400 CHINESE COMSUMERS FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST HP

[Anonymous]

http://business.globaltimes.cn/industries/2010-04/524944.html
400 CHINESE COMSUMERS FILE LAWSUIT
AGAINST HP
Four hundred Chinese
consumers will go to the US to sue computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HP)
for problems with its screens and graphic chips, Wang Fengchang,
promoter of the rights protection activities and CEO of laweach.com,
said Wednesday.HP’s graphic chips and display screen problems led to
consumer dissatisfaction and they organized themselves into a group to
protect their consumer rights. The computer firm has admitted there are
problems, but has so far refused to recall the laptops.The consumers
said that HP’s efforts in handling the situation cannot solve
fundamental quality problems and so they plan to enter another
“battlefield”, the US since it has legal jurisdiction for HP and also
has a more complete law system.

The 400 consumers will file a
suit with a US court and asked HP to recall the faulty HP computers and
compensate them.
According to Wang, they have now given the power
of attorney to US lawyers, five of whom have organized into a rights
defender group. The lawyers are now evaluating the risks in working on
this overseas lawsuit.”We have had several communications on the phone,
and entrust agreements have been offered to the US lawyers, and we are
waiting for their replies,” Wang said. After the lawyers sign the
agreements, they will start preparations for the case, he added.Wang
explained that laweach.com has received more than 2,000 complaints from
Chinese consumers, and more than 1,000 additional consumers have
entrusted Yingke Law Firm to sue HP in the domestic market.”Although it
is hard to say whether we will win or not, the US lawyers are confident
about our case in the US,” Wang said. He added that this kind of lawsuit
is a pro bono effort, and that his firm and the US lawyers will not
charge the consumers for legal fees.

HP declined to comment on
the latest legal development in the case.
“While going abroad to
protect consumer rights does not mean we will give up fighting for them
domestically,” Wang said. Lawyers are now in contact with the General
Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine
(AQSIQ) and hopes that department conduct a second investigation, he
said.Qiu Baochang, director of the customer rights protection department
of the Beijing Lawyers Association (BLA), said that consumers going
abroad to defend their rights may push forward further improvement of
the domestic law system.

[Author]

April 26, 2010 at 10:43 AM