How schools and nurseries can free up vital funds and avoid office supply and printer contract scams in 2023

No-one is immune from cash-draining contracts that tilt in favour of leasing or servicing companies – not even schoolchildren.

Many schools and nurseries are leeching thousands of pounds of their precious budgets on office equipment deals like photocopiers, printers, servicing agreements and more because they are being unfairly overcharged. This can stop them spending their money on other things that would benefit the children, including books, toys or days out. That extra budget can even help to retain teachers.

Headteachers are incredibly busy people. They don’t have time to pore over contracts or get bogged down in lengthy negotiations. Ruthless salespeople know that and take advantage of it.

At Fair Contract Associates, we’ve used our expertise to help dozens of schools and nurseries get their money back from suppliers and identify unfair, unwanted clauses in contracts before the school or nursery puts pen to paper.

How contract advice saved a Kent schools ￡￡￡s

Here’s what one Kent headteacher had to say about the contract advice and management we provided for them:

“As a headteacher, no one prepares you for the endless challenges that are presented and sadly, our remit of responsibility is far beyond that of teaching and learning. Many businesses know this and use this to their advantage to exploit the already severely underfunded system.

“Over the past four years, our school has been stuck in a web of contracts with supposedly 'legitimate' suppliers. Sadly, this turned out to be far from the truth. We contacted Chas, who listened, advised and worked tirelessly to help the school.

“Chas was able to take all the pressure away from the school, which was a huge relief and the outcome was amazing. The contracts were cancelled, monies were returned to us and a simple, cost-effective way forward for the school was determined.

Headteachers are under pressure to navigate complex contract small print on their own

“As a headteacher, we feel immense pressure to always 'know the answers', I'm sincerely grateful that we sought support from Fair Contracts and would highly recommend them to any school. A huge thank you to Chas and his team.”

That’s what our service is all about at Fair Contract Associates – taking pressure off. Realising you’re trapped in an unwanted or unfair contract is stressful enough. Worrying about not having the expertise to deal with it just piles on the pain and leaves you feeling completely helpless.

Add that to the ‘endless challenges’ mentioned by the headteacher above and it’s a perfect storm. But we can be your lifeboat.

With new budgets set to be put in place in April next year, there’s no time like the present to get your contracts reviewed and see where you could free up money to do more for your pupils in 2023.

Fair Contract Associates founder Chas Jordan said: “Because we do not sell equipment, products or other services, there are no ulterior motives in our service. We focus on what is important in these cases, fairness in everything we do is our highest priority. With a 95 per cent success rate for every case we take on, we can ensure peace of mind in your buying decisions for the school.”

If you feel your office equipment contracts would benefit from a review or if you’re looking to sign up with a new or existing supplier, schedule a call for a no-obligation contract review and see how much you might save.