Topic: Time staff sent home as work dries up

[Clive]

Colin Barker
ZDNet UK
July 25, 2005, 17:10 BST
 
Staff at Time Computers were sent home on Monday morning because of a lack of work, according to union sources.

This is the second week running that some Time staff have been asked to go home. Last Friday, allegations of problems at Time were described as "malicious" by Time?s HR director, Richard Harris. But a union source said on Monday that production staff at the company had been asked to stay at home for a second successive week, while staff in the dispatch and customer service departments were also asked to go home.

Staff were told this would last until Thursday, and that they would continue to be paid ? but it is understood that some staff in the customer service centre refused to leave.

According to sources at the company, staff within customer services are angry that most of their work has been outsourced to India. On Friday, Harris said this claim would be news "to the 145 people here", but others at the company claim there are "less than 10 PC tech support staff left".

It is also understood that Time staff have suffered from delayed payments for two months running. The delays have been short but some are worried about payment this month.

The company has become a hotbed of rumour. "I work at Time, and we have been told nothing officially," one employee told ZDNet UK. "The place is full of rumours and everyone is worried about getting paid late next week".

It was difficult to substantiate or refute the rumours on Monday as Harris failed to return calls seeking comment.

Time has been struggling in recent months but has been a major company in the UK IT market for years. In September 2002 it described itself as "the largest computer operation in Europe" after the launch of 150 new retail stores called The Computer World, which it said would double Time's customer base to almost two million, with turnover rising to £300m.

 
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39210601,00.htm

[chorleydave]

There is uncertainty over the future of the UK's largest computer manufacturer, Granville Technology Group.

The Lancashire-based firm behind the Tiny and Time brands has confirmed to the BBC that all of its 78 retail stores have been closed.

All directors except the non-executive chairman have resigned and the firm has begun laying off staff, it said.

Granville chairman Bill Davies said "it could well be the case" that the company is close to collapse.

Based in Simonstone, near Burnley, the firm has about 1,500 employees.

There are over two million Tiny and Time computers in schools and homes around the UK, and the PCs are widely available for sale in stores such as Tesco, Asda and Woolworths.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4719833.stm

I can't say I'm surprised at this news.  Prices of PCs have fallen so dramatically that there can't possibly be much profit to be made from manufacturing them, certainly nowhere near enough profit to support a company of that size.  Let's face it, these 4Ghz processor, umpteen GB RAM PCs that are selling for under five hundred quid in places like Tesco aren't even needed by the home user.  It's now cheaper to nip down to the local independent town centre retailer and buy a full 1.8 Ghz 512MB RAM system (which is more than adequate to run practically anything anyone might want to do at home) than it is to put petrol in the car to travel out to an out of town factory outlet and pick one up direct from the manufacturer.  Decent full systems are practically being given away.

Dell will be next.

[sam]

1.8 Ghz 512MB RAM system (which is more than adequate to run practically anything anyone might want to do at home)

well not if you playing games   (well I guess it does most games and depends on what you see as adequate)

[Dogsbody]

It was on Radio 5 Live this morning that the administrators are in the offices so it looks like bye bye unless someone wants to take 'em on, but I can't see that happening.

I bought a couple of laptops for home the other week and although I looked at thier site decided to go elsewhere. Good decision or just lucky.  

DB

[Simon]

LATEST:- All 78 Time and Tiny stores have closed, and the Directors have all resigned.

[sam]

if admins are in...might be able to get some cheap discount stock?

[Simon]

It won't do us any favours - half our tech posts were from people trying to fix the bloody things!  

[Clive]

I've had a number of Time computers and I have to say that all of them are still working today.  One is keeping a gaggle of nuns very happy (not sure if gaggle is the correct term for more than one nun), one is abused daily by a family of kids - no not the nuns!!  Another is beng used in local politics and the 4th one by a friend.  All were far better than the disastrous machine I bought from a local computer store and is now gathering dust in a cupboard since I cannot pass it on to anybody.  The big difficulty with Time is that they were unhelpful if you had a problem with their machines.  I feel sorry for anyone who has recently ordered one, paid for it and will now probably receive nothing in return.

[chorleydave]

Latest from the BBC:

About 1,500 jobs will go after the UK's largest computer maker, which produces Tiny and Time PCs, went into administration and closed its 80 shops.

Lancashire-based Granville Technology Group has been making monthly losses of up to £2m since the start of the year.

All directors of the company except the non-executive chairman left ahead of Wednesday's announcement.

Many customers are believed to have paid for goods in recent days but have yet to receive them.

A helpline has been set up to provide information to customers and creditors: 0870 381 7097.

Severe difficulties

About two million Tiny and Time PCs are used in homes and schools around the UK.

Granville's financial situation worsened in recent days, leading to the closure of all its Computer Shop stores across the UK on Tuesday.

   
"These redundancies were inevitable." - Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton said the scale of the company's losses meant that it could not continue trading.

