I smell a rat regarding Ovivo and MSE mentioning it

getmore4less

Herongull wrote: »

I always thought that sniffing out fresh new deals was what Martin excelled at?

Been a personal money spinner on the coat tales of various forum contributions for a long time.

There is some research by the "team" on the regular stuff to keep it up to date but much new stuff is forum driven

Those that pay also seem to get higher profiles.

I suspect OVIVO was not mentioned until OVIVO coughed up cash.

Like or dislike ML has done a great job of making money promoting the money saving ethos.

SimonD316

I'm not an Ovivo customer so can possibly look at this more objectively than some...

The fact MSE haven't mentioned Ovivo previously could be due to them not wanting to promote such a young company, incase they disappeared over night?

Once Martin mentioned them on Daybreak and promoted them in the newsletters there is bound to have been a spike in signups. I seem to recall other big companies have had issues when Martin has recommended them on TV so it's safe to assume something similar has happened again here. Could the recommendation have pushed Ovivo's subscriber numbers to a level that was quickly unsustainable?

pelirocco

pdoherty76 wrote: »

You seem confused, pal.


I am not claiming to have been disadvantaged myself by this in any way.


I bought my sim 8 months ago and have more than got my money's worth.


I simply posted my opinion on an internet forum, which is what I thought this forum is for.


Do you not find it a trifle odd that Mr Lewis ignored this incredible value mobile deal for a full 2 years and then suddenly told everyone about it just before it went under?

Or maybe , after it was brought to everyones attention on here they had too many people buying these sims , and the profit margin just wasnt in the job anymore ......if there was any in the first place

samizdat

I find it very unlikely that Martin would have promoted Ovivo if he had any idea it would be going bust within a week or two.

It wouldn't have been in his interest, because there will obviously be some ill feeling about the company's demise, and he will attract criticism for not checking out the viability of the business.

However, MSE has never claimed that it allocates sufficient resources to investigate the sustainability or suitability of long-term deals, and it is very much a case of caveat emptor.

To name a few examples:
Icesave
Crown Currency Exchange
Insurers mentioned based on price, not claims experience
Phone and broadband companies, again the focus being on price, not value

The fact is the forums are a great resource, and there are usually many people miles ahead of the MSE team in addressing these questions of value, risk warnings and so on. This is where much of the value of MSE resides, but obviously people have to do a bit of research, if you can call it that - really, they just need to search the forums, and if they cannot find answers, start a new thread.

Ovivo is just, I'm sure, a case of bad timing for Martin. Inevitably, as his site is commercial, he may well have had a deal with Ovivo which somewhat determined when they were finally given a plug, but there isn't any great secret or mystery about this, other than the obvious fact that he doesn't just publish the details of all his commercial dealings. These details have commercial value, and he cannot sensibly publish them.

Nodding_Donkey

SimonD316 wrote: »

The fact MSE haven't mentioned Ovivo previously could be due to them not wanting to promote such a young company, incase they disappeared over night?

My irony-o-meter just exploded

canterswest

samizdat wrote: »

I find it very unlikely that Martin would have promoted Ovivo if he had any idea it would be going bust within a week or two.

It wouldn't have been in his interest, because there will obviously be some ill feeling about the company's demise, and he will attract criticism for not checking out the viability of the business.

However, MSE has never claimed that it allocates sufficient resources to investigate the sustainability or suitability of long-term deals, and it is very much a case of caveat emptor.

To name a few examples:
Icesave
Crown Currency Exchange
Insurers mentioned based on price, not claims experience
Phone and broadband companies, again the focus being on price, not value

The fact is the forums are a great resource, and there are usually many people miles ahead of the MSE team in addressing these questions of value, risk warnings and so on. This is where much of the value of MSE resides, but obviously people have to do a bit of research, if you can call it that - really, they just need to search the forums, and if they cannot find answers, start a new thread.

Ovivo is just, I'm sure, a case of bad timing for Martin. Inevitably, as his site is commercial, he may well have had a deal with Ovivo which somewhat determined when they were finally given a plug, but there isn't any great secret or mystery about this, other than the obvious fact that he doesn't just publish the details of all his commercial dealings. These details have commercial value, and he cannot sensibly publish them.

Agreed even more so if as an affiliate MSE is paid for completed actions, if so it will not see its money either.


However, I disagree with you on caveat emptor. There needs to be better regulation before a deal like this is broadcast on Daybreak with its unsuspecting and large audience. The particular way it was described should not have been allowed to be broadcast. Some of the responsibility for that rests with MSE and the fact it is not held to account financially for losses on deals it recommends needs to change. It's in everyone's interest, including MSEs.

samizdat

canterswest wrote: »

Agreed even more so if as an affiliate MSE is paid for completed actions, if so it will not see its money either.


However, I disagree with you on caveat emptor. There needs to be better regulation before a deal like this is broadcast on Daybreak with its unsuspecting and large audience. The particular way it was described should not have been allowed to be broadcast. Some of the responsibility for that rests with MSE and the fact it is not held to account financially for losses on deals it recommends needs to change. It's in everyone's interest, including MSEs.

I didn't see and do not know the content of the broadcast, but what I will say is that broadcasters certainly have a responsibility to be measured in the way they promote products and services.

As for regulation, I don't agree that the website should be regulated or MSE held responsible for financial losses on recommended deals. This would make it impossible for the website to operate, given the size of the potential liabilities.

I find the website, and especially the forums, a very valuable resource. It would be a great shame to regulate it out of existence.

In the nature of things, it just isn't viable to expect a small organisation such as MSE to investigate companies thoroughly, and for legal reasons it would be very difficult for them to share any negative findings publicly.

The forums are a venue where quite a number of sensible and dedicated people do provide a certain amount of perspective and balance on the risks and rewards of various deals, and I just cannot see how one could reasonably expect more.

People do need to accept some personal responsibility for their purchasing decisions. The internet has greatly increased the availability of good information for consumers - please don't say you want to stifle that with expensive regulation.

SimonD316

canterswest wrote: »

Some of the responsibility for that rests with MSE and the fact it is not held to account financially for losses on deals it recommends needs to change. It's in everyone's interest, including MSEs.

I'm not sure anything can rest with MSE. Every page of the website clearly states...

MSE_Website_Footer_-_Important!_How_this_site_works wrote:

• This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service.
• We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned (how likely they are to go bust), but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the section 75 guide for protection tips).

The_Jakal

Fact: Ovivo only started offering money for referrals in the last few months...

Take from that what you will.

Earthworm

The amount of Ovivo topics clogging up the MSE forum at the minute. They should be merged into one.