Kobalt Computers Officially out of business

Kobayashi - to claim that Kobalt were taking orders they knew they couldn't fulfill is backed up by the length of time that they kept taking orders, whilst claiming "3-4 weeks ETA" despite having a backlog of people waiting MONTHS. I called Kobalt out on this (how could they claim 3-4 weeks for a laptop that I'd been waiting 2 months for) and they denied there was a problem.

So yeah, on the balance of available evidence they were behaving dishonestly/fraudulently however you wish to term it. And it's the people paying their hard earned money that will suffer.

Kudos to you though, for trying to defend a company that you obviously believe in. That's more than the directors have done and you deserve credit for that. So please don't take any responses for personal attacks, I think people here are very very angry at Kobalt and so you might take some flak as a result.

 

Speculating on what was going on is not helpful at this point, please try to be respectful

It's also against the rules here

http://forum.notebookreview.com/reseller-feedback-forum/601391-before-you-post.html

Stick to the facts, and continue to come up ideas on how to get your hard earned money back
Thanks

 

Agreed Alex... (I think Kobayashi was actually Kamikazi )

I just posted ALL the help links on the first post (ouch...)

 

This is not actually true if a company is found to have been “Wrongfully Trading” the directors can become personally liable for the company’s debts:

Wrongful trading - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Depending on what kind of liquidation is going to take place the creditors of the company could appoint a liquidator who could establish if wrongful trading has taken place.

Possible outcomes for limited companies | Business Link

Probably best to get the lawyers in if anyone wanted to pursue this.

 

Just as a headsup, I've contacted GoldenStar DE and UK to try and see if I can get any more information for people with warranties outstanding; many of whom may potentially still be viable via Clevo themselves, if 2 year is standard warranty.

Last time I contacted Goldenstar UK to ask a query they took a day or two to get back to me, but if I learn anything I'll let everyone know.

 

Anyone who has tried contacting them via their different e-mail addresses quickly check your Spam/Junk folder.

Only just noticed this but they sent the following response to me on Thursday evening:

Though what the e-mail forgot to mention was the address you should write to which is:
7-9 THE AVENUE,
EASTBOURNE
EAST SUSSEX
BN21 3YA

After that it's more or less a waiting game until we get confirmation that an administrator has been appointed to manage their assets. Then it would be a task to get in communication with them.

Just curious wouldn't it be an easy task to work out who owns outstanding RMA's due to the RMA form itself, as it includes your name, address, serial number etc?

 

Hi everyone...

I signed up on here because I am in the same situation as most others, that situation being cheated out of money by Kobalt Computers Ltd. I'm in the Republic of Ireland and I paid £1,350 via bank/wire transfer (Duh!) and another £430 through PayPal when I got a Visa debit card a few months later. I changed my mind on the original order in favor for a higher spec laptop since their initial excuses seemed plausible enough, backlog of orders, upgrading the orders system etc etc. Needless to say, in hindsight I regret sending them even more money and should have trusted me gut feeling. Unfortunately for me, three of my personal faults are being too trusting, too forgiving and too patient.

I am going to send a registered letter like the rest of you and I've opened a dispute claim on PayPal for the £430 as 30 days haven't yet passed since that transaction. I'm not going to give up on reclaiming the bank transfer either even though I've heard chances are slim but I'm taking up a new hobby and that hobby is pursuing every available avenue on getting my money back. I hope every one of you out of pocket will persevere and do the same.

Thanks to all you guys posting up all the info about the possible routes of action to take. Everyone helping each other out will make everyone's case stronger. I usually only make small purchases online so unfortunately I'm more or less ignorant in regards to consumer rights and what not so I'm not that much help I'm afraid. Although if I happen to make any progress in my individual situation I'll be sure to post any details and updates on here.

I was hoping to take some evening computer classes after work in website design and Photoshop once I had received my laptop and since it took me over 6 months to save up enough money for my dream machine I now feel really disheartened. Nothing but lies and excuses over all the months and then not even an apology to customers left in limbo in the end. All I can say is, what goes around comes around and hopefully karma will come to collect sooner rather than later...

Cheers...

 

This looks interesting - Company Investigations | Companies | BIS

 

Great link. I think all those people who have been screwed by Kobalt here should fill out the online form requesting they investigate the company.

EDIT:

I just e-mailed them at [email protected] since technically the company is still 'live'.

 

Guys,

You will have warranty with the respective manufacturer of the goods you have purchased for most of the products in your machine. As Kobalt is NOT actually a Clevo customer.

