Well not for much longer, it appears that Tiny, Time, The Computer Shop, all part of the same company have gone into administration, thanks to competition from bigger companies such as Dell.
Frankly IMO it's good riddance to bad rubbish, our first PC was from Tiny, had nothing but trouble with it, not everything worked with it, the Customer service hotline was as much use as a chocolate fireguard. Though saying that the PC still lives today, albeit not in the best of health, we still have the manual somewhere, where the only font used in it is Comic Sans and it came with something called Tiny BBS, which we never used once.
I got my current PC from Dixons, as part of their eMachines range and I've never had any problems with it, based from experience Dixons is certainately more reliable than Tiny/Time/The Computer Shop.
Though when I was reading people's comments on BBC News Online, it appears they're still taking orders for goods and there are still loads of people who've paid for goods who are yet to recieve them, could this go alá Auctionworld?
So anyone else had nothing but shite from this dead company?
"Think BIG about your PC, think Tiny....!"
Use the fabulous old jingle please
"Think BIG about your PC; think Tiny!"
My original Tiny PC (six years old in may) is brilliant. 350 pentium 2, 6 gig hd and 64mb of ram with windows 98. it ran great and I only started using the warantee I paid for when I moved up here and had to deal with Scottish Power's dodgy supply blowing everything up. They were amazing "hello, it's about my speakers" "we'll send you new ones, BYEEEEEE" [hang up on me] and they arrive the next day.
They sent me a brand new monitor as the old one had a mark on it. Fabulous.
My current one is sadly from after they were ruined by Time. It's Tiny only by name sadly and the support is utter shit. Good riddence to Time. Farewell to Tiny.
"Think BIG about your PC; think Tiny!"
My original Tiny PC (six years old in may) is brilliant. 350 pentium 2, 6 gig hd and 64mb of ram with windows 98. it ran great and I only started using the warantee I paid for when I moved up here and had to deal with Scottish Power's dodgy supply blowing everything up. They were amazing "hello, it's about my speakers" "we'll send you new ones, BYEEEEEE" [hang up on me] and they arrive the next day.
They sent me a brand new monitor as the old one had a mark on it. Fabulous.
My current one is sadly from after they were ruined by Time. It's Tiny only by name sadly and the support is utter shit. Good riddence to Time. Farewell to Tiny.
"He has to be larger than bacon"
AIUI, it's a complex area legally.
It *sounds* like they have done it in a legal way - the board of directors resigned yesterday (iirc) and they shut the shops down on the production of an accountant's report. It sounds like they were legally responsible enough to get the accountant's report done - although on the other hand the bank may have insisted on it.
If a business is in trouble, my understanding of the law is that they can still take orders when a report on the company's financial state is still being drawn up. Whether that's the moral thing to do is something else altogether.
The BBC News report said they were losing £2m a month. If they were doing that badly, my guess would be is that they are heavily indebted to the bank (rough guess £50-100m overdraft) and they would be nearing their limit.
I think most of those poor punters can whistle for their money if they paid cash. If they bought their computer on finance, credit card or debit card, they will *most likely* be covered if they haven't received their goods yet. Don't take my word for it though - I don't understand bankruptcy laws that well.
It *sounds* like they have done it in a legal way - the board of directors resigned yesterday (iirc) and they shut the shops down on the production of an accountant's report. It sounds like they were legally responsible enough to get the accountant's report done - although on the other hand the bank may have insisted on it.
If a business is in trouble, my understanding of the law is that they can still take orders when a report on the company's financial state is still being drawn up. Whether that's the moral thing to do is something else altogether.
The BBC News report said they were losing £2m a month. If they were doing that badly, my guess would be is that they are heavily indebted to the bank (rough guess £50-100m overdraft) and they would be nearing their limit.
I think most of those poor punters can whistle for their money if they paid cash. If they bought their computer on finance, credit card or debit card, they will *most likely* be covered if they haven't received their goods yet. Don't take my word for it though - I don't understand bankruptcy laws that well.
Remember that this is the second incarnation of Tiny. The original Tiny went bust a few years ago and the name was bought by the Time people as I recall.
My first PC was a Tiny which I got about 7 years ago... over the course of it's 3 year warranty I reckon every single component was replaced by the company. That said it's still going, my brother uses it.
My first PC was a Tiny which I got about 7 years ago... over the course of it's 3 year warranty I reckon every single component was replaced by the company. That said it's still going, my brother uses it.
