Once upon a time…

There was a small business who’s printing & scanning needs had grown.

They were spending £250 a month on printer cartridges & their existing equipment wasn’t up to the job. A3 & fast reliable scanning had become a business need.

In walks their ‘hero’ photocopier salesman. Sells them an A3 all singing & dancing photocopier on a 5-year lease agreement & cuts their bill to £200 a month.

As time goes by the small business became suspicious. Even though (most months) they weren’t printing that much, their bill was still £200.

When challenged. The photocopier salesman pointed out they had signed an agreement with minimum billing of £200 a month. And told them to read their terms & conditions.

The small business studied the terms & took advice…

It seems. The salesman bundled their 5-years of printing into the lease agreement, which immediately released £12,000 to them from the lease company.

The small business uncovered some worrying things:

• The lease company was unaware what the salesman had done
• Bundling printing costs into a lease is against the lease company terms & conditions
• The salesperson’s company gets the full £12K without delivering any service
• If the company stops trading within the 5-year’s the small business is left high & dry
• There’s no incentive to provide great service, as they already have all the cash
• There is no way out. The small business is completely tied in for the full 5 years.
• When they print less (very often) they still pay £200 a month
• When they print more (very rare) they are sent a separate invoice for the difference.

In this case. The salesman wasn’t the hero. He was a hoodwinking crook.

Moral of the story…

Thoroughly read & understand your terms & conditions before you sign. And if you’re unsure about anything seek some professional advice.

Or choose a supplier who provide an honest service with simple terms, monthly contracts, fixed price guarantees & no hidden charges.

…unfortunately, there was no happy ending to this fairy tale.