A UK-based software developer whose largest project is the AMP Adviser Workbench software has confirmed it is being sued by a major British financial institution for non-delivery of an adviser software system.
Intuitive Systems, which also claims the AMP Adviser Workbench system as “its largest ever project”, has confirmed that a UK lawsuit against it by Halifax plc is ongoing but states it is unrelated to the “quality or value” of its products.
Halifax is suing Intuitive over alleged non-delivery of a point of sale system designed to help its advisers do fact-finds. The writ was issued last August and Andy Smales, managing director of Intuitive Systems in Australia, confirmed that AMP had been informed of the situation.
“While this software is considered by Halifax to be of quality and value, Halifax Financial Services decided that the application could not be deployed within the time-scales required by their compliance requirements,” Smales says. He declined to comment further.
The AMP Adviser Workbench system links advisers’ client data with AMP information and allows electronic lodgement for some AMP products. The most recent upgrade for the system, AWB 2.2, was installed in late 1998. Intuitive Systems’ web site states: “in Australia, we have successfully delivered our largest-ever project to AMP, the 14th largest insurance company in the world”.
An AMP spokeswoman said AMP “is aware of legal action between Intuitive Systems and Halifax Financial Services.”
“We have been assured by Intuitive that this action bears no relation to any current or future work undertaken for AMP and are satisfied with this assurance,” she said. “We have no further comment.”
Smales also denied that Intuitive Systems was in any financial trouble and confirmed the company was in talks with venture capitalists about a stock market flotation.
