Fake Compaq kits hit UK

Resellers were warned to be aware of counterfeit Compaq kits, after it emerged that one of the UK's major distributors has admitted to having up to £200,000 worth of fake memory on its shelves.

Resellers were warned to be aware of counterfeit Compaq kits, after it emerged that one of the UK's major distributors has admitted to having up to £200,000 worth of fake memory on its shelves.

According to various sources in the channel, fake Compaq-branded digital linear tape drives and controllers are also in circulation, as well as memory.

The memory was supplied by a broker that claimed to have bought directly from Compaq in Hong Kong and is packaged for retail. The distributor will probably be able to return the product, so resellers should look out for the broker's attempts to sell it again, said a source close to the anonymous distributor.

Neil Dagger, senior product marketing manager at Compaq, said although he was not aware of this specific instance, shipments of fake Compaq products do occur from time to time. "Resellers should buy only from official Compaq sources. If you use the grey market you are going to get burned," he said.

Dagger said resellers should be particularly wary of anything that is suspiciously cheap or comes in packaging that varies from that which is normally supplied.

The distributor has reported the incident to Compaq headquarters in Houston, but company representatives could not find anybody familiar with the situation in the UK.

Although the packaging is convincing, the memory can be identified because it uses WinBond processors not used by genuine Compaq memory, sources said. The quality of the memory is not up to the usual Compaq standard.