Hit by claims that their new Blackberry Z10 phone was being returned by consumers Research in Motion has called in the regulators to question the validity of the claims.
The report from US Detwiler Fenton & Co. analyst Jeff Johnston estimated that in some cases the number of returns for RIM’s recently launched BlackBerry Z10 phones were outpacing sales in the critical US market.
RIM claims that Johnston’s comments are “materially false and misleading.”
“The data we have collected from our retail and carrier partners demonstrates that customers are satisfied with their devices,” Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said in RIM’s statement Friday. “To suggest otherwise is either a gross misreading of the data or a willful manipulation.”
Detwiler said Friday it stood by its research methodology, and said, “We welcome any regulatory inquiry,” according to a statement issued by Anne Buckley, the general counsel and chief compliance officer at parent company Detwiler Fenton Group.
The Wall street Journal said that Johnston is part of Detwiler’s capital-markets group, which provides investor research and is separate from the Boston firm’s investor research brokerage business that trades stocks for clients. In its statement Detwiler said neither Mr. Johnston “nor any officer or director of Detwiler Fenton has any financial interest” in RIM.
Shortly after the report came out Blackberry shares dropped 8%.
