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Time Computers denies tales of woe

Colin Barker ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 22 Jul 2005 10:55 BST

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An email claiming to detail a multitude of ills at Time Computers was dismissed by a company spokesman on Thursday as "a malicious mix of fact and fiction" and probably the work of a "disgruntled employee".

The message, which was circulated within the company on Wednesday, listed a series of alleged problems at Time Computers, including the allegation that the company had defaulted on a loan from HSBC, resulting in shop and head office staff being paid late two months in a row.

Speaking on behalf of the company, Richard Harris, head of human resources at Granville Technology Group, Time's parent company, admitted there had been some issues with the bank but insisted that employees had been kept informed of the issues at every stage.

He said he had read the email and was working to discover who had sent it around the company.

Harris also admitted that one of the directors of Time, Dr Tariq Mohammad, had left the company. The email claimed that four directors, including Dr Mohammed, had left.

Harris also "formally denied" another rumour that The Computer Shop is going to be bought by a company called Andy Clark and Associates.

Granville Technology trades under four main brands — The Computer Shop, Time Computers, Tiny Computers and Time Education.

Asked about the claim in the email that all of the company’s tech support had been transferred to India, Harris said this was not true and would be news "to the 145 people here". Harris added that after-hours tech support was handled in India, but a call put through to the Time help desk at 1615 BST was taken by an operator in Bangalore.

When asked about speculation that HP, one of Time's major suppliers, is worried about payment and refusing to supply computers, Mr Harris said; "That's not my area, I would not know about that."

Mr Harris reiterated that the email was the work of a malicious employee and that he and others at the group were "working very hard" to deal with the consequences.

