If I didn’t receive the full transportation allowance on the first date, will the club pay it if I report it?

I’m Dai, a male member. Since transportation costs for the first meeting are part of the club’s rules, if you didn’t receive them, the club should be able to negotiate on your behalf if you contact them. From the second meeting onward, transportation costs fall under your private arrangement, so the club isn’t involved. Make sure to negotiate this yourself. (I think many men include it in the allowance.) By the way, I recently had a letter date myself. The club handles the communication until the first LINE message is exchanged, but after we arranged the first meeting and it was time to meet in person, she canceled at the last minute without contacting me. I submitted feedback, but the club didn’t take any particular action—for example, contacting the woman or lowering her rating. Still, there will likely be a record that she behaves this way, so I submitted feedback based on what actually happened to help prevent other men from having the same experience. You should also let the club know what happened to you. Basically, it’s for the sake of other women, but ultimately it will benefit you as well.

I’m Taro, a male member. Since this is a dating club, it’s different from nightlife or sex work. If you expect a black-suited escort or staff member to rush in and help you the moment you encounter a dangerous client, you’d probably be better off using those services instead. Compared with apps, there are deterrents in place, including identity verification, so I think the clientele is generally better—but there’s still a range, and the risk of something going wrong can never be zero. I think it’s important to have the mindset that, in the end, you’re responsible for handling things yourself. As for forgetting the transportation allowance at the first meeting, I think there are both intentional cases and genuine oversights. I’m more prone to the latter kind of mistake. In those cases, we’d usually be on the way out of the restaurant and heading toward the station when the woman would say something like, “Um… excuse me, what about the transportation allowance…?” Then I’d go, “Oh!!! I’m so sorry!” apologize profusely, pull her aside on the street, and hand over the money. Even after more than six months of dating, I’m still the kind of well-meaning idiot who occasionally does this. Incidentally, when I forget, it’s almost always because the atmosphere is good and things start feeling more like we’re ordinary friends—or potential partners. On the other hand, when I feel we’re incompatible, I strangely never forget（笑). So, if a situation arises where it looks like someone might skip the allowance, I’d appreciate it if you could keep in mind that there are two possibilities: a “piece-of-shit guy who ignores the allowance,” or a “creepy, absent-minded guy who gets carried away by romantic feelings.” If both are unacceptable to you, I think it’s perfectly fine to take a hard line and end things immediately. But if the latter is still forgivable, perhaps a little compassion wouldn’t hurt.

I’m Maezawa from the President’s Office, and I’ll answer this as well. For the first date, Universe Club arranges the meeting. If the man violates the membership terms and fails to pay the woman the 5,000–10,000 yen transportation allowance, or the actual transportation costs agreed upon in advance for a long-distance meeting, the club will charge the man and pass the money on to the woman. However, this only applies if the woman asked the man, “Could I receive the transportation allowance?” and still didn’t receive it. If the woman asks and the man comes up with excuses to avoid paying, that’s malicious. Without the club stepping in, the woman may never receive the money. If the woman simply wasn’t able to ask the man for the transportation allowance, then we assume he probably just forgot, so we’ll ask the two of them to resolve it between themselves. In other words, if the woman says, “I didn’t receive it last time,” the man probably only forgot and should give her the previous amount the next time they meet. In that case, I expect the issue will be resolved. But if they can’t work it out between themselves, the club will step in and help resolve it. Ultimately, she should be able to receive the money. For second and subsequent dates, however, the relationship is a matter of free choice between the two people, so the club has much less authority to intervene. The main thing the club can do is forcibly terminate the man’s membership. So, in principle, the two of them are expected to resolve the issue themselves. Even so, please consult the club. We can at least ask the man why he hasn’t paid. If it turns out that he is intentionally refusing to pay, recovering the transportation allowance may be difficult. The man will have to decide whether refusing to pay is worth being forcibly expelled from the club. Normally, I would expect him to voluntarily pay the woman rather than risk being forcibly expelled. However, if he decides that being expelled is fine, then his membership will simply be terminated and that will be the end of it. That’s why I think it’s important to carefully determine whether a man is someone you can genuinely continue seeing.

I’m Kazu, a male member. > If I don’t receive the full transportation allowance on the first date, can the club get it for me if I contact them? I think you should bring it up with the man on the spot, but if he refuses to pay the transportation allowance, I feel the club may collect it on your behalf if you provide them with feedback. > What if I don’t receive the transportation allowance on the second date or any dates after that? The club’s rule requiring transportation expenses to be paid applies only to the first date arranged by the club. So in that case, no, you won’t be able to receive it. In my case, I don’t pay transportation expenses separately from the second date onward. I explain that I’ll be providing only the allowance, with transportation included, and have her agree to those terms.