The barebone will have a warranty with the Clevo importer of your product. This is why i asked earlier who was on the REMARK on your box.

The remark section of the box shows who the Clevo customer is. For example: MIDERN = Sager, FORTUNE = Fortune Technology FORTUNE TECHNOLOGY - UK CLEVO DISTRIBUTOR, UK COMPAL DISTRIBUTOR. CUSTOM LAPTOPS BUILT TO ORDER.

If you have the remark listed as 'FORTUNE' who is a Clevo UK importer then you should be able to send the barebone to them for RMA, or you might be able to just send the part.

Please note that barebones do not include: CPU, MEMORY, HDD, Or any other modified components (wifi, lcd etc).

But the barebone is the majority of the component cost towards your machines cost. IE VGA, Motherboard, LCD panel etc.

Your CPU will not have any warranty, but it is VERY unlikely to ever have an issue.

RAM (manufacturer dependant) can normally be claimed to the manufacturer, ie KINGSTON etc.

HDD is a tricky one. It depends how they sourced the hard disks. Some ODM like Seagate will have implicit warranties that are just for OEMS, and some will be an OEM package which will have a warranty.

All in all, we are a Clevo partner, and would be happy to RMA any products that we can for you guys where possible as a kind deed to your NBR readers. Of course its not the most convenient way to do it, as we are in Australia but if you find yourself in a tricky situation please PM me and I will help you.

 

Jack-Ibo

You are a Star.......thank you so much for this information. I have added a permalink to your post from the summary of help links in the first post . +rep too!

I wondered why you asked yesterday and now I know!

 

Glad I could help, anyone is welcome to PM me or ask questions in relation to warranty concerns or how I may be able to help if you are officially stuck.

My condolences to all of you.

 

Here is an interesting one... the REMARK on my box says "PC SPECIALIST".

Could it be that Kobalt failed to convince Clevo (or some other supplier) to give them my case, and so ordered a case from their direct competition? I thought something was odd because the GS150 on Kobalt's site had a fingerprint reader, but my chassis does not, yet it came with fingerprint drivers and software.



EDIT: I have emailed PC Specialist enquiring about this. I will let you know what they say.

 

we looked into the fingerprint reader on the GS150 and the pictures were pre release and a lot of companys had the same picture but the model in the uk didnt have the fingerprint reader. in the user manual it was a factory optional extra and not a user optional extra.
strange one about the box remark though.

 

No it's not strange about the box....

I gave Jack-Ibo the details off my box yesterday. Mine says Fortune and I received it back in May. Fortune is a trade only supplier/importer

PC Specialist bought Fortune in July 2011.....

I think that explains a couple of things no? Oh and my G150 has a fingerprint reader but just realised you are talking about a GS150 (me being a muppet again)

 

Yeah, I guess it does. Thanks lucia.

 

Hi everyone,
I thought I'd let everyone know of my situation too...

I ordered a laptop from Kobalt on the 17th August 2011 and payed £2.895 for it and now won't ever get to see it as I never received it.

I'm a final year student at uni and really needed it, Kobalt knew this and still led me on to believe I'd receive it in due course. I'm not wealthy and having just spent all of my money on something that I will never get I am royaly pissed. Like the many others in my situation I have contacted consumer direct, who told me the best thing to do would be to go to my bank and do a Debit Card Chargeback, which I did yesterday. Now I have to wait and see what comes of it...

It is obvious Kobalt blatantly deceived us, and should be made to rectify their incompetence. I hope everyone left without their machines receives their money back. I'm not a praying man, but I might just start.

Also thank you to everyone posting useful information.

 

Hey all, thought I'd also post my situation with Kobalt...
Last January I had ordered a Blakhawk i7 system from them. It took them about two months to finally get the system to me 'because of high European demand' for the graphics cards. I got it and it worked fantastically. Two months ago the pump failed, so I rma'd the machine and sent it in. Just under a month later, they sent the system back to me, but either they, or the courier had damaged some of the hardware in the system, so unfortunately it wouldn't boot up properly, instant crashes after logging into windows.
I sent the system back in last week Monday October 3rd, UPS confirmed they got it on the 5th. This was just under a week before they took down their site and every method of contacting them...

 

wow! thats interesting. i didnt know that.

 

Hi everyone new to this thread and sorry we had to meet under these circumstances....