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111 comments

  1. Lets face facts. The PC hardware business is very... James Foster
  2. Strange things have been going on in the comp... A Store Manager
  3. Yesterday I emailed Tiny that I intended... Anonymous
  4. All I can say is I'm glad I'm an EX empl... Anonymous
  5. time pcs are worthless junk mine bluescreened from... Doc s
  6. I bought a Time (Platina Range) PC and have h... bluescreen
  7. CAMRA - Campaign for Real Ale is a great... Pedant
  8. Hi does anyone know if the insurance crappy p... Anonymous
  9. I work at Time/Tiny and we have been told nothing... Anonymous
  10. my plamsa went into repairs after the 2nd day... simon docker
  11. Harris is full of it, we dont get informed of ANYT... Anonymous
  12. Fantastic. Everyone who works in the stores... shambala
  13. I feel sorry for the customers. We can c... Anonymous
  14. The computer business is dead. I ca... Anonymous
  15. I worked for Time Computers ab... Jason Bird
  16. Working at Time Computers. I p... Jason Bird
  17. Actually there are less than 10 PC Tech Support le... FrED UPpington
  18. Passing technical calls to india was a terrib... Anonymous
  19. Any Time/Tiny/Granville employees worried about th... Anonymous
  20. I work at Time and everyone is really panicking ab... anonymous
  21. This is all true, i worked as a sales assistant in... James Ashman
  22. Well I can see that HSBC may decline to proce... tickle my fancy
  23. THE CORIER AT TIME IS ALSO REFUSING COLL... Anonymous
  24. we were robed how can you accept payment of g... Anonymous
  25. all computer shop managers have been informed toni... Anonymous
  26. Lets face it thew company has gone. I was emp... An soon to be ex employee
  27. I am a former Time employee, and I was t... Former Time Employee
  28. About time they went bust after sel... Phil B
  29. Well it all comes to no supris... Anonymous
  30. This was no surprise. The comp... Anonymous
  31. I PAYED £1200 FOR A PLASMA TV... ANDREW BRODERICK
  32. I was a technician in the "flagship... an ex employee
  33. i worked at a shop has a sales rep and t... who cares
  34. Don't Trust TotalCare, is the same... John
  35. Don't need TotalCare, I can fi... Tony
  36. AS A MEMBER OF THE COMPUTER SHOP TEAM IN SWIN... Anonymous
  37. all i can say is *balls* ... once again a tits up... £1perminhelpline@tiny.com
  38. I also work for "the computer shop" and I now reli... The Computer Shop
  39. I have has a Plasma package from the computer... Big_Al
  40. I have had problems with my pc for over... Time customer
  41. Dis anybody else receive a letter from t... Jason (Teesside)
  42. I received my package saying that u... Jason Beck
  43. All Stores are closed. We dont know whats going on... Anonymous
  44. As an ex-employee of the company (i left in early... Anonymous
  45. Hi, I recently left the company (Last friday). I s... Anonymous
  46. I worked for Granville Technology at head off... Anonymous
  47. I worked for Time Computers(Granville Te... Neil Foster
  48. please get EVERYONE & I mean EVERYO... ex employee
  49. Alarm bells have been ringin for a while, rumours... Anonymous
  50. SHIT SHIT SHIT. What a crap company to work... Anonymous
  51. WHY OH WHY ? WHY DO SOME DREGS OF THI... DICKO - - - LIVERPOOL
  52. ALL stores are closed, all staff are at home wonde... Anonymous
  53. could be worth contacting the local MP and see if... Anonymous
  54. i doubt that will acheive anything, the local MP?... Anonymous
  55. My son's laptop has just gone in for repair. Am I... Anonymous
  56. Apparantly there was a management buyout whic... Anonymous
  57. Yes and the bank is about to "drop the b... Anonymous
  58. i feel sorry for the people who hav... dave griffiths
  59. well no customer goods have been delivered so the... Anonymous
  60. http://tinyurl.com/a5pwq Offical news company i... Anonymous
  61. http://tinyurl.com/a5pwq Offical news company i... Anonymous
  62. I have just paid £1100 for a plasma. Can anyone he... Linda
  63. Linda. You asked about your Plasma, If you pa... Anonymous
  64. HEAD OFFICE STAFF GETTING CASH IN HAND -... Anonymous
  65. This news, though saddening is not surprising, con... Surj
  66. cont'd............ However I did replace faulty ha... surj
  67. Hi I bought a laptop from Tiny last year I ha... Anonymous
  68. i knew this was coming the day i stepd in to that... Amjad
  69. hi iam a supanet subscriber who i understand are... Anonymous
  70. After contacting Supanet myself, they've conf... Anonymous
  71. A Tale Of DISCRIMINATION?... http://business.times... annoyed
  72. i am an employee of "the computer shop"....or... Anonymous
  73. copy and paste into your browser :) http... annoyed still
  74. At the moment I remain a CCC employee after w... Tired of Secrets
  75. I hope all the staff at Time get what is coming to... Anonymous
  76. To all of those who are saying that time staff got... Anonymous
  77. I left Time Computers about six years ago and am s... Anonymous
  78. Hooray, I am so glad to see the company and the di... Anonymous
  79. I paid £1800 and the money was taken out of my acc... Anonymous
  80. THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE! I LIKE MANY PEO... Ben Hoult
  81. Can anyone help me I am trying to get my... Paul Truelove
  82. i bought my pc on 18/07/05 and payed cas... jonathan daniel
  83. I for one feel very sorry for the ex employees of... Joanne S
  84. I purchased a Time computer in 2001 and took... Anonymous
  85. I have a County Court judgment against Tiny.C... Anonymous
  86. I worked for Time but left about 8 years ago and t... MR
  87. Supanet will suffer badly as their subscribers wer... Ken Davies
  88. To all fellow 'out of pocket' Time customers.... Out of pocket customer
  89. Sad case of another Time/Tiny sucker. Paid £1... Ken Rolfe
  90. Visit following link, Time back in busin... Anonymous
  91. When i bought a time computer in 19... Anonymous
  92. I'm a freelance journalist wor... Anonymous
  93. Does anybody who worked there or an... Simon Brown
  94. I Bought a tiny computer in march 2005 and already... Ben Turnbull
  95. for all those who are interested i still work... Anonymous
  96. I bought both a tower and laptop from Th... Anonymous
  97. Hello. i still work at Time/Tiny. i... anon
  98. I've had THE SAME PROBLEM too... my laptop wo... Anonymous
  99. Me again!! Tech support advise to get la... Anonymous
  100. hi i have bot my pc 1000 pound.the pc went for a r... florinda
  101. i bought a time patina laptop it has had been clea... steve mortn
  102. i have only machine. i want to buy screen a... soni urmil
  103. Back in Time. For all Tiny/Time customer... Anonymous
  104. Yes its true, they are the same peo... Anonymous
  105. Its amazing how stupid Richard Harris thought ever... Nicholas Kingsley
  106. all my god how can you give people jobs and cant t... Anonymous
  107. what is this world comeing to i cant see light at... Anonymous
  108. I used to work as a Technical Support Advisor at T... Anonymous
  109. I have lost 5 years cover gold insurance pay back... Anonymous
  110. i'm confused here there tradeing again what the he... mike
  111. I bought a time computer 5 years ago and took out... Carmela Cirino

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