Well my three year waranty actually kept going for six years as i never cancelled the direct debit.
I had 5 new DVD-ROM drives (the original was 5x, the current one is on par with the one in my main machine), three new fans, a new monitor, new speakers, three new modems and two new power supplies. All done at my house within two days of me ringing them. Brilliant.
The new version of tiny owned by time required me to send my computer away every time and has been utter shit. They glue gunned the front of the box (which they broke in the first place) instead of replacing it and as such jammed the CD drive shut. They have been incapable of sending me a bloody Windows disc too, they gave me a "restore CD" which didn't work and only "accesses a hidden partition". They then sent me a replacement which didn't work either. In the end I got a copy of XP off bittorrent and just formatted over the whole blasted thing I was so furious with them. (They refused to send me a plain Windows CD without me paying £70. Idiots).
I had 5 new DVD-ROM drives (the original was 5x, the current one is on par with the one in my main machine), three new fans, a new monitor, new speakers, three new modems and two new power supplies. All done at my house within two days of me ringing them. Brilliant.
The new version of tiny owned by time required me to send my computer away every time and has been utter shit. They glue gunned the front of the box (which they broke in the first place) instead of replacing it and as such jammed the CD drive shut. They have been incapable of sending me a bloody Windows disc too, they gave me a "restore CD" which didn't work and only "accesses a hidden partition". They then sent me a replacement which didn't work either. In the end I got a copy of XP off bittorrent and just formatted over the whole blasted thing I was so furious with them. (They refused to send me a plain Windows CD without me paying £70. Idiots).
"He has to be larger than bacon"
BBC reports that customers will get neither their money back or their ordered goods
"A source close to administrators Grant Thornton told the BBC such people would become "unsecured creditors" and drop to the bottom of the list for payments.
But administrators have put together a "limited" support package for customers offering warranty cover and repairs."[/url]
"A source close to administrators Grant Thornton told the BBC such people would become "unsecured creditors" and drop to the bottom of the list for payments.
But administrators have put together a "limited" support package for customers offering warranty cover and repairs."[/url]
My Tiny seems to be working fine, not had any problems with it at all - and it's nearly two years old now.
It is a shame about Tiny/Time/The Computer Shop, as they always had some great deals on.
Our local Woolworths have had Tiny and Time -branded computers on sale for a good few weeks, but with a HUGE notice up above them:
It is a shame about Tiny/Time/The Computer Shop, as they always had some great deals on.
Our local Woolworths have had Tiny and Time -branded computers on sale for a good few weeks, but with a HUGE notice up above them:
Bye bye tiny...Please note: Customers who wish to purchase one of these machines should realise that Tiny and Time have gone into liquidation and any customer support is no longer available. Please contact Woolworths Customer Services on 0xxx xxx xxxx for full details.
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Gavin Scott
- Admin
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My mate Martin left the UK years and years ago to work in Seattle with either Tiny or Time. I can't remember which.
I wonder what the heck he is doing now.
I wonder what the heck he is doing now.
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Spencer For Hire
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According to a financial expert on BBC Breakfast this morning, if you've taken out a finance agreement and haven't had your computer delivered, you'll probably still have to continue paying, as the agreement is between you and the credit company.johnnyboy wrote:I think most of those poor punters can whistle for their money if they paid cash. If they bought their computer on finance, credit card or debit card, they will *most likely* be covered if they haven't received their goods yet. Don't take my word for it though - I don't understand bankruptcy laws that well.
You're also unlikely to be covered by a debit card as the money comes straight out of your bank account, although most credit cards should cover you under their terms and conditions.
It's a tricky area - it depends, AIUI, on whether the finance was provided by the company involved or a third-party.Spencer For Hire wrote:According to a financial expert on BBC Breakfast this morning, if you've taken out a finance agreement and haven't had your computer delivered, you'll probably still have to continue paying, as the agreement is between you and the credit company.
I'll have to get confirmation on this, but I am fairly certain that debit and credit cards have the same protection, although there has no been legal precedent for it yet.Spencer For Hire wrote:You're also unlikely to be covered by a debit card as the money comes straight out of your bank account, although most credit cards should cover you under their terms and conditions.
One of my customers specialises in getting compensation and reimbursements back where banks have mistreated them. We are currently trying to claim £2,400 back on a series of debit card transactions to one company which did not provide the services advertised. The bank have so far put up no real resistance to this, but I'll keep you updated.