"The group has fallen victim to the continued price deflation in the personal computer market," said the administrators joint administrators, Andrew Hosking, Martin Ellis and Les Ross of Grant Thornton.

"These redundancies were therefore inevitable."

Granville employs about 1,600 staff, the majority of whom work at its headquarters in Simonstone, near Burnley. Only about 100 of them will keep their jobs for the time being.

Staff were told of the severity of company's financial problems at a meeting on Wednesday morning.

Before the meeting started, police were called to the company's headquarters after they received a report that security staff were not allowing staff to leave the premises.

Police said they were called to "prevent a breach of the peace or any disorder".

They left soon afterwards when it became clear that staff were free to leave. No disturbances were reported.

Mounting losses

Unions said they had sought urgent talks with the firm in the past few days as speculation about its financial problems mounted.

   
"The GMB has been aware of the problem for the past 10 days because our members have been asked to take holidays or not get paid," said GMB official Graham Coxon.

"Our main concern is to ensure that people get paid this week."

Late accounts

Mr Coxon said he wanted the Department of Trade and Industry to investigate the company's collapse and the role played by its directors, most of whom are reported to have left the company in recent weeks.

The company's profitability has been affected by falling PC prices and intense competition from global manufacturers.

According to Grant Thornton, the company has not filed any accounts since June 2003 when it recorded a £2.5m profit and sales of £207m.

However, it said the company had been making monthly losses of between £1m and £2m since this January.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4719833.stm

[Sandra]

Looks my cheap supplier at Emit will be closing too then as that was their factory returns outlet situated in their main compound.
My last 3 pcs were initially Time ones, much modified though as they were bought as barebone ones so I had to add my own ram and hard drives and any additional pci cards.
The first one is still working fine and is being used by a friend and the other two I am using now, one of which is left on 24/7 and runs as a an ftp server.
I was tempted to buy a 17 inch TFT monitor when I was there a couple of weeks back for £89 as I would like to replace the heavy and bulky CRT monitor I use when I am testing peoples faulty pcs and building new ones up in my kitchen, for space and weight saving.
Looks like I will have to wait a bit longer to do that or maybe the receivers will be slashing the prices of those even more  :shock:

[Clive]

Time crisis: Will customers get their goods?
Colin Barker
ZDNet UK
July 27, 2005, 15:35 BST
 
The seriousness of the situation at Granville Technology ? which owns Time Computers, Tiny and The Computer Shop retail chain ?became clearer on Wednesday when the administrators were called in.

The estimated thousands of consumers who have paid for systems and are now waiting for delivery are growing increasingly worried.

One customer asked: "My son's laptop has just gone in for repair. Am I ever likely to see it again?" Those who have purchased maintenance agreements with Granville are concerned too.

While Granville remains in business, consumers can have some recompense with the company. This situation changes if the company goes out of business.

Those who have paid for goods by credit card have the most protection. "Any claim that could have been brought against Time or Tiny can be brought against the credit provider under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974," said Joanne Barker, senior lawyer at Which? Legal Service.

Under the Sale of Goods Act, if the provider is unwilling or unable to deliver the goods ? which could be the case with Granvile Technology ? then the consumer can buy a similar product elsewhere and then look to the credit card company for the difference. This is also true for those who have made a part payment. As Barker explains, "if they had paid £500 deposit on a computer costing £3,000 which is not delivered, but have to buy a similar model at £3,500, they can look to the credit card company for the extra they have had to pay".

Those who have paid in cash are in a much more difficult position. If the company has gone into liquidation then a claim has to be made against the liquidators but, as unsecured creditors they will be the last to be paid and may not get paid anything.

Time and Tiny had a range of "cash back" schemes where, as an incentive to buy more equipment, consumers would be offered cash back for purchasing the whole lot. These schemes are very popular in the IT business and especially in the US. Should Granville cease trading, the question of whether or not the consumer can get the cash back will, according to Barker, "depend on whether the cash-back scheme was underwritten by an insurance company, in which case it should not be affected". If the scheme was run by Granville it is unlikely that they will be paid.

There is also bad news for those who had paid for long-term maintenance with Time/Tiny, if Granville collapses for good. "If they paid in cash then their claim will fail," said Barker. However, "if the purchase was made, even in part, on credit card or with a finance agreement then the customer can claim from the credit provider," said Barker. "If any computers were purchased on hire purchase agreements then the claim is against the hire purchase company as they own the computer."

 
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39210832,00.htm

[Lona]

Time was crap as a company and so was Tiny after Time took over.

I reported one of their managers at my local store and he got fired as a result.

I also say anybody who gets on my wrong side pays the ultimate price.  :wink:

[Clive]

  Love it Lona!

[chorleydave]

I heard on the local news that anyone who had ordered a computer were unlikely to ever see it.  The only hope for them is if they have paid by credit card and they are able to claim from the credit card company.

[Simon]

I heard on the local news that anyone who had ordered a computer were unlikely to ever see it.

So, it's not all bad news then!  :bad: