What happens at the end of a photocopier lease?

[Dahu371]

The lease on our copier ran for 5 years and ended in March. The lease agreement states that at the end of the term we agree to:

a) return it to a place they choose in the UK

or

b) if we do not do this, arrange for it to be removed and returned. We agree to pay the expenses necessary for this and for putting it in good condition.

Neither of these things happened and we're still merrily photocopying away. Is this normal? Is this some kind of standard legal phrasing but that "everyone knows" the equipment is ours to keep?

 

[Billmccallum]

what does the lease state?

usually the cost per copy increases at the end of the lease period, so you might be ringing up the £'s as you're still using it.

one would assume that if you wanted to return it you would contact the company and ask them where to send it.

 

[Dahu371]

The maintenance agreement was separate to the lease and only went up by a standard amount annually. We don't want to return it as it's working fine, I'm just wondering if it's normal for the company we leased it off to not contact us and not arrange collection at the end of the lease term.

We do have a maintenance agreement with them, however. Maybe they're just happy with us running with that. If we gave notice maybe then they'd ask for the equipment back. Well we'll see in six months...

 

[fisicx]

And when they do eventually get it back you will get a stonking great bill for all the copying you have done.

A mate of mine did this and the bill was a good few thousands. You are using property that does not belong to you. Stop using the copier and contact the leasing company.

 

[200host_Steve]

A mate of mine did this and the bill was a good few thousands. You are using property that does not belong to you. Stop using the copier and contact the leasing company.

This.

A company I worked for got stung like this...

 

[SuffolkDesigns]

The lease on our copier ran for 5 years and ended in March. The lease agreement states that at the end of the term we agree to:

a) return it to a place they choose in the UK

or

b) if we do not do this, arrange for it to be removed and returned. We agree to pay the expenses necessary for this and for putting it in good condition.

Neither of these things happened and we're still merrily photocopying away. Is this normal? Is this some kind of standard legal phrasing but that "everyone knows" the equipment is ours to keep?

Why did neither of these things happen? You do say "we agree to...." so therefore it is up to you to make the effort to ensure the copier is returned/collected.

You could, as mentioned, be leaving yourself open to getting a huge bill.

 

[fisicx]

In fact it's probable they are already charging for non-return. It's going to be scrapped anyway so the longer you keep it the bigger bill for them.

 

[Dahu371]

Oh this doesn't sound good then!

We are not getting free copies though, we are being billed monthly for the copies that we do via the company we originally dealt with. The lease on the equipment was with Siemen's Financial Services though, not sure if that makes any difference.

I'll contact them anyway, find out what we need to do. Thanks for the advice.

 

[fisicx]

It's use of the machine they will charge you for. At the end of the lease you should have unplugged it and given them a call. Because you didn't and have continued to use the machine they send you a hefty fine.

The montly billing will continue regardless, it's two different divisions of the company.

Hopefully they will be nice and just accept the machine back.

 

[David Griffiths]

You need to look at the wording of the original lease. The payments in the main period of the lease will probaly be referred to as primary rentals, but you need to see what provision is made at the end of the primary period.

It's quite common that the lease will continue after the primary period unless and until you give three months notice. How much is payable is down to the terms of the lease. Most leases provide for a secondary rental, which is often equal to one of the old monthly payments, but which is then an annual rental. In other words if you were paying £200 per month before, you can continue to use the machine for £200 a year.

However, some leases provide that the rentals in the secondary rental period continue at the same rate - £200 per month in the example. Bearing in mind that the lease company has recovered all of its investment in the primary period, this is something of a rip off.

Have you checked your bank to see if you've made any payments after the primary period? I'd expect that you would have noticed if the full rental payments had continued.

There is another alternative outcome other than returning or continuing to lease. Arrange for it to be sold to a third party, and then buy it off them. You might even get part of the sale proceeds as a rebate of rentals.

Whatever is the case, it will be covered in the lease.

 

[Talay]

Usual practice when I was involved in this business was to simply hand over the machine to the customer but pocketing any fee which could be "charged". Copy cost and service agreement were not always separate.