News - Microdirect said to have gone bust

[CaptainCrash]

If they haven't yet "gone bust" (whatever you mean that to mean - not a very helpful term) then your headline is very misleading and potentially very irresponsible. A lot of businesses have cashflow difficulties at one time or another. Cashflow problems do not equal "going bust". Going into administration does not equal "going bust". However, spreading rumours about a company being "said to be going bust" could well push things over the edge for them if their creditors get scared by your reports.

Ultimately, your headline might well be correct (disclaimer: I have no idea), but please do consider what you write and the impact it could have on a business.

That's a fair point, and I agree to some extent, but on the flipside you could argue that there's a public interest angle - when a retailer "goes bust" (for want of a better term), customers with unfulfilled orders are always a long way down the receiver's list of priorities, and once all the preferential creditors have been satisfied there's unlikely to be much if anything left in the kitty.

You're less likely to come a cropper if you're covered by Section 75 of the CCA, but this doesn't apply to all purchases in all circumstances, and I'm sure many people would appreciate the tip-off before parting with their cash.

That's not an argument for irresponsible reporting, and hopefully those concerned will be pretty sure of their facts... if not, their own reputation will be on the line, as well as risking possible legal repercussions.

[redddraggon]

If they haven't yet "gone bust" (whatever you mean that to mean - not a very helpful term) then your headline is very misleading and potentially very irresponsible. A lot of businesses have cashflow difficulties at one time or another. Cashflow problems do not equal "going bust". Going into administration does not equal "going bust". However, spreading rumours about a company being "said to be going bust" could well push things over the edge for them if their creditors get scared by your reports.

Ultimately, your headline might well be correct (disclaimer: I have no idea), but please do consider what you write and the impact it could have on a business.

I was going to post a similar reply earlier, and I agree fully.

[Barrichello]

Never heard of them tbh

[Disturbedguy]

I used to live a 10 minute drive from these and when I first started building PC's they were my first port of call.

Always good and quick service and never had any problems when i needed to return something.

[crossy]

I don't think all their products were that expensive TBH. They were the cheapest for GTX460 768MB for quite a while.

Ditto here - they were damned good for some weird things (reconditioned pink iPod Mini's for example) and seemed to be particularly good for HDD purchases (cheaper and more stock than Scan at the time I looked). At least I always got what I ordered in the time promised.

If they go then I, for one, will be sorry to see them go - mainly down to the reduced competition. I get a bit worried that Scan and eBuyer seem to have the major market sewn up. That said, I remember when Dabs was supplier of choice.

[EzyRyder]

And Overclockers, and Aria, and Novatech... there are still plenty of good e-tailers!

[Brewster0101]

Never heard of them tbh

Microdirect are from a time before ebuyer and scan. I remember ordering bits for my first ever build over 15 years ago from them. They advertised heavily in magazines (yep those paper things that you see from time to time) before the net really existed as it does now.

They were very popular with readers of MicroMart (not sure that exists anymore).

Can't say I used them for a while, found ebuyer/scan cheaper and inc free delivery. I dare say having retail outlets might have caused them issues. Even more so if alot of the walking in trade was people just pestering staff for advise.

A name that will be missed if they do disappear, but I think someone will help them and probably close the retail stores and concentrate on internet sales.

Shops like them (and Richersounds for example) are a blessing to consumers wanting internet prices but from the highstreet.

[kalniel]

Never heard of them tbh

:O They were great, from the same kind of school as Dabs and Watford Electronics - vital places to get computer stuff from before the likes of Scan and Ebuyer came along.

As mentioned, we bought some stuff (speakers) from them the other day - they were the cheapest around and delivery was fine.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

They were one of the few places to stock the Shuttle PC55 last year and one of the cheapest IIRC.

[3dcandy]

Microdirect are from a time before ebuyer and scan. I remember ordering bits for my first ever build over 15 years ago from them. They advertised heavily in magazines (yep those paper things that you see from time to time) before the net really existed as it does now.

They were very popular with readers of MicroMart (not sure that exists anymore).

Can't say I used them for a while, found ebuyer/scan cheaper and inc free delivery. I dare say having retail outlets might have caused them issues. Even more so if alot of the walking in trade was people just pestering staff for advise.

