TV company, BSkyB, has announced that it is entering into legal action against contact service systems firm, EDS, ‘for deceit, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract’. The announcement followed heavy hints about impending legal action against a then unnamed CRM provider, which were made in Sky’s quarterly profit report.

Press speculation as to the target of the action immediately centred on EDS.

In a statement, British Sky Broadcasting Limited said that it had filed a claim for a material amount against Electronic Data Systems Limited and Electronic Data Systems Corporation (EDS), in respect of deceit, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract.

The press announcement goes on to say that Sky appointed EDS in the summer of 2000 to build and implement an advanced customer service system at its customer contact centres in Livingston and Dunfermline, Scotland. The relationship was then terminated in early 2002 after EDS failed to perform its contractual obligations, with Sky Subscribers Services Limited assuming direct responsibility for systems integration following this.

EDS are making a counter-claim based on unpaid bills which it says run into millions of pounds.

Speaking on the record before Sky officially named his company as the target of the legal action, Malcolm George, director of marketing and communications at EDS, told SM365 that the company was very disappointed to hear that the broadcaster was considering legal action. ‘We can’t understand why BSkyB has brought this into the public domain now. We will vigorously defend any action taken against us,’ he added.