Registering on the site is very simple and - even better - it's FREE! Just fill out your details in the "Join Now for FREE" box and, as soon as you have verified your email address, you will be able to log in to the site, carry out unlimited searches and add your own profile. Click here to Join Now for FREE.

It is free to register on Muddy Matches and, as a 'Free Member', you can carry out unlimited searches on the site, add/edit your profile, upload your photos, see who has visited your profile, select your favourites and see who has added you to their favourites or sent you a message.

If, however, you like the look of someone and want to send them a message, or read/reply to a message that you have been sent, you will be asked to upgrade your account by paying a subscription for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months.

Our prices are:

• 1 month: £18
• 3 months: £36 (equivalent to £12 per month)
• 6 months: £54 (equivalent to £9 per month)
• 12 months: £72 (equivalent to £6 per month)

Prices quoted are charged as one single payment.

* Please note that these prices include VAT so there are no hidden surprises and, more importantly, we will NOT automatically rebill you at the end of your chosen membership period - that's just rude! Once your subscription has expired, you will simply revert back to being a Free Member until you choose to subscribe again.

Yes. Whenever you meet a stranger for the first time, you will naturally be aware that you need to be mindful of your own safety. Meeting people through Muddy Matches is no different but, unlike meeting people in a pub or nightclub, this gives you the opportunity to anonymously talk to people before meeting them, ask any questions you might have and plan a safe place to meet up.

Our messaging system is an anonymous and safe place to chat; no-one will know your real email address or personal details as long as you have ensured that they do not feature in your profile and that you do not publish them in a message to someone. We, in turn, take measures to try and protect you such as vetting all profile material before it is published to check that our members have not accidentally entered any of their personal details. Likewise, photos will not be published until a member of our admin team has approved them.

Ultimately, you are responsible for your own safety but this will not be a problem if you follow these simple rules:

1. Never give your home address or telephone number to a stranger
2. Always arrange to meet in a very public place (such as a café or pub) and never invite a stranger to your home
3. Always tell a trusted friend where you are going and roughly what time you expect to be back
4. Under no circumstances send money to someone you have never met
5. Use your instincts; if it doesn't feel right, don't do it!

For more information, please read our safety advice and, if you are at all suspicious of another member, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can write to us at abuse@muddymatches.co.uk or report a concern about another member by clicking on the ‘Report a concern' link in the member's profile or in a message that they have sent you.

You can report a concern about another member by clicking on the ‘Report a concern' link in either their profile or a message that they have sent you, or you can write to us directly at abuse@muddymatches.co.uk.

It's really important to us that Muddy Matches is a safe place for honest people. If you suspect that someone is abusing the system in any way, TELL US! No harm can be done by letting us know and that person won't know that you have said anything.

It is free to register on Muddy Matches and, as a 'Free Member', you can carry out unlimited searches on the site, add/edit your profile, upload your photos, see who has visited your profile, select your favourites and see who has added you to their favourites or sent you a message.

If, however, you like the look of someone and want to send them a message, or read/reply to a message that you have been sent, you will be asked to upgrade your account by paying a subscription for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months.

Our prices are:

• 1 month: £18
• 3 months: £36 (equivalent to £12 per month)
• 6 months: £54 (equivalent to £9 per month)
• 12 months: £72 (equivalent to £6 per month)

Prices quoted are charged as one single payment.

*Please note that these prices include VAT so there are no hidden surprises and, more importantly, we will NOT automatically rebill you at the end of your chosen membership period - that's just rude! Once your subscription has expired, you will simply revert back to being a Free Member until you choose to subscribe again.

If you would like to cancel your membership, please sign into the site, go to 'My Account' and click on 'Cancel my membership'. Alternatively, you can email us at customercare@muddymatches.co.uk or ring 01933 311500 quoting your Member ID and full name and we will do it for you.

To help us improve our service, we would be grateful if you would include the reason for your cancellation...oh, and we love success stories, so if you're cancelling because you've found a muddy match please tell us!

If you decide to cancel your membership, your profile will be removed from our website and you will no longer receive any emails from us. However, we are obliged to keep your personal information on our records for a period of five years to enable us to respond to any queries or complaints you might have. After five years, we will delete all of your personal information from our records, apart from any information - such as your billing information - that we are legally required to keep.

