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Clem Chambers...how does he get away with it? (AFN)     

maestro - 24 Nov 2006 17:02

fsa investigation?
ADVFN PLC
24 November 2006

ADVFN PLC (the 'Company')

Exercise of Options

The Company announces that options to subscribe for 150,002 ordinary shares of
one pence each in the Company have been exercised at a price of 1.25p per share.
These shares have been allotted and application for the shares to be admitted to
trading on AIM has been made to the London Stock Exchange. Admission of and
dealings in these shares are expected to commence on 1 December 2006.

maestro - 27 Nov 2006 09:38 - 2 of 168

looks like Clem has given the broker boys the nod...

Kayak - 30 Nov 2006 08:35 - 3 of 168


Are you joining the action group maestro?




rogersg - 29 Nov'06 - 23:47 - 20815 of 20817


All,

advfn-shareholders-action@hotmail.co.uk

Well, what can I say !

Firstly, apologies I have not been able to respond to all emails - just too many - so sorry but massive thanks. I am stunned. I know we shouldn't be as what we are doing is standing up for ourselves against a couple of guys that seem to want to just spend our money and not converse with us when we have issues. That's a problem to me and I guess to many, many others.

I have "cut and paste" a response to emails that I will try to get to all tonight so you know that it is me you are emailing and your email got here.

Second, so many of you when emailing are saying the likes of "I only have 150,000 shares", Great !!, because you know what, when I tally them up we are into the tens of millions, and on our way to hundreds of millions. That is why we are an action group because together we have a voice.

Thirdly, nothing from Clem !! (funny that) - he has my GMail ID - But hey... not a dickybird. I hear he's not a happy bunny though. A few people have emailed to say they have spoken to him and it seems however strong their protests were - it was on deaf ears. They, like me, are just wanting to know where they are spending the money - not too difficult a question. However, the more silence brings the obvious question as to why? - are they hiding something?

Lastly, for tonight, on a positive note. Although millions more were sold out today - not surprising, we must look at this logically. The SP, is where it is now, for a few reasons. They have built up a solid user base and a brand. The mistakes they have made (launching in countries they cannot support and do not understand - I don't include the JV models in this), can be closed. They have sites that are not core and divert resourses - they can be sold. They (and this is the big one) seem to be spending money (on what themselves?) like J-Lo, when we are a smallish internet site that should be run as such.

I would end this now (honestly). If they came out with a statement to shareholders, along the lines of "We spent 5M last year on X,Y and Z but this year tight financial controls are in place to attempt to keep costs to within X

That would do it for me.

The SP would probably rocket as with the turnover what it is, this (internet "fixed costs") business could be realising 2M - 3M in profit.

Thanks once again (massive thanks - it feels great to know you are not on your own)

PS - Mr. O'Reilly, sir you have my email address and I will of course, completely and utterly respect your privacy.

advfn-shareholders-action@hotmail.co.uk

Rog



rogersg - 29 Nov'06 - 23:53 - 20816 of 20817


Oh by the way - silly of me I forgot.

If Clem does not make any response by the weekend, the first of the action groups direct action will commence next week.

Easy really. The national press. Apparently they will love this story after Coffee Republic revolt on here.

The next one .... the site itself.

I am told by those in the industry that the business sections will be beside themselves to cover this.

Night night



rogersg - 30 Nov'06 - 08:19 - 20817 of 20817


advfn-shareholders-action@hotmail.co.uk

Good morning

Well more emails overnight. Some specific points answered

I will never use anyone's information here, including usernames

I have no intention of selling my shares (see point 4 above, this could be the time to pick up more if we change the way this company spends our money).

Of course the institutions will be approached, that I see a phase two of this, although some contact has been made already.

To one emailer from distant shores. Re : PS - He already has made contact with me and yes I now know the holding they have.

Yes she will be the first of the meetings with the national press should that proceed. She is now of a higher profile and I do realise the relationship.

No contact whatsoever from the company

I cannot keep this post at the top as I am earning a living. When we start a new thread - we all can do that.

Rog

advfn-shareholders-action@hotmail.co.uk

Haystack - 30 Nov 2006 09:57 - 4 of 168

LOL

ADVFN action group. The press more likely will laugh at the action group. People with too much time on their hands and delusions. maestro is at the head of the queue.

Kayak - 30 Nov 2006 14:10 - 5 of 168

Good thing I copied the posts here, since they have been removed from ADVFN. Can't imagine why!

Kayak - 30 Nov 2006 17:02 - 6 of 168

LOL. Rogersg has apparently been banned and the AFN thread (20,000+ posts) 'cursed' so that it gradually sinks to the bottom.

How to upset your shareholders, lesson 36.... A defining moment in the history of AFN.

maestro - 30 Nov 2006 21:07 - 7 of 168

its disgusting that they have banned a loyal shareholder like Roger...i'm afraid i sold out after last results,if i ever get back on that site then i'll totally wreck the message board..Clem will pay for his fascist attitude

Kayak - 30 Nov 2006 21:14 - 8 of 168

Why do you say "if i ever get back on that site", have they found a way to stop you reregistering?

maestro - 30 Nov 2006 21:19 - 9 of 168

i can use the monitor and other services but can't get on the message board...been like that for about 4 months

Kayak - 30 Nov 2006 21:31 - 10 of 168

Well it's either your cookies, or your IP address, or the Java downloads...

chocolat - 30 Nov 2006 23:26 - 11 of 168

Is Clem a Zionist then?

maestro - 30 Nov 2006 23:55 - 12 of 168

kayak..probably IP address..how do you change it?
choc...probably

Kayak - 01 Dec 2006 00:04 - 13 of 168

If you have ADSL it can be of the type that uses a fixed IP address or a dynamic one (changes every time). Check with your ISP. If it is fixed then you would need to get the ISP to change it. A simple test is to use a dial-up connection (should use a different IP address) and see whether you are still blocked.

Big Al - 01 Dec 2006 00:25 - 14 of 168

How do you stop posters on ADFVN competitor BBs from posting? ;-))))))))))))

rally - 01 Dec 2006 18:27 - 15 of 168

Shame your all missing so much fun. All the justers look like their going to jail !

PS Merry Xmas Kayak

R

Kayak - 01 Dec 2006 18:53 - 16 of 168

Long time no see, rally, Merry Xmas to you too. Really? Must look up the thread.

maestro - 01 Dec 2006 23:45 - 17 of 168

i notice Chambers can't be bothered to break down the revenue figures for each of the sites...time he gave investors a proper set of results instead of a set of creative bull-shit

Martini - 02 Dec 2006 19:22 - 18 of 168

meastro
What's been going on have I missed something?

Martini - 02 Dec 2006 19:25 - 19 of 168

O yes and hi there rally - are they indeed.

Andy - 03 Dec 2006 10:11 - 20 of 168

meastro,

Go to programs,
then accessories,
Click on the "command prompt" icon
when the black screen appears, type "IPCONFIG" and note the IP address shown.

After disconnecting from the internet, and reconnecting, repeat the process and see if the IP address is the same.

