★ PEOPLES ★ PC AMSTRAD ★ AMSTRAD IS SET TO SUE AGAIN ★ |
| Amstrad is Set to Sue Again (New Computer Express) |
US company blamed for down fall of the ill-fated PC2000 In what looks more and more like a concerted bid by troubled Amstrad to claw back cash from its faulty PC2000 range, it is embroiled in yet another multi-million pound legal battle. The new £80 million wrangle is with US company Western Digital, and comes just weeks after an £87 million suit was filed against US hard drive makers Seagate. The latest case centres on Amstrad's contention that Western Digital had supplied it with WD384R hard disks which were not properly specified and caused Amstrad massive financial losses when it had to recall its PC2286 computers. Western maintains that, because the drives were shipped in 1988 and Amstrad did not hie any claim until 18 months after this, it will contest the suit. The American company says it could counter-sue Amstrad for costs incurred trying to help Alan Sugar's company out of its problems.
DISK QUALITY Added irony comes from the fact that Amstrad claimed that Western's drives were not as good as those supplied by Tandon for the ill-fated PC2000. The disk drinves that Western, This case comes shortly after Amstrad set its sights on hard drive maker. Seagate (see Express 151) in a calm against £87 million worth of faulty STR277R hard drives which were fitted to Amstrad PC2336s. Amstrad's only comment on the matter came in the form of two terse press releases both of which finished with: 'Amstrad has been advised by its attorneys not to make any further public comment about this litigation until it is successfully concluded' PC2000 BITES BACK Amstrad is known to have large numbers of PC2000S littering its warehouses. These two claims on its US suppliers will go some way to recouping some of the lost capital invested in these machines. But more importantly for the company, winning the cases will raise its image in the public eye. At the moment Amstrad is keeping a low profile. The obvious reason underlying this is that if it loses one or both cases, the perception will be that it was responsible for the poor quality of the machines. However, if it is victorious, then the blame will be shifted across the Atlantic. Although the money will be more than useful to the company which has just suffered a 54 per cent slump in profits from nearly £50 million to £20 million, it appears to be concentrating on its reputation. Having still not made a sjgnficant impact on the highly lucrative US market, these cases could prove highly significant for Amstrad in terms of public image. New Computer Express (10-1991)
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