BlackBerry Takes Its PR Fight To The SEC: Seeks Review of “False” Report on Return Rates of BB Z10 from Detwiler Fenton | TechCrunch

BlackBerry, the beleaguered Canadian handset maker, today said it is contacting the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission for formal reviews of the analysts Detwiler Fenton, after its analysts issued a statement saying that its new flagship handset, the BB Z10, was seeing record-levels of returns in retail sales — reports that BlackBerry today says are “false and misleading.”

“Sales of the BlackBerry® Z10 are meeting expectations and the data we have collected from our retail and carrier partners demonstrates that customers are satisfied with their devices,” said BlackBerry President and CEO Thorsten Heins said in a statement. “Return rate statistics show that we are at or below our forecasts and right in line with the industry. To suggest otherwise is either a gross misreading of the data or a willful manipulation. Such a conclusion is absolutely without basis and BlackBerry will not leave it unchallenged.”

The move is a sign of just how sensitive BlackBerry is right now to getting the launch of its new device right — and how harmful publicity slams like this one can be as a result….