If it is, you have a fixed IP, if it's different, it's a floating IP.

maestro - 03 Dec 2006 19:26 - 21 of 168

andy..cheers but bugger advfn

Reckon i've sussed what Chambers has been up to...he's wasted investors money on opening sites in other countries which have no chance,a pokersite that is a complete waste of money...all in order to drain funds and get shareprice down abit like qxl did with their crap sites...then out of the blue they'll try a management buy out just like qxl...my advice is buy some now or if it falls lower and vote no to any takeover attempt

Big Al - 03 Dec 2006 20:27 - 22 of 168

So ....

... do we buy now or wait for it to go lower? I really need to know, maestro. ;-)))

Andy - 03 Dec 2006 20:34 - 23 of 168

maestro,

An interesting theory....

maestro - 03 Dec 2006 20:38 - 24 of 168

Big AL...thought you'd know that with all your city contacts ;-)

Exotoxin - 09 Dec 2006 10:45 - 25 of 168

Nice work Clem!

"The Sun" City Page 9th December 2006



Critic is a has-bean

A WEB chatroom that triggered the downfall of a COFFEE REPUBLIC boss has banned an investor who criticised the sites management.

ADVFN, a site popular among private investors, took action after boss Clem Chambers was slammed by shareholder Glenn Rogers who said he was setting up an action group.

Coffee Republic investors launched a similar campaign to oust former chief Bobby Hashemi.

Mr Chambers said: If you go into a pub and have a go at the publican you get thrown out.

aldwickk - 09 Dec 2006 13:16 - 26 of 168

Maestro,

Are you Glenn Rogers ?

maestro - 09 Dec 2006 15:47 - 27 of 168

no but i'm all behind Glenn...Chambers needs teaching a lesson and things are being planned behind the scenes....advfn could be history soon

Haystack - 09 Dec 2006 18:23 - 28 of 168

LOL

Dil - 10 Dec 2006 00:31 - 29 of 168

Oi maestro I often got "suspended" from ADVFN in the past but never failed to get back in on the fbb.

Sign up as Mystro and you still keep your identity but do as Kayak says first.

I remember once a few years back two guys signing up as Bu11share , Limsfie1d Chartist , C1em and a few others after being "suspended" by ADVFN , caused havoc for an hour or so but was hilarious ... their names escape me :-)

Dil - 10 Dec 2006 00:36 - 30 of 168

Good to see this board distinguishes between l's and 1's Bullie :-)

Optimist - 10 Dec 2006 00:48 - 31 of 168

Dil

I think hes run out of those combinations.

maestro - 12 Dec 2006 17:07 - 32 of 168

according to advfn i'm a rascist for exposing zionism....and my ban is permanent...typical christmas spirit from Chamber of bull-shit

Dil - 12 Dec 2006 18:47 - 33 of 168

If you use aol or btinternet its difficult to trace your isp address apparently.

DougalDog - 13 Dec 2006 00:43 - 34 of 168

I can confirm that maestro is not Glenn Rogers.

DougalDog - 13 Dec 2006 01:00 - 35 of 168

Also ... Big Al

This may be actually a good time to buy.

With the impressive turnover increase and the fact that "fees" going out of this company may just about to be dramatically reduced (AGM 10th Jan 07), this could be a great buy opportunity. Lets see what the SP does this week?

New management (???) could see it rocket ?? Could do no worse than under Clem.

Kayak - 13 Dec 2006 01:05 - 36 of 168

Why are "fees" about to be dramatically reduced please?

DougalDog - 13 Dec 2006 01:21 - 37 of 168

Because the actions of the action group ??

advfn-shareholders-action@hotmail.co.uk

I believe, will possibly, by the 10th Jan 07, have made them.

The action was started because the "Admin Expenses" of the company, have risen from 816k to 5.2M in three years (in an internet company with fairly fixed costs). With no explanation.

Watch this space.

maestro - 13 Dec 2006 16:45 - 38 of 168

bloody hell.. 5.2m!!!...thats why we never get a breakdown of subscribers and what cupid bay is making...bunch of thieves imho..if this management can't make money in a friggin bull market they should pack their bags and replace them with chimps who could do a far better job

Kayak - 13 Dec 2006 17:06 - 39 of 168

That is very unlikely DougalDog. Clem and Co. know it is their company rather than yours.

maestro - 13 Dec 2006 21:02 - 40 of 168

i notice Chambers never buys shares in advfn with his own money or come to that other directors...tight or what?

Exotoxin - 13 Dec 2006 21:35 - 41 of 168

At some point they will have to stop diluting their own equity share to avoid losing their majority stake.

goldfinger - 13 Dec 2006 23:42 - 42 of 168

Maestro, the real way to catch him, is buy complaining to your local Trading Standards office and the FSA.

Im pretty sure there sites practice of banning users and then offering them an upgrade at a higher price and then allowing them to post again is unethical.

Not only that but the use of individual posters having the right to ban and monitor posts (delete them) on the threads they have created is banning FREE SPEECH, go to your local Trading Standards Office, they will take it up.

Good luck.

Kayak - 14 Dec 2006 00:28 - 43 of 168

Not sure that the Trading, or even Traiding, Standards Office will be the slightest bit interested in "unethical behaviour" of the type you highlight, nor in complaints against the right to free speech, which by the way is not a right at all, particularly on a privately owned medium!

To prove that free speech is not a right even in general terms, do any of the following:

- stand in your town centre and launch into a tirade against any race or religion of your choice
- go up to a policeman and call him a string of rude names
- do the same to your wife or significant other :-)

DougalDog - 14 Dec 2006 00:31 - 44 of 168

They are not majority shareholders in that they own more than 50%. Far far from it.

Hodges and Chambers have been, over the last two years quietly flogging off AFN stock through ONL.

75% of AFN stock is now in private/institutional hands.

Ho hum - Let's see what shareholders really think of their spending (and on what - we still don't know - they won't tell us)

DougalDog - 14 Dec 2006 00:33 - 45 of 168

AGM is 10th Jan in Farringdon (think it may actually be moved as they need more room).

Watch this space

DougalDog - 14 Dec 2006 00:41 - 46 of 168

There is a view that the shareholders action is now talking to a major Irish shareholder and with two institutions could actually remove Clem on the 10th??

You have to wonder what Clem is so worried about??? He has doctored his own website and banned shareholders - one wonders ...... why?

P45 anyone

Kayak - 14 Dec 2006 00:50 - 47 of 168

Hi Glenn :-)

goldfinger - 14 Dec 2006 00:57 - 48 of 168

Kayak, sorry but thats where you are wrong on the Trading Standards, office.

They do have a new policy/mandate to get stuck in and help online trading/customers/traders.

Please check it out at your nearest office, its big business for them now.

Sorry about the spelling.

DougalDog - 14 Dec 2006 01:04 - 49 of 168

The FSA have already been approached by shareholders.

I am told the majority of the AGM is given over to the FD to go through "the figures".

Hope Clem has kept those cab receipts. He may need them.

5M .... "Admin"

maestro - 14 Dec 2006 06:48 - 50 of 168

I SUPPOSE jAPANESE geisha girls don't come cheap...

Apterea - 15 Dec 2006 14:29 - 51 of 168

Clem - Have you lost the plot completely? (CLEM) Add Favourite

Click here for related discussions
Clem Chambers - 15 Dec'06 - 08:39


Clem,

Can you explain to me why the following two (the only two) posts on a thread with in excess of 50000 posts has resulted in the username : Chris Mouseday being banned?

