A headline in my local paper said “Man wins payout after credit blacklist blunder – PC World customer was left unable to get a mortgage or credit cards”.

Needless to say, this story got my immediate attention.

The court had heard that the customer was financially crippled, nearly 10 years ago, after buying a £1,500 computer from PC World. The equipment did not have a modem and when he tried to return it, he was told he was locked into a credit agreement with HFC Bank and that he could not get out.

The customer vowed to fight the “unjust” decision and launched a civil action against PC World and the HFC bank seeking compensation.

The customer told the court that, as a consequence of his case, which dates back to December 1998, he had been unable to take advantage of the property boom or to consolidate existing debt at a reasonable APR because of the default in payments on the laptop.

The customer told the local paper that, had he been able to get a mortgage, the value of a house would have increased by over £100,000 in the past five years.

He admitted that paying off the laptop would have solved his problems as the default only lasts for six years, but he was determined to have his day in court as a matter of principle.

The Aberdeen court ruled that HFC Bank should award the customer £116,674 in compensation.

No doubt this ruling will be studied closely by those who represent the trade as well as those who represent the consumers.

For some time now, I have adopted a very simple practice that, if ever any customer complains, I give them all their money back and tell them to keep the goods.

I do not want anyone going around saying they have had a bad experience at my shop. Fortunately, these occurrences are very rare indeed, but in light of the amount of the above court ruling I may be getting off lightly by handing over a wad of cash.

With the present worldwide financial situation, it is difficult to make meaningful forecasts.

One of the largest suppliers to our trade, Samsung, seems to be in little doubt, as it has already cut its sales growth target. It must be a very difficult time for all the manufacturers who have to place orders far in advance. We retailers are more fortunate, as we can adjust buying to suit demand. Many dealers tell me they are still enjoying good sales, but almost all are a little apprehensive about how a “credit crunch” or “housing slump” would affect sales.

The Korean papers recently reported that a former LG employee had been arrested for illegally passing technology details to a Chinese company.

This former LG employee is now in jail awaiting trial and, if convicted of violating Korea’s “fair competition and sales secrecy laws”, faces up to seven years in jail.

This case serves as a reminder that we are now selling USB memory devices that store 16GB of data. One of these devices could easily store all our business records and information.

As it takes just a few minutes to copy several Bibles’ worth of information, it is worthwhile reviewing your shop computer’s security on a regular basis.

It should also be remembered that all the data currently stored on a PC could be sent to an external e-mail address in a few moments.

Take care!