Please have a look at the links for advice in the first post and particularly the first link to the pdf that details what to do when a company folds. Please share any responses that you receive and I will try and keep links updated as we receive further advice or information. People with RMAs need to get a claim letter sent to the registered address in the first post of this thread. Include as much supporting info as possible, do not send original documents and use registered post.

 

Just had a look at the name next to REMARK on my laptop box and it says - MIDERN

I own a G970X so curious if other owners of this model have this same name in the remark box. Currently I have no issues with my laptop, but had over two years of a warranty left.

It is really good to see other notebook retailers offering to help too, hats off to you all.

EDIT: Seems that MIDERN relates to Sager Midern, so I'm assuming that the G970X models (X7200) were shipped over from the states, or at least in part.

 

My bank have told me they are moving quickly on my Chargeback. However, as I understand it, it works like this...

Your bank initiate the Chargeback - they have a specific team who deal with VISA on this - or pass it over to VISA. In the meantime your bank credit you with the amount disputed while investigations continue.
However, it's my sense that those investigations are likely to fail and your bank will end up removing the credit they put back into your account.

As I understand chargeback it is a request by visa to the merchant to cancel the transaction. I'm not sure they can force the merchant to cancel the transaction. And it's not an insurance scheme that will refund you losses. i.e. if the merchant goes whallop like Kobalt seem to be, there is no-one left to refund the money.

If anyone has a different understanding of chargeback, please let me know.

 

@Krupz2613,

We are in a similar boat mate. Both university students. Read my posts. Andrew knew I was a student too before he stole my money.

I am slightly shocked at the number of people coming out of the woodwork here.... new people popping up every day. Kobalt could easy have owed £30k + to customers from what I can see here. Wouldn't be surprised if it was considerably more.

 

Sidhartha....

From my understanding Chargeback is a bit more than that so don't give in too easily if Visa say they cannot recuperate the money. Read the articles from the links and there are cases where companies have gone under and yet Chargeback has worked. If necessary after all else fails, there is the Financial Ombudsman, but they won't get involved until everything else has been tried and having said that, don't spend the money

Finally, everyone, I know we are all upset but be careful in your choice of language in the forum about what you think may have happened.... we only know 2 things for certain: they have folded; they were totally crap about the communication of essential things.

Thanks to those who are updating us on their progress and keep up the good work!

From the Visa UK site for Debit cards (very non-commital but they do mention "an airline going bust":

"You can also have a right to ask your bank to make a chargeback, returning your money if you do not receive goods or services as expected, if goods are lost or the wrong goods are received. That covers pretty much anything you can think of, from an airline going bust to a mail order jumper that does not arrive. Most purchases made abroad are also covered."

http://www.visa.co.uk/en/money_management/choose_how_to_pay/making_the_most_of_your_debit.aspx

 

I also have MIDERN for my G150.
Really hope you guys get your money back. I was lucky enough to get my laptop a few months ago after some considerable wait, but really hope there will be no need for my now non existant warranty.
It's good to know there are other resellers out there willing to help though.

 

like DPi mine says Midern in the remark box. but ive got the 3 year old nexus/m860tu.
the 4 GS laptops we have at work i think the boxes have been recycled into toilet paper now so cant check them.

 

Not strictly true. I bought a GS150 from Kobalt around april got it after several delays (should be happy to have recieved it!) but it does have a fingerprint reader. Only ordered basically standard system from them no extras.

Could lend weight to buying from elsewhere due to credit limits?

 

maybe the first batch had the readers then,but all others didnt.

 

Handling the funds before the period they take to clear them was an unwise decision.

What, do you think removing the money will stop them from coming after it? If their decision is to not release the funds, you'll have to redeposit or get your account charged the full sum.

 

Many thanks - definitely a site to bookmark, given that my warranty won't be much help now.

I wonder if I can claim back from my c/c company the extra cost of the extended 3 yr warranty I paid for, given that the PC is less than 2 years old?

(FWIW, not having a warranty to worry about, I opened up the PC and freed the stuck fan myself... not sure what happened to jam it up in the first place, but I'll take 10 mins with a screwdriver over sending it back for repair any day!)

 

Hey folks

Thought some of you might be interested in this.

I wrote to Consumer Direct and got the following reply (my case is regarding a faulty laptop not being remedied even after 2 returns.

"Dear Mr Westerby

Thank you for your enquiry to Consumer Direct dated 12/10/11. Your reference number for this case is *******and should be quoted in all further correspondence regarding this case.