I dread to think what would happen if you were to do the same to each and every one of the 700000 individual users that ADVFN now boasts.

Chris Mouseday - 15 Dec'06 - 08:01 - 51413 of 51419


Morning all.

PWcarnall - 15 Dec'06 - 08:14 - 51414 of 51419


Morning Chris abuse@advfn for your reference if anybody starts trashing this thread.

Chris Mouseday - 15 Dec'06 - 08:17 - 51415 of 51419


Quite right too.

Dear Clem,

Could you please ban the poster "Chris Mouseday" because he wished me a good morning.

Kind regards
A user of a free (public) bb



Clem Chambers - 15 Dec'06 - 08:47 - 1 of 3


Clem?

Any reason why you cant answer this polite request as quickly?

Clem Chambers - 15 Dec'06 - 10:24 - 2 of 3


.

Clem Chambers - 15 Dec'06 - 11:02 - 3 of 3


RNS Number:0573M
ADVFN PLC
15 November 2006

Embargoed for release until 7.30 a.m. Wednesday 15th November 2006




ADVFN PLC

('ADVFN' or 'the Company')

Preliminary Results for the Year Ended 30 June 2006

* ADVFN user numbers up over 30% to over 700,000 (2004: 540,000)






Post an article on this thread:

richardbees - 15 Dec 2006 20:49 - 52 of 168

So Advfn.com have blocked the long established AFN private investors thread on their bulletin board because it's been overly critical of the management....

.....the Greeks had a word for that misuse of power: "Hubris"


goldfinger - 16 Dec 2006 01:03 - 53 of 168

Indeed indeed, Richard.

Chambers seems to have completly lost the plot on advfn.

Dil - 16 Dec 2006 02:26 - 54 of 168

700,000 users my arse .... 600,000 are Maestro and according to Bullie 50,000 are me and Addo leaving about 50,000 aliases to share among the other 12 users :-)

Do they still use the phrase "unique users" or have they now dropped this after previous complaints by moi and others ?

Dil - 16 Dec 2006 02:27 - 55 of 168

Oh and to add some balance ... moneyam only has about six users I think :-)

Andy - 16 Dec 2006 10:32 - 56 of 168

Dil,

using the numbers quoted above, Ashley James and Maestro must share around 500,000 userids then!


aldwickk - 16 Dec 2006 12:50 - 57 of 168

Maestro starts about 8 new threads every week on Moneyam.

maestro - 16 Dec 2006 17:46 - 58 of 168

at least i don't live a double life on advfn under various nicknames...

richardbees - 16 Dec 2006 19:58 - 59 of 168

Surely you're all boasting - I've had to create a new email address to register each of my 76 usernames?

Where did I go wrong?....

maestro - 17 Dec 2006 11:42 - 60 of 168

can someone be kind enough who isn't banned on advfn to post on here the recent comments on the advfn free thread...looks like its quite active this weekend....5th most posted thread on their site

Exotoxin - 17 Dec 2006 13:40 - 61 of 168

They're having a go at predicting the share price in a year's time:

Tradx666 = 7.7p
uknighted = 4.4p
Loverat = 3.5p
JonC = 1.8p
Isis = 4.8p
Paeaff = 3.125p
michaeld = 15p
Analyst = price no longer quoted on the market

Kayak - 17 Dec 2006 14:09 - 62 of 168

Yes Analyst is right. 2007 is crunch year. It will either be taken over or run out of cash.

maestro - 17 Dec 2006 15:22 - 63 of 168

nothing changes there then...same old toss-ers posting..lol!

richardbees - 17 Dec 2006 19:45 - 64 of 168

kayak Those last financials were so iffy re expenditure that it's impossible to tell what's happening with afn. I go along with Patience Wheatcroft and don't trust management one inch.....

bloomers - 20 Dec 2006 11:35 - 65 of 168

Maestro (63)

Most of those 'same old tossers' you so, arrogantly, refer to, are firmly behind the current action being taken and at the present time are in a far better position than you to support that cause. The reason for that is because there minds work in a constructive manner rather than the destructive one you clearly have.

Words mean nothing, the fact you are a non-shareholder means it's none of your business and the type of action you favour only reflects your own twisted take on life in general.

Far from encouraging you to return to ADVFN BB's others should realise that should you manage to do so, any future reasoned and planned action, would no doubt turn into total disaster.

DougalDog - 20 Dec 2006 14:52 - 66 of 168

Bloomers

Indeed ! The action taken has brought publicity to the money spending and had the result of ADVFN changing the way they run their business. The AGM on the 10th Jan should see Mr Chambers telling shareholders they can see a change in the way this company is run. Large shareholders (Institutional and Private) have told Clem that this must be the case. (Believe me .... the Institutional investors have been very, very vocal recently).

As for ADVFN not existing next year, well I think for a company with this many eyeballs that very unlikely.

The fact is they have made some mistakes and are now rectifying that. I think we all make mistakes in life and move on.

If, however, you don't rectify when you make a mistake .... you pay the consequence.

My view on the shareprice ?

With the changes 6p - 8p
Without 6p - 8p (because the shareholders will remove the current management)

bloomers - 20 Dec 2006 15:32 - 67 of 168

DougalDog

I know we are all of different minds as to how things should be done, but at the end of the day we all want the same, and that is a profitable and, more importantly, successful company.

There is no doubt that unless revenue is increased and expenses reduced we will have neither. I don't care how that is achieved as long as it is but unfortunately they are more adept at telling us what won't achieve it than what will. That is what is griping everyone, their stubborn stance and their inability to deliver under the policies they have set.

I am pleased to read about the more major shareholders having been heard but I don't really see a change of heart when 'the man' posts on the other thread.

I never saw you as an optimist, but should your prediction be anywhere near the mark I might just sack 'Mystic Meg'

maestro - 20 Dec 2006 17:45 - 68 of 168

bloomers..tradx,loverat,isis are the usual toss-ers i was referring to..surely you can't dispute that?

richardbees - 20 Dec 2006 22:33 - 69 of 168

Dougal / bloomers

I admire your confidence but exactly how many worthwhile eyeballs do you seriously think advfn. has actually got?

ALP, ONL and AFN = the same bunch of directors are getting their salaries and exes from all three!

bloomers - 21 Dec 2006 00:41 - 70 of 168

Rbees

I'm surprised you are able to read confidence into my post because there isn't any. I was merely responding to a previous poster who just may or may not know more than me. The point I was making was that if DOUGAL's post is accurate you wouldn't know it from the attitude of the 'boss man' on the other thread today. But he could just be fronting it out to save face. Perhaps we will find out at the AGM.

MightyMicro - 21 Dec 2006 01:48 - 71 of 168

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to MoneyAM, where you are free to have this discussion.

bloomers - 21 Dec 2006 09:05 - 72 of 168

RBees

Looking at the expendtiture on AFN for the year I think a lot are wondering if it isn't paying the exs of all three. It certainly shouldn't be.

axdpc - 21 Dec 2006 12:29 - 73 of 168

MM, you stirrer :-))

Just a thought but has anyone look beyond the executives and into the staff of AFN?
The problem, if ANY, could be the "leadership" or those who ("can do, won't do, all pay, no work ...")

