After being dumped by Toshiba, Melbourne-based distributor Castel Electronics is now trying to take the Japanese vendor to court claiming more than $30 million dollars in damages for what they allege were defective Toshiba video recorders and rear projection TVs. However the former Marketing Manager of Castel claims he has no knowledge of any faulty products other than normal warranty claims.
The Company who have waited nearly two years to initiate the action failed to raise the issue of defective products with media organisations while they were appointed to sell the Toshiba product range.
In press releases to the media during the time that Castel was selling the J35 personal video recorder and the C26 set top box they gushed as to how good the products were.
Now they want over $35 million in damages according to documents lodged with the Federal Court in Victoria. Castel claim that they lost more than $15million trying to fix problems associated with the J35 PVR which on Good Gear Guide was given 4.5/5 and on CNet 7/10
The company is also claiming another $18 million in lost profits following their dumping by Toshiba.
According to the Melbourne based distributor the Company had to allocate 50 per cent of their staff time to dealing with retailer and consumer complaints about the Toshiba gear.
3 former Castel staff contacted by SmartHouse and ChannelNews claim that they had no knowledge of working on problems associated with defective Toshiba products.
Mr. Randall Crocker the former Advertising and Marketing Manager at Castel during the period that Castel were selling the alleged faulty products told ChannelNews today that he was not aware of any serious problems with Toshiba products.
Crocker who worked for the Company for several years and was there when Castel lost the Toshiba distribution contract said” We had our normally warranty claims but I was not aware of any other major problems.”
When asked whether 50% of the staff at Castel were working on problems associated with faulty Toshiba products he said “That is news to me. I know of no major claims and I know nothing about staff being allocated to work on problems. I am now out of the consumer electronics business however I am surprised by the claims being made”.
Consumer Affairs departments in both NSW and Victoria say that they have no registered complaints about the Toshiba products nor have they ever had any complaints about the Toshiba J35 or the C26 set top box.
Castel is claiming that the J35 had extensive problems, and was “inherently defective”. Castel has said that 54 different faults were identified and the product was eventually withdrawn from sale.
According to court documents Castel allege that there were “numerous claims by consumers” in Australia and that they were forced to deliver seven different software updates and one upgrade to hardware.
Castel management including the Company CEO Michael Kwon have failed to respond to SmartHouse telephone calls on the issue.