A name that will be missed if they do disappear, but I think someone will help them and probably close the retail stores and concentrate on internet sales.

Shops like them (and Richersounds for example) are a blessing to consumers wanting internet prices but from the highstreet.

MicroMart still limping along...

[crossy]

MicroMart still limping along...

Funny you should mention that - I got a copy from my local Sainsbury's the other week, and it was like a blast from the past. I remember thinking at the time that this'd be a great publication to have as an e-reader version, Kindle, GoogleBooks etc.

Getting back to Microdirect, I've used them and Novatech (along with Gladiator and various Overclock- sites) and not really had a problem with any of them. Only exception was Savastore (late and not lamented), who managed to be crap on both occasions I used them.

[CaptainCrash]

Only exception was Savastore (late and not lamented), who managed to be crap on both occasions I used them.

After going norks-up, they reappeared as "Saverstore" (cunning, eh...?) - they're still in business AFAIK, at least their website is up and running.

I used them once when they were trading as Watford Electronics, not an experience I was keen to repeat.

[danroyle]

Firstly i read the title wrong and thought it said microsoft.

I used to use Microdirect alot in the early days before i heard of scan and so on they were a good little site to use

[mrskalniel]

That's a fair point, and I agree to some extent, but on the flipside you could argue that there's a public interest angle - when a retailer "goes bust" (for want of a better term), customers with unfulfilled orders are always a long way down the receiver's list of priorities, and once all the preferential creditors have been satisfied there's unlikely to be much if anything left in the kitty.

You're less likely to come a cropper if you're covered by Section 75 of the CCA, but this doesn't apply to all purchases in all circumstances, and I'm sure many people would appreciate the tip-off before parting with their cash.

That's not an argument for irresponsible reporting, and hopefully those concerned will be pretty sure of their facts... if not, their own reputation will be on the line, as well as risking possible legal repercussions.

Absolutely agree, when there is due cause. However, it's now over 24 hours since Hexus made the announcement and they remain the only ones to have reported this as far as I can see - Google News shows up no other hits on MicroDirect. Again, while it may well be the case that the company is in difficulties, there appears to be no further support to Hexus's claim that they have "gone bust" or "bankrupt".

Furthermore, if the company is only "experiencing cashflow difficulties" - which "may be resolved" according to Hexus's last update - why not report that, rather than announcing in the headline that the company is "said to have gone bust" - unless the goal is sensationalism?

Again, I absolutely agree that consumers are best protected if they have information. But speculation and "insider rumours" don't help anyone. Consumers get unduly nervous, may cancel orders or refrain from placing orders they would otherwise have placed, company which may already have been experiencing cashflow problems has said problems compounded by lack of orders and pressure from creditors, company goes under as a result. I sincerely hope that this does not happen.

[MVC]

I stopped using MD about 5 years ago after they tried rolling me over with a return.

With such poor customer service evident I'm surprised it's taken this long for them to completely fail.

The shop and warehouse were always busy but returns was a total joke. I know they had to deal with muppets and cheats but we were long standing account holders with geniune problems. Time is money and when a supplier starts wasting yours it's time to move on. Which is exactly what we did - Aria were like a breath of fresh air. No major issues and good CS when mistakes happen (on our part or theirs).

I hope the staff get sorted with jobs - many of them were decent people just playing the game by the company rules (slow and annoying).

[Ed Omega]

I stopped using MD about 5 years ago after they tried rolling me over with a return.

With such poor customer service evident I'm surprised it's taken this long for them to completely fail.

The shop and warehouse were always busy but returns was a total joke. I know they had to deal with muppets and cheats but we were long standing account holders with geniune problems. Time is money and when a supplier starts wasting yours it's time to move on. Which is exactly what we did - Aria were like a breath of fresh air. No major issues and good CS when mistakes happen (on our part or theirs).

I hope the staff get sorted with jobs - many of them were decent people just playing the game by the company rules (slow and annoying).

I used MD for many years as they were local and competatively priced, but I dreaded dealing with their returns department. Have to say I have not bought off them for over 2 years as their pricing has become very uncompetative - anyone doing a bit of searching will find that MD now get caned on price by most of the other big etailers (Scan, Aria, Overclockers, Ebuyer etc) whereas MD used to be as well priced, if not better than these others a few years back.