MightyMicro - 21 Dec 2006 21:47 - 74 of 168

Stirrer, moi?

maestro - 28 Dec 2006 07:07 - 75 of 168

Chambers should scrap all euro sites..total disaster and concentrate on US and Japan sites...US sites look like they are doing well with loads of advertising plus they give a list of subscribers unlike UK site where he won't disclose the actual numbers...should be made to by shareholders

Andy - 28 Dec 2006 13:50 - 76 of 168

I would be interested to see a list of how many subscribers have visited the site in the last month!

It has seemed quieter for a while now, only a few good threads left.

goldfinger - 29 Dec 2006 02:18 - 77 of 168

Totaly agree Andy.

Looks to me like the UK board is suffering for some reason. Less and less well known names disappearing by the day.

Surely this will have a negative effect on there revenues.

DougalDog - 29 Dec 2006 14:38 - 78 of 168

Maybe slightly grasping at straws here. Facts are facts. They have gone from an average of around 37M pages views daily to a little under 60M recently, in six months.

If they could control the manic spending they may even have a financial success.

http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=advfn.com



goldfinger - 29 Dec 2006 23:27 - 79 of 168

Fair enough DD, but as you know as well as I do how many are being converted to
money subscribing subscribers rather than freebies???????????????.

Andy - 30 Dec 2006 17:41 - 80 of 168

DD,

I must say that page view statistic is impressive, and I have to admit I'm surprised, given the quietness of the boards recently.

Presumably that figure includes the foreign boards that have just come online?

If so it would be interesting to know when each one started up, and the individual monthly figures for the last six months to see where the real gain is being made, ie UK BB , or the new foreign ones.

Sometimes due to internet glitches, I enter via the US BB, and that seems quiet, and sometimes via the German one, and that looks quiet too, so maybe the Italian or Brazilian one is generating all the traffic?

As Goldfinger states, I don't see many new faces on the premium BB, which suggests many are only visiting the free boards.

maestro - 30 Dec 2006 20:28 - 81 of 168

take it from me the european sites are dead...new US sites are doing well,not surprising with the performance of the dow...subscribers should be signing up in their droves this new year...especially if they cut the time out to a few seconds

bloomers - 31 Dec 2006 13:42 - 82 of 168

happy new year all

It is very difficult to gauge just how much more in the way of advertising, subscriptions and reduced spending would cause a break even scenario. Once the latter is achieved it may be easier but then the equation becomes just how much more can the current set up take, or will they have to buy even more space to decorate with advertising. If so then further dilution is a strong possibility and it may well become clear that the current policies will not produce the required revenue. Some of the other add-ons, which were the subject of great hype at their birth, are now struggling to find a mention and so one assumes that their contribution to the pot is limited.

I hope I'm very wrong but I cannot see a profitable way forward other than to charge for membership, to all companies, so that we at least know there is a yearly lump sum which can be relied upon. Everything else 'paid for' after that would be a huge bonus and cash with which to build for the future.

Regards Bloomers

Andy - 02 Jan 2007 08:42 - 83 of 168

bloomers,

Happy New Year!

I agree that it's difficult to see how they will generate sufficient funds with the current business model.

IMO they should reduce the price of level ll to encourage more subscriber based takeup, I'm convinced they would sell a whole lot more if another 10 came off the price.

goldfinger - 02 Jan 2007 10:13 - 84 of 168

Absolutely SPOT ON there Andy.

Youve hit the nail on the head. Whoever out of the top financial sites eg, Money am, advfn, hemscott, Scrazy, ample etc, etc, has the guts to go ahead and bring down level 2 charges to a reasonable monthly charge will win a big market share I believe.

In fact I can see someone doing this, its just a matter of time.

Could turn out to be a little like the lowering of price on broadband.

wayne3456 - 02 Jan 2007 11:45 - 85 of 168

hi i use the afn web site
but on the bottom of the web page
affilation scheme copyright run from 1999to 2007
will they get other remember you need 30 working day by letter
to stop the account
do anyone no the date it runs out?

Kayak - 02 Jan 2007 12:08 - 86 of 168

Wayne, you're all set to get the 2007 award for the most impenetrable post :-)

bloomers - 02 Jan 2007 15:31 - 87 of 168

I'll have a bottle of whatever he's on. Judgeing by the second part of his name his maths are much better.

goldfinger - 02 Jan 2007 15:46 - 88 of 168

So will I.

I thought it was myself after yesterdays festivities, glad you 2 guys have comforted me.

maestro - 02 Jan 2007 16:45 - 89 of 168

looks like AFN is going bust...Chambers looking for another gravy train

bloomers - 02 Jan 2007 21:42 - 90 of 168

Maestro

Do these one liners of yours come to you in any particular form or is it totally down to insider knowledge. Their accuracy is so spellbindingly poor that I often wonder if QXL was just a lucky guess, as opposed to all your unlucky ones. LOL

maestro - 02 Jan 2007 22:31 - 91 of 168

bloomers..why do you think they have moved offices to ONGAR?...hardly the action of a successful company...not exactly a prestigious location is it?

maestro - 03 Jan 2007 11:30 - 92 of 168

dead cat bounce before the lights go out

Andy - 03 Jan 2007 11:59 - 93 of 168

Goldfinger,

I think it's a question of who blinks first!

I totally agree, the site that brings down level ll prices to a lower level will generate a lot more traffic IMO, especially if it was bundled with a premium BB membership package.

I would imagine a price of £20 would seriously increase takeup, and any fall in profits could be offset by imaginative use of the increased numbers and hits.

I invest rather then trade, (in theory at least!) so in practice don't have much requirement for level ll, but would subscribe at a lower price.

I think MAM has missed an opportunity since inception to make itself a more serious competitor to ADVFN, and continues to do so.

Quite why MAM or Sharecrazy don't think outside of the box a bit more is puzzling, and MAM are not even leveraging their relationship with Shares either IMO.

Your broadband analogy is a superb example of increased takeup of a product as the price has fallen.

let's hope somebody is listening!

goldfinger - 03 Jan 2007 12:11 - 94 of 168

Yes fingers crossed andy.

bloomers - 03 Jan 2007 23:45 - 95 of 168

They're all watching each other like hawks frightened to make the first move but each one secretly hoping that the other does.

I am certain that a well thought out package of charges, whereby everyone pays their little bit would be a great success. You can't keep asking shareholders to foot the bill for expansion, whilst 95% of users do so free of charge especially when revenues, at present, are insufficient to break even.

Andy - 04 Jan 2007 00:23 - 96 of 168

bloomers,

Good post, I agree such a package would work IMO.

maestro - 05 Jan 2007 17:54 - 97 of 168

some mug bought 450k...one born every minute

goldfinger - 06 Jan 2007 23:46 - 98 of 168

Was it you?.

maestro - 07 Jan 2007 00:23 - 99 of 168

no i bought at 2.7p ;-)

MightyMicro - 07 Jan 2007 01:36 - 100 of 168

I'm intrigued by some of this discussion over Level II and profit margins. I don't have any special insight into MAM or ADVFN's finances, but what makes you think that they're not trying to be competitive?

The Exchanges regulate the basic price per user of Level II, the feed suppliers charge a fee on top on that, then there is significant capital investment in hardware and software to present the data in a palatable form, there are running costs associated with hosting the servers and monitoring and updating the service.

