Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2002/01/03/tempo_customer_warranties_are_worthless/

Tempo customer warranties are worthless (most of them)

Creditors call for investigation

By Drew Cullen

Posted in Channel, 3rd January 2002 00:16 GMT

Up to half a million customers of Tempo, the bust electrical and computer goods retailer, may be the owners of worthless product warranties.

The warranties have had no insurance backing since 1997 and Tempo put no money aside to cover its obligations, the Sunday Times reports.

Warranty holders will join the queue of unsecured creditors of the company which went into administration in September. All warranties on goods sold since then are backed by insurance.

Trade creditors have called on Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), the administrators, to investigate the actions of Tempo management, and whether the company should have continued trading for so long

Neville Kahn, administrator, told the Sunday Times: "There is evidence of a great deal of disquiet about directors' dealings in relation to this and other matters. I have undertaken to investigate."

Tempo is, or was, a 37-strong chain of small warehouse-format stores, based mostly in the South East. The administrators carried on trading the £150m t/o company, intending to mop up pre-Christmas and New Year sales, and to smoke out a buyer. It didn't work out - the last store is shutting this week. ®

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