Tom Leonard reports on an acrimonious dust-up between cleaner manufacturers
THE dust has refused to settle in an acrimonious dispute between rival vacuum cleaner manufacturers as the award-winning British inventor James Dyson said he was considering legal action against a German firm.
According to Mr Dyson, whose bagless design has been chosen as one of Tony Blair's Millennium products, a demonstration test arranged by Miele between its S421i machine and a Dyson cleaner was "maliciously" distorted because a crucial brush bar on the latter had been switched off.
In the subsequent demonstration, which was broadcast on ITN on Wednesday, the Miele performed noticeably better in sucking up dust from a carpet.
Miele has also called on the Advertising Standards Authority to force Dyson to withdraw some of its claims and has launched a retaliatory advertising campaign. The company claims Dyson is misleading consumers in the company's claims for its cleaners, particularly its assertion that, unlike bag cleaners, they maintain "100 per cent of the suction, 100 per cent of the time".
But Mr Dyson, whose invention has made him a multi-millionaire and earned him a CBE, accused Miele yesterday of "outrageous" behaviour and promised to defend his company's reputation and legal position.
"To suggest we are misleading the public is quite outrageous and an insult to the large number of people who have bought our machines.
"We are not trying to con people. We are trying to tell the truth, which is that bags clog up with dirt. Miele just don't like us saying that."
Martin McCourt, Dyson's group commercial director, said: "We'd rather not take action but obviously if we've got a big German company gunning for a British success story, we've got to defend ourselves."
A Miele spokesman said the brush bar had been switched off because Mr Dyson had himself told a BBC Watchdog programme that it should not be turned on when cleaning rugs and mats.
"The bar is like a hair brush and doesn't affect the suction, which is what we're contesting," the spokesman said.
She added: "It would be fascinating to see Dyson's tests because nobody else has ever seen them. We're more than happy to exchange copies of our research for his."
The latest confrontation follows several years of bickering between Dyson and its bag-bearing rivals.
The bagless Dyson was first introduced in 1993, after its inventor spent 17 years developing it, and has gone on to achieve massive success.
In the past, following complaints from Miele and other companies, the Advertising Standards Authority has upheld 12 out of 15 complaints about Dyson's advertising. But significant Dyson claims, including its 100 per cent of the suction 100 per cent of the time claim, were found to be fair.
The ASA is currently considering complaints from both sides about each other and promises a ruling "in the near future".
Ironically, both firms use the same independent laboratory to conduct tests.
At the offices of The Daily Telegraph, Janice Hickey, who has been vacuuming the carpets in Europe's tallest building for the past four years, tested both cleaners in the boardroom.
Her conclusions gave both companies something to celebrate. Mrs Hickey decided the Miele had greater sucking power but she still preferred the Dyson.
"The Miele allowed you to shift a dial up and down to get more power," she said.
"I certainly felt its brush sticking to the carpet more which obviously meant it must have been sucking stronger."
But she added: "But overall I'd prefer the Dyson as you didn't have to bend over so much. The Miele was hard work. And although the Miele was more powerful, the Dyson certainly picked up well, as there was plenty of dirt and fluff in the container."