I think you will find that, without advertising revenue, the service could not be provided at all.

bloomers - 07 Jan 2007 14:20 - 101 of 168

MM

"I think you will find that, without advertising revenue, the service could not be provided at all."

I am not saying that ADVFN is not trying to be competetive and the above sentence from you is totally correct, but there are other ways of funding and generating revenue which, at present, ADVFN fails to acknowledge as a viable proposition.

The main argument in respect of this is to charge everyone who uses it's site a membership fee, and that includes all it's integrated sites, in order that it will have a regular basic income year on year with which to maintain and improve the site. Anything charged beyond that would be a bonus.

At the present time shareholders are bearing the brunt of paying for the huge majority of users who pay nothing, but nevertheless expect the information to be there as and when they want to refer to it.

This has resulted in, and will continue to mean, further share issues and thus dilution of shareprice because current policies are not generating enough revenue from advertising and premium user payments to cover the current expenditure. It is also a dangerous game to have all your eggs in just two baskets especially when, if looked at in line with pure economics, those two baskets are likely to be affected by the same economic slowdowns at the same time.

With an effective revenue stream from membership fees, in which every user pays a little bit, it would be easier to re-structure premium rates in order that they are within a scale that ordinary investors find acceptable.

I'm all for competition, the secret is knowing the strength of the opposition, in relation to the particular product you are offering, and the faith that you have in that product and it's ability to impress the people you are trying to sell it to.

Once you have satisfied yourself on those points there shouldn't be a problem as, IMHO, users will not desert the best site, for a worse one, for the sake of a few quid a year.

So what is wrong with a service which charges a membership fee, charges premium rates for some of it's services and advertises to it's full capacity and finds any other ways of extracting a few quid out of it's USERS as opposed to constantly screwing it's SHAREHOLDERS.

Haystack - 07 Jan 2007 14:57 - 102 of 168

Charging everyone membership would result in the death of the free BB as very few would pay, and with it the bulk page impressions that generate advertising revenue. An exclusively paid-for site would have much reduced revenue from advertising. The balance of free and paid-for BB and services is probably about right on ADVFN and here.

bloomers - 07 Jan 2007 16:32 - 103 of 168

Haystack

We pay for everything else in this world but I would be interested to know if you are a shareholder in ADVFN. If No

Then I would ask if you are a shareholder at all. if yes

Does the company you are invested in provide it's services free of charge.

As for having a much reduced revenue in advertising, what is generated now is not enough and there is no guarentee that it ever will be. So why do they keep repeating the same model, which has yet to show a profit, over and over again.

That is taking unecessary risk especially when they have had the perfect opportunity to try something different on recently opened, but previously untried, locations, namely Brazil, China, Japan.

There are also those among us who do nothing but continually abuse the free BB system so let's not go too overboard on that score. They are the ones who would not pay because half of them couldn't afford all the names they have.

Andy - 07 Jan 2007 17:44 - 104 of 168

MM,

I was at a presentation at the LSE and someone made the statement that providers were charging too much for level ll.

I would love to see what would happen if they reduced the price, and tried the 'pile em high sell em cheap' sales method, rather than price it out of reach of the average investor.

Haystack - 07 Jan 2007 18:55 - 105 of 168

bloomers

Plenty of companies in the computer and internet world provide some of their services for free. It is done for lots of reasons and has been shown to be a good business model. Take Sun for example - Java is free to download and use, Microsoft provide many of their features for free download. Many of us are used to freeware software and shareware.

It is unlikely that there would be enough paying members for ADVFN's premium BB. I started out as an ADVFN Premium BB member in 1999 and never did see any sign of any interest in people paying to be there. I rarely used it as there is almost no activity on it. If ADVFN started to have only paid-for services then the free members would just go elsewhere, such as to iii or here for instance. The economics of these financial web sites is more complicated than just paid-for members. Financial web sites get substantial incomes from providing services and data to third pary corporate clients. That is the area where revenue growth will come from.

goldfinger - 07 Jan 2007 23:18 - 106 of 168

As Andy and I have pointed out before the first one to break rank over level 2 prices will gain a foothold in the market and at the same time I feel will create a price war.

From there onwards the wholesalers will have to reduce prices.

Looks good to me.

Kayak - 07 Jan 2007 23:38 - 107 of 168

If the LSE are going around saying that providers are charging too much for level 2 then that is a little strange. I was under the impression that the main cost for a level 2 provider was actually the licence fee to the LSE.

The document listing the licence fees payable to the LSE is this one, and I should think that the licence fee of 10,000 or 44,000 plus 15 per terminal (simultaneously connected user) would apply.

ADVFN and MoneyAM just purchase licences for the maximum number of users connected at the same time rather than the total number paying for level 2, but bearing in mind that each provider only has a few hundred or thousand paying level 2 users, the fees are still not trivial and of course from the profit margin the whole website and staff have to be paid for.

Haystack has hit it pretty much on the head though. There is little money in selling price information however you work it. There are only a few thousand private investors in the UK who actually require level 2 type information and no one is going to pay a ha'penny for the 99% cr*p that appears on the ADVFN free BB. Make people pay for the BBs or for basic price information and page impressions would literally be decimated, if not more, also decimating advertising revenue.

ADVFN's solution (or perhaps their desperate attempt to make money somehow) is to spread themselves far and wide, certainly at great investment cost, though it is not obvious to me why the services are being provided free of charge overseas. One would assume that in other countries, with different market forces, one could get away with charging for information. In the UK the number of people willing to pay for market information is much, much smaller than most people think.

bloomers - 08 Jan 2007 08:19 - 108 of 168

I have always advocated that any fee charged would be for the maintenance and updating of the site and would include all day streaming in the package. Cut out the choice of whether a member pays or not each and everyone pays something.

Those who leave the site, from what I have seen, would soon return.

Andy - 08 Jan 2007 10:22 - 109 of 168

Kayak,

"If the LSE are going around saying that providers are charging too much for level 2 then that is a little strange.

I was referring to a comment made in a private conversation.


Looking at the licence fees charged by the LSE, surely the private investor licence fee of 10,000 would apply?

Surely there is some deal that can be done that would allow a reduction in charges?

For those of us that invest rather than trade level ll is not a requirement, but for a reduced price I would take it as an add on.


I do agree with yourself and Haystack that a pay for bb would not work, and people would migrate to toher boards, unless of course all boards decided to charge!

Maybe an idea would be to charge those that post, whilst allowing the majority that lurk to continue to lurk for free? That way hits will remain the same, and some semblance of control and order would reign over the BB's?

It is difficult to see how ADVFN are going to survive long term on the current course, the majority of their free bb threads are being trashed by the same small group of people, and the number of quality threads is at an all time low IMO.

Something will have to change, or the current BB model looks to have a finite lifespan, IMO.

goldfinger - 08 Jan 2007 10:37 - 110 of 168

Talking of profitable sites, Sharecrazy seems to be doing well and last time I spoke on the board to the CEO it appears the company is profitable and going from strength to strength.

Similar business platform to money am and advfn but as its own in house broker the 'Sharecrazy Trading platform', provided by Hoodless B and 9 per trade but Hoodless actualy charge 7 so I guess the extra 2 is all profit bar a little admin cost.

I hear Winnies t1ps.co. uk is also doing the same from after xmas so there must be some profit in this area.