As a Free Member, you will automatically be invited to subscribe if you try to send or open a message. However, you can also become a Subscriber by going to ‘My Account', and clicking on ‘Upgrade my account' where you will be given instructions on how to pay by card, cheque, postal order or bankers draft. Alternatively, you can ring the Muddy Matches office on +44(0)1933 311500 and we can take payment over the phone.

We recommend that you do not subscribe until your profile has been approved as you will not be able to use your subscription (i.e. send and recieve messages) until you have a published profile on the site.

Our prices are:

• 1 month: £18
• 3 months: £36 (equivalent to £12 per month)
• 6 months: £54 (equivalent to £9 per month)
• 12 months: £72 (equivalent to £6 per month)

Prices quoted are charged as one single payment.

*Please note that these prices include VAT so there are no hidden surprises and, more importantly, we will NOT automatically rebill you at the end of your chosen membership period - that's just rude!

If you pay by card or phone, your account will be upgraded immediately. If you pay by cheque, bankers draft or postal order, you will have to wait until we have received the payment and it has cleared at our bank before we can upgrade you.

Yes - your payment details are taken through a secure server. We don't authorise your payment details, this is done via a secure connection by way of SagePay to Barclays Bank using the latest encryption technology available. We do not hold or store your card information and the only data our admin team have access to relating to your payment is what type of user you are and the date you subscribed.

No - we think that's very cheeky and hate it when people do it to us! However, we will send you an email to remind you that your subscription is about to expire.

When your subscription is about to expire we will send you an email to invite you to resubscribe but please be assured that, unlike many websites, we will NOT automatically rebill you at the end of your subscription.

Should you choose not to resubscribe immediately, you will simply revert back to being a 'Free Member' which means that your account is still active and your profile is live on the site but you will not be able to send and receive messages until you resubscribe.

If at the end of your subscription you no longer wish your profile to be on the website, you have two options:

• Remain a Free Member but 'hide' your profile. Hiding your profile means that your account is still active but your profile will not come up in searches and you cannot be contacted by other members. With this option you can still attend our events and, should you wish to use the website in the future, all you have to do is sign in and make your profile 'visible' again.
• Cancel your membership entirely. This means all your details are removed from the site and we can no longer contact you. Please bear in mind, if you cancel your membership we cannot reinstate it at a later date; if you want to use the site again or attend one of our events, you will have to re-register and write a new profile.

We don't authorise your payment details; this is done via a secure connection by way of SagePay to Barclays Bank. If your card is refused, it is quite possible that you have entered the card details incorrectly. Try again checking your details are correct, and if you are still declined we would advise you to contact your card issuer.

You can also pay by cheque, postal order, or bankers draft. Alternatively you can ring the Muddy Matches office on +44(0)1933 311500 and we will take payment over the phone.

Please send your subscription payment to Subscriptions, Muddy Matches Ltd, Paddock View, Grange Farm, Farndish, Wellingborough, Northants, NN29 7HJ.

If you sign in and go to ‘My Account', it will tell you your ‘membership type'.

You are able to try the site for free before deciding to subscribe. We cannot, therefore, offer refunds on part-used subscriptions.

When filling out your profile, you are required to write something 'About You and What You're Looking For' in the 'Your Introduction' section. This is a great opportunity for you to tell our other Members a bit about yourself and the kind of person/people you would like to meet but, for those that find they get writer's block, help is at hand if you click on the 'Get a little inspiration' link.

You are also given a chance to write something about your interests, dislikes, education, employment and appearance. These boxes are optional but we highly recommend that you do say something as it is the perfect opportunity to give our other members a real insight into what you are like.

We will try to approve any new profiles (or amendments) within 24 hours. This might take slightly longer over weekends and bank holidays but will always be within 72 hours. Anything that has been approved by us will immediately go live on the site.

If you follow our guidelines when filling out your profile, it should be approved without a problem. However, if your profile is rejected, we will send you an email explaining why and you will need to sign in again, edit what you have written and resubmit it for approval.

You can edit your profile at any time by signing in and clicking on the 'My Profile' page. All edited profiles must be vetted by a member of the Muddy Matches team, so remember to click on the 'Send for Approval' button if you are happy with the changes you have made.