From your email it appears that you have purchased a laptop which appears to be faulty after being repaired, but unfortunately the trader is no longer in business.. The key legal points in response to your enquiry are as follows:



Before we offer any advice, you should be aware that when a business enters into a contract with another business the purchaser may not have the same rights as a private individual (consumer) who has purchased goods or services from a trader. In general the rights of a business will be dependent on the terms and conditions published on any paperwork supplied by the supplier of the goods or services. If no additional paperwork containing terms and conditions were supplied, the purchaser can presume that their statutory rights have not been restricted or affected. As such, you should check any paperwork supplied by the supplier to determine if there are any terms and conditions that could restrict your ability to make a civil claim.

Under the SALE OF GOODS ACT 1979 (AS AMENDED) all goods supplied by a trader to a consumer must be of a ‘satisfactory quality’ – the goods should be free from faults, last a reasonable time, be fit for the purpose they were made for, and not be unsafe. If the goods do not meet these requirements, then you may have a short time (usually just a few weeks) in which to reject the goods in question and ask for a refund. After this your rights will be to claim:

-. a repair, or where repairs would not resolve the issue or do not work...
-. a like-for-like replacement (same make, model, age, condition etc. although without any faults of course), or if not possible...
-. a partial refund, taking into account usage.

However as it appears that Kobalt Computers Ltd have ceased trading, you would be unable to pursue a civil claim directly against the trader. However if administrators or liquidators have been appointed to manage the assets of Kobalt Ltd, you could look to register as a creditor of Kobalt Ltd with the appropriate body to see if they can offer any redress. We would suggest your next step would be to contact the Insolvency Service on 0845 602 9848. Amongst other things the Insolvency Service provide information to the public on insolvency and redundancy matters via their website, leaflets, Insolvency Enquiry Line and Redundancy Payments Helpline. They also conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into companies where it is in the public interest to do so. These enquiries are carried out by Companies Investigation Branch. As such they may be able to inform you of the current status of the company so you can determine whether taking further action is a viable option.

The information you have provided will be made available to relevant enforcement bodies, including Trading Standards, who may use the information for intelligence/enforcement purposes.

Please note: We here at Consumer Direct will always endeavour to give our best legal and practical advice, but in the end it is only the courts that can decide what your rights are and if the company/trader won’t give you what you feel you are entitled to, the only way to enforce your rights would be through the courts (although this is rarely necessary)."

 

hi guys

thanks so much, there is some great advise on this forum about what to do when you've been screwed by Kobalt!

fyi: i've started the hashtag #kobaltcomputers on twitter to share information and join together.

here a brief summary of my ordeal with Kobalt: they were recommended by a friend who bought the most awesome notebook from them 2 years ago. i ordered mine in april 2011 but the delivery was postponed week after week as "parts were missing". after half a year (!) i was sick of it and said i'd cancel my order. this was a mission in itself as Kobalt took days to respond if they responded at all. phoning them was never an option as their phone line didn't work. they finally agreed to refund the money and said it would take 7-10 days. after 4 weeks still no money was refunded and a few days later they went bust.

i should have been suspicious with them earlier as all the time things were dodgy: no working phone line, twitter account suspended, dodgy php-errors in the customer section of their website, rude and condescending responses to my claims...

i also regret that i paid with a visa debit as i don't have a credit card anymore. this will make it hard to claim the money back though i filed a claim as soon as i heard they went bust. my main hope is that my notebook was already half-build....i read somewhere on the internet when an item is "tagged" with the name of the person that ordered it and the company goes bust, a liquidator or administrator will have to hand it to the person.

all in all i might have lost more than £1400. i can't imagine what people do who earn this much per month or are students and need every penny!

a few weeks before they went bust i started reading their forums and could not believe that they were still taking orders when they couldn't even complete ones that were 6 months old!

i am quite shocked about the ethics of Kobalt and will be cautious about small businesses from now on.

sissi

 

Anyone know how long it normally takes for an administrator to be appointed when a company goes bust?

 

Depends on the legal procedures, 1-2 months is my guess.

 

I have got a G150 with the REMARK: PC on the box. Does that mean its from PC Specialists? I ordered in early April and received in mid-May.

 

Read here about warranties on XXODD, the other bankrupt Clevo reseller:
Message from Mr.Rene Eringaard: Founder of XS2 Europe B.V. - movenext.nl

 

I seriously suggest people inform 'The Insolvency Service' of the details of your story if you have been screwed by Kobalt,

Company Investigations | Companies | BIS

They have the power to investigate any suspected malpractice or wrongful trading by a company. The more people that e-mail them the better I guess. I have already at [email protected].