Andy - 08 Jan 2007 14:11 - 111 of 168

goldfinger,

Interesting, Sharecrazy and T1ps are thinking out of the box and leveraging their client base in a different way.

Maybe level ii could be offered in a package that included a brokerage deal?

Just a thought.

I am surprised ADVFN have not partnered with a broker, but I guess they run the risk of alienating the other brokers who may choose not to advertise, thus negatively impacting revenue.

bloomers - 08 Jan 2007 15:34 - 112 of 168

Surely any company would prefer to get as much revenue as possible from whatever source and I am sure there are ways of doing that which, as yet, AFN have failed to exploit. There is, or should be, no sentiment in business and you ply your trade accordingly.

For instance if subscriptions/fees and brokers premiums were to realise say 5mil there would still be an awful lot of advertising AS WELL and to say there would be any drastic reduction in user/page hits is as much speculation as any other argument. At some stage in business you have to take a chance or two.

There are many people who have seen the recent turmoil at AFN who have stated that they would willingly pay a small fee rather than see the site close and I can understand that. People tend to make many faceless aquaintances via this media and would miss it if it weren't there. I know I would but I am a premium user on ADVFN,

We all know that the 'unique user numbers' spouted are somewhat farcical and we know why, but the present shareholders will not continue to keep paying for further share issues unless progress is SEEN to be being made. There is no easy fix but I am sure, given some intelligent forward thinking, a monetry system acceptable to users and condusive to the needs of AFN could be implemented.

Failing that how long will we have to wait until the promises of the past 4 years start to kick in. If Ever.

I often get the impression that non-shareholders and shareholders look at this site in different ways because non-shareholders couldn't give a damn what the shareprice is as long as they can tune in each morning.

DougalDog - 08 Jan 2007 17:33 - 113 of 168

One wonders who this large buyer is and whether perhaps they know something of what will be announced at the AGM Wednesday. Cost cutting and profit forecast - we can only dream.

Perhaps the pressure they have been put under may start to bear some fruit?

bloomers - 09 Jan 2007 09:50 - 114 of 168

DD

Everyone seems to think that as from Wednesday everything in the garden will be rosy.

The last set of figures were so late in coming that we have already passed the 6 months stage, so, whatever they have to say at the AGM surely can only start to have an effect as from now, which means that the interims COULD well be no better than the last set of figures.

As for the pressure you refer to, I take it you refer to the action group, I doubt very much if they will ever put their hands up to that, or acknowledge it's significance. It will be more a case of "we realised spending had, for reasons of expansion, begun to creep unacceptably higher and have made certain adjustments in order to try to correct that situation. We are hopeful that these expenses will prove to have been exceptional and we are 'excited' about the prospect of increased revenue in the future."

They won't say from what, where, when or why or just how much their
'excitement' will improve shareholder value.

richardbees - 09 Jan 2007 11:07 - 115 of 168

I've also bought back in as imo those huge exes must have been mainly one-off.

maestro - 09 Jan 2007 13:59 - 116 of 168

should get USA sites update tomoro and figures of subscribers...must have increased by 50% imho overall...lets see if Clem can be honest for once instead of trying to use smoke and mirror tactics to confuse investors...

Kayak - 09 Jan 2007 14:15 - 117 of 168

Subscribers or registered users?

richardbees - 09 Jan 2007 14:21 - 118 of 168

maestro - hard to break the habit of a lifetime ;)

maestro - 09 Jan 2007 14:24 - 119 of 168

he won't give us subscribers...that would be asking too much...personally i'd stick him on a rack until he confessed the actual subscribers... i hate bloody secrets!

maestro - 09 Jan 2007 16:40 - 120 of 168

offer above 3p...amazing!..Clem has got to deliver tomoro or i can see him getting a good rogering

maestro - 09 Jan 2007 21:12 - 121 of 168

what price cupid?

DatingDirect bought by European rival for 27m By Staff
09-01-2007 09:36 AM
Related:
UK-based online dating service Dating Direct is to be sold to Meetic, continental Europe's leading online dating agency, for a deal worth 27.3m.
DatingDirect was formed by Darren Richards and Andrew Pike in 1999, and now has has more than 4.5m members.

Commenting on the deal, Darren Richards, DatingDirect CEO, said: "Our commitment to developing a real opportunity for people to find real relationships has made DatingDirect.com the most popular dating destination in the UK, and now hopefully this will continue into Europe."

Meetic hopes the takeover will allow the company to enter the UK market without the need for an expensive brand building campaign.

Marc Simoncini, founder and chairman of Meetic, said "Thanks to this acquisition we will have conquered in less than five years the leading position on most of the international markets on which we operate."

The group, already present in 14 European countries and China and Brazil, planned to expand further in 2007, he added.

Meetic had sales in 2005 of 43 million euros. It is due to publish final 2006 figures on February 13. DatingDirect had sales in 2006 of 16 million euros, Meetic said.

Kayak - 09 Jan 2007 22:43 - 122 of 168

Cupid had sales of ...?

goldfinger - 09 Jan 2007 23:01 - 123 of 168

Blimey for once maestro you are right.

Whats going on???????????????????????????????

maestro - 09 Jan 2007 23:32 - 124 of 168

kayak...yeah be nice to know by having properly audited accounts

gf...it is the biggest dating site in UK though but having said that cupidbay isn't that far behind in the alexa rankings...if its worth a couple of million its not to be sniffed at

goldfinger - 09 Jan 2007 23:36 - 125 of 168

Is this meeting tomorrow then ?

goldfinger - 09 Jan 2007 23:49 - 126 of 168

Looking at the accounts and I am a past accountant, I can only say the first thing that strikes me is the increase in admin charges, whats going on here?

To be honest I dont have to take it any further at the moment, the increase in admin charges needs investigation.

maestro - 09 Jan 2007 23:58 - 127 of 168

does the admin charges include the purchase of siliconinvestor and investorhub?..if not i think we want some explanaTIONS TOMORO

goldfinger - 10 Jan 2007 00:39 - 128 of 168

Hey??????????????????????????

bloomers - 10 Jan 2007 11:12 - 129 of 168

Maestro

It certainly shouldn't, they raised 3mil sterling in the placement to buy both companies at a price of $3mil dollars. Ther surplus was supposed to be for further development of the sites.

richardbees - 10 Jan 2007 11:35 - 130 of 168

.....can't be arsed to look at that so called balance sheet again but advfn announced it paid 500k cash as part of the 1.5m purchase of 'equity holdings' in February

maestro - 10 Jan 2007 12:22 - 131 of 168

up beat AGM statement...surprised 25% of all subscribers now come from overseas...looks like they have quit spending and are going to ramp up profits at last

goldfinger - 10 Jan 2007 12:45 - 132 of 168

So much for this action group then, what were they waving lettuce leafs.

ADVFN PLC
10 January 2007


ADVFN plc (the 'Company')


Result of AGM


The Company announces that at its Annual General Meeting, held today 10th
January 2007, all resolutions were duly passed. In addition, the Managing
Director of ADVFN, Clem Chambers, made the following statement:

'2006 was a strong year for ADVFN having seen a turnover rise of 35% to the year
end of June. Turnover growth has since continued in the period up to the end of
December.