Hiding your profile means you will not appear in other members' searches and they will not be able to contact you. IMPORTANT: please bear in mind that this also applies to members with whom you have already been chatting, so remember that if you send someone a message and then hide your profile they will not be able to reply.

You can ‘hide' your profile or make it ‘visible' again by going to ‘My Account' and clicking on ‘Change my profile visibility settings'.

Everyone hates having their photo taken but we guarantee you will get a lot more attention and potentially meet many more people if you do decide to post a picture.

If you are interested in dating, please bear in mind that a lot of people won't even consider a profile that doesn't have one. However, we also think it's really important to add one even if you're just interested in friendship. A fun photo can tell other members a lot about your personality and will automatically make you seem much more approachable.

You can add one Main Photo and eight Additional Photos. Your Additional Photos will not be displayed in your profile until we have approved a Main Photo for you.

Your Main Photo is the larger photo that will be instantly seen in your profile and should ideally be a head-and-shoulders shot of just you. A smaller, or 'thumbnail', version will also show up when other members carry out a search.

Once your Main Photo has been approved and we already have an idea of what you look like, you may add up to eight more Additional Photos. These can be of anything you want (within reason) and allow you to have more fun and express yourself.

The following Dos and Don'ts will help you choose your Main Photo:

Do:

• Make sure it is just you in the photo
• Make sure it looks like you
• Use a good head and shoulders shot
• Use a recent photo (all 1980s haircuts will be treated with suspicion!)
• Smile!

Don't:

• Let your face be covered by anything (a hat, sunglasses, a huge mop of hair...)
• Use a dark or blurry photo
• Make scary red-eyes at us - either edit them out or choose another pic
• Don't let the background steal all the attention
• Show too much skin or make lewd gestures - if it's too rude it won't get posted!

Here are a couple of ideas to help you choose your Additional Photos:

• Have more fun and express yourself
• Show your different sides (evening you as opposed to outdoors you, perhaps?)
• Include other people in your shots (better get their permission first!)
• Post a full body shot (nothing rude, thanks)
• Show us your dress sense
• Show us your pets, favourite things and places etc.

But remember not to send dark or blurry photos, show too much skin or make lewd gestures. If it's too rude, it won't get posted! We also recommend that you only submit pictures of your children if there is an adult in the picture as well.

Easy! Sign in and go to the "My Photos" page and you are given three options: uploading it via the site, emailing it to us or posting it to us.

First, make sure that you have saved your photo in JPEG format and then check that it is the right size. We ask that the JPEG file does not exceed 8MB and that the image size is at least 320px wide and 480px high. If you have your photos on your computer, you will probably have the software installed to edit/resize them.

If you are still having problems, you can email the photo to us by attaching your chosen photo, telling us your first name, last name, Member ID number and date of birth, and sending it to photos@muddymatches.co.uk.

We try to approve your photo within 24 hours. This might take slightly longer over weekends and bank holidays but will always be within 72 hours. If you have emailed your photo to us, or have sent it by post, this may take up to a week. Any photos that have been approved by us will immediately go live on the site.

If you follow the relevant guidelines for adding your photos, they should be approved without a problem. However, if a photo is rejected, we will send you an email explaining why.

No photo will be posted on the website without first being approved by a member of the Muddy Matches team. There are clear guidelines explaining what kind of Main and Additional photos are acceptable and if, for any reason, we cannot approve the photo(s) you have submitted, we will send you an email explaining why.

Anyone can carry out a ‘Basic Search' using the blue box on right-hand side of the homepage. However, you are only allowed to see a limited number of pages of search results before being asked to sign in or register.

Once you have registered and are signed into the site, you can still do a Basic Search, but you will also be able to carry out a more detailed 'Advanced Search' by clicking on the ‘Search' tab at the top of the page. This allows you to search according to additional criteria such as how ‘muddy' a person is, whether they have children or not, what their relationship status is etc.

Basic Search results are ordered according to the date that members last logged into the site but with all profiles with a Main Photo coming first, followed by all profiles without a Main Photo. This is known as the 'original order'.

