PC-Club faces tough questions over stolen laptops
The notebooks came under scrutiny from Hyundai MultiCAV and the brand's regional licensor Hyundai International after they were stolen in a truck hijacking incident in Sydney's west last month.
Hyundai International Monday released a statement alleging that the stolen notebooks were fakes. The company said the serial numbers for the consignment published by NSW Police were not those of authentic Hyundai products.
Ed Reynolds, Chairman of the Jackar holdings group which controls Hyundai MultiCAV, conceded that the notebooks were not imported into Australia through proper channels.
"We know they haven't come through our books, so where they've come form at this point in time we don't know -- we're trying to find out," said Reynolds.
Reynolds said Hyundai MultiCAV's CEO, Aron Jackson, was currently seeking an explanation for the discrepancy from PC Club managing director, David Lee.
However, he questioned the basis of Hyundai International's claim the notebooks are not authentic Hyundai products.
Jackar Holdings said there was no evidence that serial numbers weren't authentic and has sent a list of them to the PC division of Hyundai's headquarters in Korea, ImageQuest, to trace the notebooks' passage to Australia.
Reynolds said Jackar Holdings and its subsidiary Hyundai MultiCAV were now co-operating with the investigations by both police and the NSW department of Fair Trading.
According reports PC Club supplied the notebooks to Global Trading Industries (GTI) as part of a widely publicised campaign in which the Hyundai branded laptops were to be bundled with home entertainment systems.
It is understood that GTI has begun delivering a generic branded notebook to consumers and Reynolds indicated that the consumer protection authorities were now handling a large number of complaints about the matter.
ZDNet Australia made several attempts to interview PC Club's David Lee regarding the laptop and the promotion early this week but on each occasion the managing director became evasive.
Yesterday Lee requested that ZDNet Australia direct all it enquiries on the matter to his lawyers, however he refused to name or supply contact details for his solicitor.