The acquisition of InvestorsHub.com and Silicon Investor marks an important step
for ADVFN. It significantly expands our traffic and reach and brings with it a
strong platform of growth. The integration of these sites into our business
model has been proceeding well and the early fruits of this process will make a
positive impact in the year to June 2007. The prospects for significant growth
from these sites will be even greater in 2008.

Our overseas sites have been growing well with solid performances in Brazil,
Italy and Japan. This has resulted in non-UK subscriptions accounting for over
25% of ADVFN's total premium user sign ups. This proportion is steadily rising.

Equity Development, acquired at the beginning of 2006, is performing above
expectations and is profitable and cash generative.

CupidBay and Fotothing continue to generate strong traffic, and while non core
represent valuable properties which we believe will in due course provide an
excellent return.

ADVFN has been through a long period of investment in order to build a global
offering and while the company will continue investing, its platform has reached
a level of maturity where sales growth will increasingly improve bottom line
performance.

In the past the ADVFN business has grown alongside the growth of the site, which
has meant sales lagging development. With the growth of localised foreign
language sites and with the large traffic of our US acquisitions, the focus will
be less reliant on further investment thereby delivering a strengthening
financial performance.

With advertising sales levels and subscriber numbers at all time highs the
company is looking forward to strong growth in 2007 and feels confident that it
can continue to deliver this into 2008.'


For further information please contact:

Clem Chambers, CEO, ADVFN plc, 020 7070 0948
Fiona Kindness, Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser), 020 7383 5100
Rory Scott, Mirabaud Securities Limited (Broker), 020 7878 3360

Turnover growth means nothing without profit.

The only positive thing I can see is Equity Development.

Back to the drawing board Clem.



richardbees - 10 Jan 2007 12:50 - 133 of 168

...."the focus will be less reliant on further investment thereby delivering a strengthening financial performance....".....

So he's finally given up on empire building - probably because he knows he can't raise any more equity from another new issue.

goldfinger - 10 Jan 2007 12:51 - 134 of 168

Looking at it again, all words and no figures.

Clem would make a good politician.

goldfinger - 10 Jan 2007 12:53 - 135 of 168

Spot on Richard.

bloomers - 10 Jan 2007 13:10 - 136 of 168

Goldfinger

all words and no figures.

I agree, but that is par for the course with AFN and there is little to be done until further legislation dictates differently. However, the point has been made on numerous occasions that, to supply more information would look better in the eyes of shareholders.

The thing with which I would not agree is your comment about the action group waving lettuce leaves.

I think you may well find that as a result of it's formation and the support it received from major shareholders the line highlighted by RB may have been born.

...."the focus will be less reliant on further investment thereby delivering a strengthening financial performance....".....

I had received correspondence prior to AGM saying just that.

As for the rest of the content, I shall reserve judgement until we get some actual feedback from those who attended.

DougalDog - 10 Jan 2007 14:00 - 137 of 168

Well chaps .... I was there.

Let me just drop my lettuce leaf.

Mistakes have been made - On the reporting of the numbers ..... this will be rectified going forward. Good. Well done Mike and Clem.

The success sites (US, Brazil, Japan and Italy) will really effect the bottom line next year. The crap sites that did not work (France, Germany etc) are costing zilch and will remain (Hhhmm)

The 2.5M rise in "Admin Costs" was all down to 13 additional staff (Double Hhhhmmm)

Can I have a job?

Cupidbay and Fotothing are successful and up for sale (but nobody wants them) and are contributing nothing.

They want to sell AFN ....... to anyone.

Current share price is a joke - agreed.

rogersg - Is a nice chap.

Haystack - 10 Jan 2007 14:34 - 138 of 168

Hmmm!

The 2.5M rise in "Admin Costs" was all down to 13 additional staff?

13 staff at 2.5m!

That's an average of 192,307 each!!!!!

maestro - 10 Jan 2007 14:54 - 139 of 168

do they need a tea boy? i'll settle for 25k

goldfinger - 10 Jan 2007 15:21 - 140 of 168

Haystack, they are all probably working in the Abuse dept LOL.

Bloomers and DD, thanks for putting me right on the lettuce leafs.

maestro - 15 Jan 2007 07:42 - 141 of 168

Independent

Small Talk: Financial group ADVFN forced by one of founders of Langbar International to divulge the identities of a number of subscribers after death threats against him were posted on one of its websites.

goldfinger - 15 Jan 2007 11:27 - 142 of 168

What about the Data Protection Act?????????????????????????????.

Kayak - 15 Jan 2007 11:33 - 143 of 168

It would have been through a court order.

DocProc - 15 Jan 2007 13:27 - 144 of 168

Subscribers always had a hell of a job unsubscribing from ADVFN and lots of them usually ended up using the 'destroy your credit card method'.

Are they still on ADVFN's Debtor's List for their subscriptions?

I have always thought, that on the Balance Sheet of ADVFN, the component part, which includes Debt from subscribers as assets, would be quite a large and exceedingly erroneous figure. Furthermore, it will continue to rise month by month as the error compounds.

eg, Just to get an idea, 1000 subscribers at 10 per month for 5 years = 600,000

richardbees - 15 Jan 2007 14:20 - 145 of 168

Doc, what an excellent point and first time it's been mentioned, either on this or the other bb!

Kayak - 15 Jan 2007 16:08 - 146 of 168

Don't think the auditors would allow too much of that. I think one of the parts of an audit is to satisfy themselves the debtor figure is collectable.

MightyMicro - 15 Jan 2007 16:43 - 147 of 168

Kayak: Absolutely right. Auditors -- even with private companies, let alone public, have to be satisfied that monies due are collectable, particularly if they're getting on a bit (the debts, that is, not the auditors).

DocProc - 15 Jan 2007 16:54 - 148 of 168

Don't lets confuse working Debtor Control Policy with the Debtor's List.

By that, just because they don't bother trying to collect it, well, it doesn't mean to say it is uncollectable.

Perhaps such subscribers as I have mentioned will be only be challenged to pay arrears when they try to log on with their old username and password.

On the Internet, things such as a subscriber's e-mail address change from time to time. Neither can connectability through a home user's ISP be absolutely guaranteed. Just these two things alone, might arguably give ADVFN the benefit of the doubt as to whether a subscriber has actually 'finished' or not.

Anyhow, all that apart.....

Q 1. How is their Debtor's List audited?
Q 2. What are the audit rules, which determine whether a non-paying subscriber is a debtor or not?
Q 3. Have these criteria always been the case? If not, when were they altered? What where they and what are they now?
Q 4. On the last reported Y/E accounts, what was the financial value of the whole ADVFN Debtor's List?

DocProc - 15 Jan 2007 17:17 - 149 of 168

MM

You have a good point there about collectability being important.

As a point of interest and seeing as you are involved somewhat with MoneyAM, could you advise what the latter's policy is perchance?

Such info' might serve as a good and reasonable comaparator.

On the one hand, I'll pass this opinion....FOR

I think the debts are highly collectable, particularly if the subscriber did not use a Recorded Delivery snail mail letter to Unsubscribe. Technically and in law, such a subscriber has not kept to the Terms and Conditions.

Once the debt has risen to, say 250, then surely it has to be worth having a go at collecting it? At least, by using a Debt Collection Agency and on a 'no win - no fee' basis?