For Advanced Search users, the original order is selected by default but you can also search by 'most recently online', 'newest members' and 'most recently updated profile' - for these additional options the results are ordered as described, regardless of whether the profile has a Main Photo or not.

If you find you are regularly searching according to the same criteria, you may save that search and label it what you wish. When you return to the ‘Search' page, you can click on any of your saved searches and it will automatically bring up the results of your saved search criteria.

'Active within' refers to the last time a user signed in to the website. This is then published on their profile within the following brackets:

- Active within 1 day
- Active within 3 days
- Active within 1 week
- Active within 2 weeks
- Active within 3 weeks
- Active over 3 weeks ago*

*This is put on any profile where the user has signed in between 3 weeks and 3 months ago. After 3 months of inactivity the profile will be automatically hidden from searches until the user signs back in again.

The postcode search is available to all our UK members and is based on the distance between the postcode you entered in your profile and the postcodes of our other members. This will enable you to search within a certain mileage radius of where you live but please bear in mind that this is an approximate calculation only. You can also be assured that your actual postcode will be kept private at all times and will never be revealed to other members.

All UK addresses have a postcode and, if you are not sure what yours is, you can check it at www.royalmail.com.

Members from the Republic of Ireland will not have postcodes and will therefore have to search by county/country instead.

Simple - just go to ‘My Profile', edit the details in the ‘General Information' section and send your updated profile for approval.

You must be a paying Subscriber to send and receive messages so you must first upgrade your account on the ‘My Account' page.

You can tell whether your message has been opened by looking in your ‘Sent Messages' folder and checking the column labelled ‘Opened?'.

By default, you will also automatically receive an email telling you when someone has opened a message you have sent. If you no longer want to receive these alerts, you can stop them by going to ‘My Account' and then ‘Change my email settings'.

All messages will be sent via the site, giving only your first name, age, county and nearest town.

Your messages will be kept indefinitely (20 per page) and it is up to you to delete the messages that you no longer want.

Unfortunately, once you have deleted a message there is no way that you can then retrieve it. We do allow you to keep your messages indefinitely, so there is no need to delete a message unless you are absolutely sure that you will not want to read it again.

In order to protect our website and your computer from viruses we do not allow attachments to be sent through our messaging system.

If, for any reason, you no longer wish to receive messages from another member you can ‘block' them by clicking on ‘Block sender' in a message they have sent you or clicking on ‘Block this person' at the bottom of their profile.

When you block a person, you will no longer appear in each other's searches or be able to send messages to each other. If you were previously in each others' 'profile visits' pages or ‘favourites' lists, you/they will be removed. The person you have blocked will only be notified if they try to send you another message. Should you wish to ‘unblock' a member, you can do this by going to ‘My Account' and then ‘Manage user blocking'.

This is a great way of letting people know that you might be interested in talking to them or, if you are a bit pressed for time, to keep track of the people who you might want to send a message in the future. Their profile will then appear in the ‘People I Like' section of your ‘My Favourites' folder.

Yes - they will receive an email saying that you have added them to your Favourites (provided their email settings are set to receive this type of alert) and your profile will appear in the ‘People Who Like Me' section of their ‘My Favourites' folder.

If you wish to remove someone from your Favourites, locate their profile in the ‘People I Like' or the ‘People Who Like Me' section of your ‘My Favourites' folder and click on ‘Remove from favourites'.

If you add someone to your Favourites and subsequently ‘block' them, their profile will be removed from the ‘People I Like' section of your ‘My Favourites' folder. Members will also disappear if they have chosen to cancel their membership.

You can add another member to your ignore list by clicking on ‘Ignore profile' on their profile page.

If you choose to ignore another member's profile, this means that it will not come up in your future searches. This is designed to save you from looking at a profile that you already know you are not interested in.

Your profile will still come up in the ignored member's searches and they will still be able to contact you. If you do not wish this to happen, it would be better to use the ‘block' function.

No. If you add another member to your ignore list, they will not know and this will not stop your profile coming up in their searches.

Your profile will still come up in the ignored member's searches and they will still be able to contact you. If you do not wish this to happen, it would be better to use the ‘block' function.

Should you wish to remove a member from your ignore list, you can do this by going to ‘My Account' and then clicking on ‘Manage my ignore list'.

