Ovivo shuts down

[Agent]

http://www.ovivomobile.com/

Dear OVIVO Customers,

We are very sad to announce that for reasons beyond our control, OVIVO Mobile is closing down on the evening of Wednesday 19th March 2014.

We'd like to thank each and every one of you for your support and friendship over the last two years.

To keep your OVIVO number, just fill out this form, and we’ll send you your PAC code.
PAC code request form

To request a PAC code please complete the form below. There is no need to request a PAC code if you do not wish to keep your number. We will arrange for your PAC code to arrive as quickly as possible but there is a high demand for this service.

We warned you

[OilSheikh]

All of a sudden
without any warnings

Ovivo mobile has suddenly closed down this evening!

Ovivo were well known for their Free package which gave 100Min, 100 txts and 100MB data for a one time lifetime top-up of £20, which you could use if you went over your monthly mins.!

Were you am Ovivo customer ? How do you feel about this ?

[Agent]

http://forums.hexus.net/smartphones-...huts-down.html



But yeah....saw this coming a mile away.

[peterb]

Threads merged - Agent wins as he posted first, but I'll leave it in GD where OilSheik started his!

[Rob_B]

They were still selling sims and porting in numbers up until the last second, oh dear :/

Was always to good to be true.

[SUMMONER]

Most likely the promised investment fell through and Vodafone didn't see the point of having OVIVO waste any more of its money.

My OVIVO SIM still works for receiving calls at present, but I don't seem to be able to receive SMS any more.

[Spud1]

This reminds me so much of the initial free internet companies from the late 90s/early 2000s (before modem access generally become free)..too good to be true from the off, but would work with a limited customer base following the rules.

Then they get popular, grow to big too quickly, realise that advertising doesn't pay that well when people don't click on and purchase through the adverts, run out of money and go bump upsetting thousands.

It's a shame as I would have liked to see the business model work - but sadly it's failed I suspect the few remaining free MVNOs out there will go under soon enough as well, especially if OVIVO users jump ship to overload them too!

[scaryjim]

... I suspect the few remaining free MVNOs out there will go under soon enough as well ...

EDIT: nvm, misread error Are there any other free MVNOs? I thought ovivo's business model was unique....

[Spud1]

EDIT: nvm, misread error Are there any other free MVNOs? I thought ovivo's business model was unique....

BLYK and Samba are the two I know of in the UK - although it looks like BLYK closed down their UK operations a few years go. Samba is still about though.

http://www.sambamobile.com/Home/Samba

There are many more worldwide though.

[stilkun]

what... I purchased a sim card from them in mid-february this year for £18... luckily I didn't transfer my number across yet...

Great... how am I gonna get my money back.

[peterb]

what... I purchased a sim card from them in mid-february this year for £18... luckily I didn't transfer my number across yet...

Great... how am I gonna get my money back.

You register as an unsecured creditor - along with thousands of others in the same position, and if you are lucky, you may get back a few pence after the secured creditors have been paid - or you write it down to experience and move on.

There is some depressing reading here http://companycheck.co.uk/company/07...ompany-summary bearing in mind that this data is up to 2 years old although you can get more up--to-date information for a fee.

If you paid by credit card, depending on how long ago, you might be able to get something back that way, although the basic credit card guarantee under section 75 of the consumer credit act (1974) only applies to purchases over £100.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/sho...your-purchases

Usual disclaimer - I am not a lawyer or offering this comment in any professional legal capacity

[Agent]

If you use your CC a fair bit though, they're normally pretty good. I've had amounts as low as £15 given back to me by my CC company with little hassle.

[stilkun]

You register as an unsecured creditor - along with thousands of others in the same position, and if you are lucky, you may get back a few pence after the secured creditors have been paid - or you write it down to experience and move on.

There is some depressing reading here http://companycheck.co.uk/company/07...ompany-summary bearing in mind that this data is up to 2 years old although you can get more up--to-date information for a fee.

If you paid by credit card, depending on how long ago, you might be able to get something back that way, although the basic credit card guarantee under section 75 of the consumer credit act (1974) only applies to purchases over £100.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/sho...your-purchases

Usual disclaimer - I am not a lawyer or offering this comment in any professional legal capacity

Thanks Peterb and agent.

Unfortunately I used my visa debit card to purchased it, don't have cc. I have looked up if there is something similar for debit card and this is what I have found, the chargeback scheme:
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-righ...use-chargeback

[cheesemp]

I'm not too bothered by the loss of credit. I got a £10 amazon voucher last month and I've had two months usage from them. Still waiting on a PAC code however... Loss of my 10 year old number would annoy me...

[hardflipman]

I think it's a disgrace that they were still operating like nothing was happening yesterday. They accepted my number porting request yesterday and today it looks like it's gone through but I obviously can't use it now! Grrrr

[OilSheikh]

The guy running Ovivo, Dariush Zand, was a 1 man band , who registered the address of Ovivo mobile to some residential hostel accomodation and I bet he ran Ovivo from his bedroom!
He also has an extensive history of opening mobile companies and closing them within 2 years. This time, looks like he finally came up with a brilliant plan to attract a lot of people and then ran off with everyone's money