Surely at this stage the old subscriber may be considered to have terminated with his or her 'ADVFN Goodwill' and, since this is now not important from ADVFN's viewpoint, the debt should financially be well worth pursuing - and into the Small Claims Court too.

There is no defence that is satisfatory to an ex-subscriber who did not use a recorded delivery letter to unsubscribe.

On the other hand, I'll pass the opinion that these types of debts are uncollectable - AGAINST

The Terms and Conditions concerning subscription cancellation are irrelevant.

If you can't collect them automatically by debit methods from a bank or credit card account then they are actually unenforceable in real life.

The costs of collection or of pursing such debts are too costly and time-consuming when balanced against the likely achievments gained from success.

BUT - what have the following questions got to do with either of the above? :-

What is ADVFN's policy?

Is the value of their Debtor's List sensible or ridiculous?

Haystack - 15 Jan 2007 17:36 - 150 of 168

Well, ADVFN certainly don't havee a very good policy for terminating accounts. There were a series of posts a few years ago from Crocodile. He tried to close his ADVFN account several times. He tried by phone, recorded delivery letter, Email etc. ADVFN just kept collecting his subs from his credit card. He got them to stop in the end, but I can't remember how.

As DocProc says above, members of ADVFN often have to resort to destroying their credit cards or reporting them stolen to get a new credit card number. It seems that there is no easy way to stop a regular payment on a credit card from the credit card end.

maestro - 15 Jan 2007 17:49 - 151 of 168

it took me a few threatening emails before they cancelled mine...prefer this site's monitor but miss advfn's bbs

MightyMicro - 15 Jan 2007 18:20 - 152 of 168

Doc: Sorry, can't comment about MoneyAM's policy on such matters -- because I don't know what it is! My involvement with MAM was/is as a technology provider.

But I have experience with dealing with auditors in another sphere on matters of collectability. If a debt is old (over a year, say) they tend to be sceptical about collectability, even though the debt is left there by common consent of the parties (related companies, for example). They tend to want to provision the debt, so it comes off the P&L for that year. And it may subsequently be collected -- back onto the P&L later, then.

richardbees - 15 Jan 2007 19:40 - 153 of 168

I personally know three cases where Premium subscribers to ADVFN had to cancel their card account because advfn wouldn't cancel the direct debit


Maestro - why can't you get back onto the bb?

When I was banned I had no problems carrying on the battle with new usernames through new email addresses?

Andy - 15 Jan 2007 20:44 - 154 of 168

richardbees,

As I understand it, Clem will allow a person to re-register under a new username as long as they behave themselves.

maestro - 15 Jan 2007 20:45 - 155 of 168

richard..i'll try another email address but i thought it made no difference

richardbees - 15 Jan 2007 21:18 - 156 of 168

Andy: you can email, apologise for any offence and promise never to be naughty again and they'll re-instate your username.

maestro - who are you kidding?

But for anyone else; what works for me is: you have to delete all 'files' and 'cookies' on your PC - then create a new email address which you then use to register a new account / username with advfn.

That will continue to work until you access Outlook Express / or another site from your pc which 'recognises' you, because that will then renew a cookie which is recognised by advfn.... and you get banned again.

Don't know about you, maestro, but I've got more than 50 usernames on free advfn.

goldfinger - 17 Jan 2007 00:14 - 157 of 168

Ive cancelled my Silver account with them by normal post and they have acknowledged the letter by e-mail saying I have so many days before my account is closed.

Ive also recd an e-mail saying they will refund me monies, so I cant really see how they have any defence against that if I were to take them to court.

As for opening a new user name I beleive they can track you down by your ISP number??????????. Any thoughts on this?.

Andy - 17 Jan 2007 08:35 - 158 of 168

GF,

That would depend whether you have a fixed or floating IP aqddress.

Most people have a floating one, so they wouldn't be able to recognise you this way.

To find out, go to a dos command screen, and type IPCONFIG

ake a note of the IP address.

When you next restart the PC and connect to the web, repeat the IPCONFIG routine, and compare the two IP addresses, that will tell you if you have a fixd one or not.

Dil - 17 Jan 2007 08:38 - 159 of 168

It was difficult if you were on AOL and also btinternet now apparently.

Ask Kayak to explain why , I haven't got a bloody clue.

Andy - 17 Jan 2007 08:40 - 160 of 168

Dil,

Good to see you're still around!

Do you mean difficult for ADVFN to recognise you, or difficult to re-register?

goldfinger - 17 Jan 2007 09:31 - 161 of 168

Cheers Andy Ill have a go.

Yup Dil what are you meaning?.

DougalDog - 22 Jan 2007 12:25 - 162 of 168

Chambers has lost it???

He has given out his personal email address on the FBB and said that he is thinking of banning all threads to do with AFN !!!!! Communication on AFN will have to be done by email.

rogersg banned again.

I did not believe they were hiding anything - but these sort of actions do seem weird to say the very least.

richardbees - 22 Jan 2007 13:17 - 163 of 168

....for being 'disrespectful', of all things!

Kayak - 22 Jan 2007 14:40 - 164 of 168

I had a bet on DougalDog appearing here within a few hours :-)

DougalDog - 22 Jan 2007 15:38 - 165 of 168

Kayak - well done ..... cigar in the post

DougalDog - 22 Jan 2007 16:58 - 166 of 168

Rich "Disrespectful" ................ Moi???

Surely not

They are clearly very flustered that I, and a number of others were (politely) asking what expenses the directors/staff spent last year (1.1M by my reckoning). Lop that in with the 535K salaries and bonuses of the five gents on the board and gettin on for 40% of the company entire turnover goes out the window on five gents, more or less (OK so paper clips costs money and are "Admin")

Nice !!

I have been quite open that this is the issue and they have been given ample opportunity to "shoot me down in flames".

They have not

Instead of answering the question - Chambers has a "hissy" and bans shareholders again.

Gotta go - The press on the phone

If this (MoneyAM) website wants to contact me - you have my number

Hi Clem

G

maestro - 22 Jan 2007 17:12 - 167 of 168

Chambers is in with the hoodies by all account...makes frequent visits..spy in the camp

ExecLine - 23 Aug 2014 18:30 - 168 of 168

Just came across this accidentally, whilst I was surfing along on t'Internet, like wot you do:

Chart.aspx?Provider=EODIntra&Code=AFN&Si

Explanation

20 August 2014

ADVFN Plc ("ADVFN" or the "Company")

ADVFN announces the result of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders ("EGM") held today on 20 August 2014. All resolutions contained within the notice of the meeting were duly passed.

Following the result of the EGM, all of the existing issued ordinary shares of £0.01 each in the capital of the Company (the "Existing Ordinary Shares") shall be consolidated ("Share Consolidation") into ordinary shares of £0.25 each in the capital of the Company (the "New Ordinary Shares") on the basis of every 25 Existing Ordinary Shares being consolidated into 1 New Ordinary Share of £0.25.

25,220,210 New Ordinary Shares with a nominal value of £0.25 will be admitted to trading on AIM at 08:00 on 21 August 2014.
Enquiries

Contacts:

Clem Chambers clemc@advfn.com

Salmaan Khawaja / Ed Thomas 0207 383 5100

Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser)

..........................

25m shares at 86.5p each = £21.625m

Hmmm?
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