Very weird thing happened - is FreeUp a combination of FreedomPop and RingPlus?

Okay what happened when I was ordering the FreeUp sim is very weird. While creating the FreeUp account, I entered my email address and the system told me that that email was already in use. So I entered another email address, and the system told me the same thing - that it too was already in use.

Now both those emails have never been used on FreeUp. But I had used one of them on RingPlus, and I am using the other one with FreedomPop.

So... is FreeUp a combination of FreedomPop and RingPlus?!!!?!!

(I finally signed up using a third old hotmail address that hasn't been used on FP or RingPlus. Very weird though!)

Nope

Strange, indeed.
I have 2 accounts 'registered' with FreeUp, but only have one SIM on the way. The other 'registered' email was either to investigate, or an enrollment that I started once without ordering a SIM.
Both emails are currently used for Freedompop accounts. One of those emails was a RingPlus account. So I don't see the same issue that you saw.
Maybe you, like me, registered with FreeUP to see more about how it worked?

My understanding is they have nothing to do with Freedompop. Sounds like a system glitch on their end.

No, never registered with FreeUp. It must have been a system glitch, like Frasier said.

On the other hand - conspiracy theorist hat is on now - maybe all the free plan providers use a common backend company that maintains one huge database with info on all of us frugal types, LOL.