Landis in credit turnaround

Distributor Landis has made a dramatic U-turn on its credit assessment policy in response to an article in Computer Reseller News last week.

Distributor Landis has made a dramatic U-turn on its credit assessment policy in response to an article in Computer Reseller News (CRN) last week.

The company had increased minimum spending limits to £7500 per month, axing all resellers with smaller accounts.

Simon Barry, managing director of reseller Synergie, contacted CRN about the credit rise after being dropped without warning in December, despite being in a position to raise his limit.

Mike Watkins, managing director of Landis, said the company would contact partners well in advance if it saw the need to raise credit limits in future, and that all contracts would be reassessed on a per company basis. "We vet each reseller when they apply for credit so it makes sense that we should deal with them individually for any future rises," he said.

"We have failed a number of our customers by drawing a line under the £7500 per month limit. A lot of our smaller customers have great potential and we don't want to lose them. As part of the new policy, exceptions can and already have been made," he added.

Watkins confirmed that Synergie was one of the companies reinstated under the revised scheme and emphasised that Landis did not envisage any further credit rises in the near future.

It is the second successive blanket axing of resellers by Landis and the second time CRN had been contacted by disgruntled customers. In March, Roger Swainson, managing director of Bedford-based reseller Mimic, spoke to CRN after Landis raised limits to £5000, something it had denied until last week. Swainson said he had also been reinstated after speaking out.

Barry explained that it was important that Landis was not just appeasing resellers which had contacted the press. "I have agreed to work with Landis again to give customers the best possible choice. I received a letter from Watkins, but the rules must be changed for everyone," he said.

Watkins added: "I can only apologise to any CRN reader worried about the credit rises. If they contact Landis I will deal with them personally."

First published in Computer Reseller News