Have OVIVO gone bust?

londonTiger

Should have taken lessons from previous ad supported services. During g early 2000 there were ad windows that used to display native ads above the start bar. There were about 15 companies and they all went away.

I believe there was an ad supported isp that couldn't make it work either.

I think all these cheap/free services eventually get swamped by people who never want to spend any money, like students, cheapskates etc and end up shutting down the revenue stream

jennytablina

http://t.co/BrHXuCYf6v

Found this post over on GiffGaff via Twitter (which is lifted from a HDUK chat thread seemingly) - apparently the CEO had a history of running mobile related companies for a few years, winding them up about 2 years later, then making hay with the details taken from customers by selling it on. Ovivo denied it at the time, but the timing is very suspect.

Considering Ovivo ran for 2 years, and is winding up with a very suspect vanishing trick to boot (they really couldn't even spare tonight to sort out some of the shutdown and provide a bit of customer care?), basically anyone who shared their details with Ovivo, will now have their data shared with the highest bidder. That's likely why they wanted your main phone number so bad, so they can send companies your way when you move to another provider.

I'm happy with Three, but my mother (an ardent moneysaver) was quite interested in this, I did say to her last weekend that I couldn't see this provider lasting long. But I certainly didn't expect them to go bust just a few days later! Glad we didn't buy in, but feel for anyone who did, as you may find yourself having to deal with some pesky advertising as well as having your line cut.

Moral of the story: if it looks too good to be true, it likely is, so proceed with caution.

londonTiger wrote: »

Should have taken lessons from previous ad supported services. During g early 2000 there were ad windows that used to display native ads above the start bar. There were about 15 companies and they all went away.

I believe there was an ad supported isp that couldn't make it work either.

I think all these cheap/free services eventually get swamped by people who never want to spend any money, like students, cheapskates etc and end up shutting down the revenue stream

Your first paragraph kind of contradicts itself, by saying they should of taken a leaf out of those that came before, then saying all of them folded anyway.

Also your thinking of "Freeserve" which did get revenue from ads, but this was also supplemented in that they also got a cut of your telephone line monthly fee (Which likely supplied them a more stable income than the advertising revenue did). They also had the benefit of being bankrolled by Dixions at the time (and were sold off 2 years later, when I think the old ads and phoneline arrangment was phased out)

It's also not the customers fault for seeing a free lunch and making hay while the sun shined. If you offer "free" as an option, most people will take the free option and never bother with the paid, unless there are actual inventives on the paid band that people want. Ovivo planned out their paid offerings poorly. That said, considering the CEO's history, I almost wonder if it was deliberately run into the ground.

londonTiger

niftyone wrote: »

Only recently they were seeking £3,000,000 to expand

http://www.ciol.com/ciol/news/209297/ovivo-mobile-network-seeks-gbp3-mn-funding

Press releases always put a spin on things that way, £3M to expand sounds more invest able than £3M to keep the lights on.

Surprised they decided to push everybody off the network before asking people to pay £2.50 a month for the freedom plan.

whitelabel

Had my dads running no probs last 9 months so hes had his money worth, esp as he doesn't use data !

Tinman

Got my moneys worth,cost me £5 over 2 years.

grumbler

reddwarf82 wrote: »

i noticed when i tried to activate the sim card i just received.
There is any way to recover the £20? The support email address doesn't work any more. I didn't activate it, i am still in the cooling off period and i paid with credit card (but section 75 is for +£100).
I guess the answer is no. But i would really like to know how to get the money back, they obviously knew when i applied 4 days ago... If the company doesn't exist any more, who should you take to court?

Chargeback

Glevum_Owl

Got 6 months out of Ovivo so can't complain.

The alternative for us is a couple of Tesco SIM only deals. 12 month contract £7.50 = 250 minutes, 5,000 texts, 500MB data plus 'Family Perks' if you have more than two or more monthly paid phones on the same customer account. Plus Clubcard points. :-)

h4zel

I am really sad they have gone... We were on their network for coming up to a year and I've spent about £30 in that time, £17 of which was still in my account so I don't feel ripped off but I do feel sad at the way they have handled their customers today. Otherwise their Customer Service has always been excellent for me

tonygch96

Well did not even get off the ground in my case. Yes as they all say "So it was to good to be true" Paid via PayPal so trying to get my money back, but not holding my breath.

I'm sure Martin will look into this or should it be "Watchdog"?

cheekyherb

pinuk wrote: »

I ordered 2 sims last night. Am I unlucky or what?

if you purchased via paypal claim it back! I've just put in a claim as I never recieved my sim and despite several chasing emails they never got back to me so were obviously in trouble for a a while!