PC Company makes a vow

By CHRIS BARTON and RICHARD WOOD

The managing director of The PC Company, which shut its doors on September 8, says all machines in for repair will be returned and deposits on new machines will be refunded.

"All I want to do is make sure I do right by everyone," said Colin Brown.

But he said the process would take time.

The backlog had almost been cleared from his Hamilton showroom, but the Dunedin, Nelson and Christchurch showrooms were yet to be cleared.

He was also working through reconciling refunds for goods not received.

Customers still have the problem of where to go to get their machines repaired, but the Computer Manufacturers Association of New Zealand says it will honour warranty claims.

Chairman Peter Shirley said the association had not been able to take this action until Brown decided to stop trading.

It is a registered association with invested money that will be applied where the original manufacturer is not available to cover a warranty.

Other PC Company creditors, including former employees, will have to wait two to three weeks for details of Brown's scheme of arrangement, being handled by Tompkins Wake Lawyers in Hamilton. Brown said he opted for the scheme of arrangement instead of receivership "to get maximum value for everyone" and to keep receivership costs down.

"We're trying to give everyone a better chance at getting more money out," he said.

Jeff Meltzer of Auckland insolvency firm Meltzer Mason Heath said a scheme of arrangement was normally used as a way of allowing a company to continue trading and often involved paying back debts over time.

It involved a proposal being sent to creditors and voted on, at a meeting or by post. For the proposal to be binding, votes comprising 75 per cent of creditor value and 50 per cent of voting creditor numbers must be received. Creditors who had not been told of the arrangement would not be bound by the proposal.

The Computer Manufacturers Association has set up a toll free number, usable from tomorrow.

Its deal will cover the warranties of PCs sold by the PC Company to the amount of warranty left, with a maximum of two years.

It is for the computer, monitor, keyboard and mouse hardware of a complete PC only, and will not cover software, configuration, or peripherals.

Shirley said computers would have to be taken to an association member, who would arrange for the repairs.

Shirley said customers who had bought extended warranties from The PC Company beyond the two years might be considered unsecured creditors for the difference between that period and the association warranty.

* Contacts: Tompkins Wake Lawyers - (07) 839-4771.

CMANZ - (0800) 426-269.

Email - The PC Company