You can ‘block' another member by clicking on ‘Block sender' in a message they have sent you or clicking on ‘Block this person' at the bottom of their profile.

You can choose to ‘block' a member if you no longer wish to receive messages from them.

When you block a person, you will no longer appear in each other's searches or be able to send messages to each other. If you were previously in each others' 'profile visits' pages or ‘favourites' lists, you/they will be removed.

If you decide to block someone because you are unhappy with some of their message content, please remember to let us know by using the ‘Report a Concern' facility on all messages and profiles.

The other person will only be notified that you have chosen to block them if they try to send you another message.

Should you wish to remove a member from your ‘block' list, you can do this by going to ‘My Account' and then ‘Manage user blocking'.

The Profile Visits page is a record of who has ever or who has most recently viewed your profile, not how many times they have looked. The last person to look will be at the top of the page and, if they have looked before, they will be removed from further down the list. In other words, you will only appear once in someone's list.

Go to the Muddy Matches homepage, click on 'forgotten details?' at the bottom of the Sign-In box and follow the instructions.

The login details can only be sent to your registered email address. Check that you have entered the right address and that our email has not been recognised as junk mail by your email provider.

Check that your Member ID number and password have been typed in correctly (try cutting and pasting them from your Registration Confirmation email to make doubly sure) and, if you have ever changed your password, make sure that you are not accidentally using the old one. Remember, an extra space is recognised as a character.

It is important that you sign out when you have finished using MuddyMatches.co.uk in order to securely lock your account and prevent unauthorised use by others. To protect your privacy, you will be automatically signed out when you close your browser.

Go to the Muddy Matches homepage, click on 'forgotten details?' at the bottom of the Sign-In box and follow the instructions.

Check that your password has been typed in correctly (try cutting and pasting it from your Registration Confirmation email to make doubly sure) and, if you have ever changed your password, make sure that you are not accidentally using the old one. Remember, an extra space is recognised as a character.

Sign in, go to 'My Account' and click on 'Update my personal details'. Change your password in both boxes and then click on the 'Save Changes' button.

To change your email address, please:

• Sign in to the website, go to 'My Account' and click on 'Update my personal details'.
• Enter your new email address in both boxes and then click on the 'Save Changes' button.
• Check the email account of your new email address and look for a message from Muddy Matches asking you to verify the new address.
• Click on the link in that email to complete the change of your email address.
  

The most likely reason that you have not received our emails is that they are accidentally being treated as spam by your email provider. To make sure that our emails are not filtered into your ‘junk' or ‘bulk' folder, please add Muddy Matches to your list of trusted senders by following these instructions:

Hotmail - Access your Safe List by clicking on ‘Options' in the right-hand corner, then ‘Junk E-Mail Protection' and then ‘Safe List'. Add the domain name muddymatches.co.uk in the box provided.

AOL - Add the domain name muddymatches.co.uk to your address book.

Yahoo! Mail - Look for any of our messages in your ‘bulk' folder, open the message and click on the ‘this is not spam' link next to the ‘From' field.

Other Providers - Try adding the domain name muddymatches.co.uk to your address book or contact list. If this option is not available, try moving the message to your Inbox or forwarding the message to yourself.

If subsequent messages continue to be filtered, contact your e-mail provider's technical support and explain the problem.

You will receive these messages by default but can easily stop them by signing in, going to ‘My Account' and clicking on ‘Change my email settings'.

Cookies are small files that are sent from our web server to your computer and are used to keep track of things such as your chosen set up of the website, your login or registration identification, you login time and any of your preferences as a user. Your browser saves the cookie information, and sends it back to our web server whenever your browser returns to our website. Browsers may be configured to alert you when a cookie is being sent, so you can choose to refuse or accept cookies. In order to be able to use Muddy Matches correctly, you must accept our cookies as well as making sure that you have not set your computer to refuse all cookies.

Please be assured that no personal information is contained in any cookies Muddy Matches use and that your computer is not in any viral danger when accepting cookies from our site.

