Exposing the hoodwinking episode 2 – termination part 1
Darren Turner
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Welcome to episode 2 of our video series ‘exposing the hoodwinking’…
Each week we will bring to your attention a clause (usually hidden deep) within service agreement T&C’s, which could cause you much pain and extra unforeseen charges in the future.
This week we’ll start to cover the dreaded termination clause. Some suppliers make this a very complex area, mainly to baffle the life out of you.
And it can be so complex we’re going to split it into parts. So today is part 1.
Before you sign a service agreement to cover a printing solution, photocopier or telephone system, check the termination clause with the agreements T&C’s.
And if you find a clause that says something like: ‘Should you terminate this agreement you must pay any outstanding sums owed (including the balance that would have been payable) if this agreement had not been terminated early’. Beware…
This clause allows the supplier to charge you for the remaining years left on the service agreement. Even if you cancel due to poor service.
The supplier takes your average monthly printing spend & multiplies it by the remaining months you had left on the agreement, before you cancelled it.
So, on average. If your monthly printing spend is ￡200 & you had 2 years (or 24 months) left on your service agreement, when you cancelled it. The supplier will invoice you for ￡4,800. And there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
We’ve had instances of customers being forced to pay over ￡10,000 just to get out of their service agreement, because they cancelled. Even though is was due to the suppliers very poor service.
As always. Our advice is to thoroughly check your T&C’s before you sign. And if you spot a termination clause that worries you, ask your supplier to remove it & replace it with a clause that allows you to leave without high charges if their service is poor.
And if they won’t. Don’t sign it. And go find a trusted supplier who will guarantee to let you leave (if their service is poor) without extortionately high financial penalties.
…thank you for watching