 

THERE'S LINKS FOR ADVICE IN THE FIRST POST PLEASE READ AND I AM TRYING TO KEEP THEM UPDATED IF ANYTHING NEW & RELEVANT COMES IN

Andy C if you look in the first post there is a link to another post that was written by another Reseller Jack-Ibo with very useful information about things you can do about warranty work.

Eskibo: thanks for sharing your letter - that is very useful. I will also add a link from the first post to your post!

Everyone, I keep saying this but please read the PDF link in the first post that will tell you what you can do in a whole range of scenarios when a company goes under.

Xela: no don't think so - they didn't buy Fortune until July 2011

Sidhartha: just because a company goes under you can't assume malpractice. I'm not saying there wasn't any or anything else but you cannot assume anything. Probably, at this point, it is best to concentrate on trying to recuperate what ever losses we can. Things will become more clear in time. The crucial thing is to know what happens next - liquidation or administration for instance. There are numbers in the PDF to try and keep track of that. Anyone finds answers to that please post here asap. PHONE NUMBER FOR INSOLVENCY SERVICE: Insolvency Service on 0845 602 9848

Nerdess

Nice idea, remember it is public so suggest you don't cast aspersions and if you could let people know about the links in the first post being updated that would be helpful.

 

I just sent them an e-mail too.

 

Lucia,

Who said I'm assuming anything?? I have simply informed them of my story. As I suggested, others should do the same. I have my personal belief's - but the point of investigators at places like the Insolvency Service is to find the unbiased truth. So e-mail them and let them do their job.

What's the problem with that? All avenues should be explored.

 

Yeah it probably was. I have had a letter off my bank regarding the charge back stating that if Kobalts bank can prove i did not send them the money or prove i have received the laptop then they give me 7 days to take the money back. I can not see how Kobalt can prove against this.

 

Sidartha.....

read the reply to your pm please! Informing them of your story is a great idea.

I am talking about opinions publicly expressed in places such as public forums which are subject to libel laws (and NBR moderation for the same reason)....

 

@P300zx

How long did it take for your bank to process your debit card chargeback, and when did you ask them to do it?

 

To be honest i cant remember exactly, it will have been about 2 weeks ago i asked for the charge back and got paid the temp money back monday or tuesday gone.

 

@Krupz2613

If you use one of the letter templates which are linked to from the first post they ask the bank to respond within 14 days.

Read up the info there .... it should help.

Good luck

 

Thanks for the information guys.

 

I was just writing my letter to send to their registered address and including the email history.

Having not heard anything since 22nd Sept, I got an email on the 26th Sept and started my reply to them on 26th with this -

"Hi Adrian

Thank you for your response - I was starting to wonder if something was very wrong over at Kobalt!
..."

Oh, the joy of hindsight!

 

A quick update to keep you posted on the saga so far:

18th October : received claim form from Capital One. Filled it and faxed it back to them with a letter asking for a full refund and invoking Section 75 (as per the templates kindly posted by lucia on the first post).

No reply or communication yet from anyone about the laptop which was sent for repairs which I asked to be returned in a letter sent to Kobalt's registered office.

 

Is there currently anyone specifically we can contact at their registered office?

As far as I am aware Andrew & Neil are no longer involved and I believe that administrators are yet to be appointed (according to Companies House Kobalt is still an active company).

Would anyone be reading letters sent to them since last Tuesday?

 

Wow...even with all the writing on the wall I'm still shocked that the company went under. I ordered my laptop 6th of June and like everyone else, I experienced numerous delays (and was told more than once that "your laptop should be finished and shipped by end of next week"). I must have been one of the last few to get a laptop from them (got it mid-September....over 3 months after having paid for it). While I'm over all happy with the product, it's far from perfect. It was delivered with the wrong keyboard (according to Kobalt they were waiting on the supplier.....even though they knew I wanted that keyboard for over 3 months...), the wrong power cable (UK instead of Europe like I ordered, although that wasn't a big deal since the enormous 300W power brick takes a standard PC cable), and a stuck pixel on the monitor (1 pixel is blue when the background is black....not really a big deal, but easily noticable). Luckily, I didn't pay for the 3 year warranty.

I hope all you guys that got screwed over by them get at least some of your money back. I can imagine how pissed I'd be if I were in your shoes.