What's actually going on
Notice windows close on a date, not on a conversation. A phone call to your sales rep is not notice to the leasing company.
Everything else in an end-of-lease process can be fixed later. Missing the notice date cannot.
What to do in the next 48 hours
- 1Hour one: find the leasing company name on your invoice and the maturity date on the lease.
- 2Hour two: send a written letter of intent stating whether you intend to return or buy out. Send it by the method the lease requires, certified mail if specified, and email a copy the same day.
- 3Day one: request written acknowledgment of receipt and the buyout figure. Keep both.
- 4Day two: start pricing the replacement so the decision behind the notice has real numbers. Deinstall, freight and drive wipe can all be scheduled after the deadline.
The honest tradeoffs
- Sending notice when you are unsure is the safe move: notice preserves every option and does not commit you to returning the equipment.
- Waiting until you have decided is how offices end up in a twelve-month automatic renewal at full payment.
Your next step
Questions people ask next
- What is a letter of intent for a copier lease?
- A short written notice to the leasing company, inside the required window, stating whether you intend to return the equipment or buy it out at maturity. Send it by the method the lease specifies and keep written acknowledgment of receipt.
- Does giving notice mean I have to return the copier?
- No. Notice preserves your options by stopping an automatic renewal. You can still negotiate a buyout, an extension or a replacement after it has been sent.
More on a lease that's ending
- My copier lease is ending and I don't know what to do
- My lease auto-renewed and I never agreed to it
- I have to return a copier and I don't know the rules
- My copier lease is expiring: what are my actual options?
- I need out of my copier lease early
- What happens if I don't return the copier?
- How an evergreen clause keeps renewing my lease
- Should I rent, lease or buy the next copier?
- FMV or $1 buyout: which copier lease should I sign?
- Lease or rent a copier: what's the actual difference?
- What happens if I just do nothing when my copier lease ends?
- My copier bill keeps going up and nobody can explain why
- I think I'm overpaying but I can't prove it
- My copier keeps jamming and I've stopped trusting it