Hewlett Packard Enterprise awarded £1.95m in ‘grey’ case
International Computer Purchasing Limited has to pay out as a result of High Court action
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has been awarded £1.95 million by the High Court in a successful claim against Matthew Archer and his company International Computer Purchasing Limited.
The case brought was for “fraud, conspiracy and inducement of breach of contract” following a trial heard at the end of April 2016.
The case centred on an “abuse” of HPE’s partner programmes and discounts, with the defendants “fraudulently obtaining” over £1.5 million in discounts on HPE products, HPE successfully claimed.
Commenting on the High Court decision, Marc Waters, interim managing director of UK&I for HPE, said: “HPE is satisfied with this verdict. Grey marketing is a serious problem for the industry in terms of lost sales, margin erosion, poor customer experiences and reputational damage.”
He said: “HPE has a well-established grey market avoidance programme and the outcome of this case clearly demonstrates that we will not hesitate to take court action to enforce our rights if required.
“We would also encourage anyone concerned about potential fraudulent activity to contact our brand protection team and we will investigate as appropriate.”
@AntonySavvas