To enable cookies, please follow the instructions below for the browser version you are using.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9

• Click on the gear-wheel icon at the top right of the browser window.
• Click "Internet Options".
• Click "Internet Options".
• Set the slider to ""Medium" and click OK to close the window.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and 8

• Click the "Tools" button, and then click "Internet Options".
• Click the "Privacy" tab
• Under "Settings", move the slider to the top to block all cookies or to the bottom to allow all cookies, and then click "OK"

Firefox (PC)

• Go to the "Tools" menu
• Select "Options"
• Click the "Privacy" tab.
• Check "Accept cookies from sites" and "Accept third-party cookies".
• Set "Keep until:" to "they expire".
• Click "OK" to save your changes.

Firefox (Mac)

• On the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select Preferences
• Select the Privacy panel.
• Set Firefox will: to Use custom settings for history.
• Check the box corresponding to "Accept cookies from sites"
• Click "OK" to save changes

Safari (Mac)

• Choose "Preferences" from Safari menu
• Select "Privacy" icon
• From the "block cookies" options select "From third parties and advertisers".
• Close the preferences window

iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch

• Open the "Settings" app
• Select "Safari"
• Scroll to the bottom and choose "Accept Cookies"
• From the options make sure that "From visited" is selected.

Android (version 2+)

• Open the "Internet" app
• Press the menu button on your phone
• Choose "More" then "Settings"
• Scroll to the bottom and make sure that the "Accept Cookies" option is selected.

Blackberry

• Open the browser on your BlackBerry.
• Select the 'Options' menu from the browser.
• Select 'Cache Operations' and then choose the 'Cookie Cache' option. If a number is displayed, the cookies are already enabled on your phone. If a number is not displayed, select the 'Enable' option to enable the cookies on your BlackBerry Curve's browser.

In case of a cookie error we may ask you to clear out your browser cookies. To do this please follow the instructions below for the browser version you are using.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9

• Click the "Tools" button
• Point to "Safety"
• Click "Delete browsing history"
• Select the "Cookies" check box, and then click "Delete"

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8

• Click the "Tools" button
• Click "Internet" Options
• Choose the "General" tab
• Click "Delete" under Browsing History in the Internet Properties dialog box
• In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, click to clear all of the check boxes except for the Cookies check box, and then click "Delete"

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7

• Click the "Tools" button
• Click "Internet" Options
• Choose the "General" tab
• Click "Delete" under Browsing History in the Internet Properties dialog box
• In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, click "Delete Cookies"
• In the Delete Cookies dialog box, click "Yes"

Google Chrome (PC)

• Click on the "Tools" menu and select "Options"
• Click the "Under the Bonnet" tab, locate the "Privacy" section and click the "Clear browsing data" button.
• Select "Delete cookies and other site data" to delete all cookies from the list
• Click on the "Close" button.

Firefox (PC)

• Click on "Tools", then "Options"
• Select "Privacy"
• In the Cookies panel, click on "Show Cookies"
• Click on the "Remove All Cookies" button

Firefox (Mac)

• On the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select "Preferences".
• Select the "Clear your recent history" link
• In the dialog, check the "Cookies" checkbox and confirm by clicking "Clear Now"

Safari (Mac)

• Choose "Preferences" from Safari menu
• Select "Privacy" icon
• Click on "Remove all website data" and confirm by clicking "Remove Now"

iPhone / IPad / iPod Touch

• Open the "Settings" app
• Select "Safari"
• Scroll to the bottom, select "Clear Cookies" and confirm

Android (version 2+)

• Open the "Internet" app.
• Press the "menu" button on your phone.
• Choose "More" then "Settings".
• Scroll to the bottom, choose "Clear cookie data" and confirm by clicking "OK" in the dialog box.

Blackberry

• On the BlackBerry device Home screen, click Browser.
• Display the menu and select Options.
• Click Cache Operations.
• Click Clear History.
• Click Clear under the headings Content Cache, Pushed Content, and Cookie Cache.

Your personal details are stored on our secure database and will remain confidential. Unlike many other sites, we will Not pass on your email address to anyone else.

For further details, please see our Privacy Policy.

Absolutely not! We hate spam too, so you will only ever hear from us.

For further details about your privacy, please see our Privacy Policy.

If you think that someone might have got hold of your Member ID number and password, we strongly suggest that you change your password immediately by signing in, going to "My Account" and clicking on "Update my personal details". You should then change your password in both boxes and click on the "Save Changes" button.