about going rates and intended to lower the allowance, but I hope this man can remain a good man and continue as a club member. >Since it was our third meeting, I didn’t know at the time whether I should report it to the club... I’d appreciate any advice. Please report it to the club, even if it was a free-form relationship. Their response may seem cold. They’ll probably say something like, “We’re unable to get involved in free-form relationships.” You may feel there was no point in contacting them if that’s the response, but the fact that this man lowers the amount after the meeting and is a terrible person will still be shared within the branch. It will also be recorded in their database, although it may not be recorded after just one incident. That information can then be shared nationwide as well. If someone repeatedly does this, it’s considered malicious. After warning him, the club may caution women who receive an offer from him that he is this kind of man and that they should be careful, or that they are free to decline the offer. Knowing internally what kind of person he is helps create a safer environment for women as well. Men sometimes say, “Why is the club interfering when this is supposed to be a free-form relationship?” But when someone says that, it actually makes it more likely that they’re doing this deliberately. In such cases, the club considers them unsuitable for Universe and increases its monitoring of them. Occasionally, a woman may be surprised when the club asks something like, “Was there a problem?” after she leaves even a slightly negative feedback—or simply gives a low rating without writing anything particularly bad. In those cases, the man is already under monitoring. The club may have received negative feedback from other women as well and be gathering information to decide whether to forcibly terminate his membership.

I’m Saito, a column writer ♪ I think it would be fine to say: “I’m asking you to pay now, as we agreed.” “I can’t do it one more time.” “I’ll let the club know that you don’t keep your promises.” Since this is a relationship between consenting adults, the club is technically outside the matter. However, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with informing them that he “doesn’t keep his promises.” I also think it’s very effective to contact the club “right then and there.” (That situation must be extremely uncomfortable for the man.) (If it’s at night, you can message them on LINE.) I didn’t realize there were such awful members. It may be too late now, but I do think it’s important to share this information with the club. (They probably won’t take action, but I think it’s still necessary to make them aware of it.) P.S. If the man is negotiating by saying, “Starting next time…” and takes care to give the woman enough information to make an informed decision, I don’t think there’s necessarily a problem.