What's actually going on
Most offices have two agreements, not one: a lease with a finance company and a service or supply agreement with the dealer. They often end on different dates.
A dealer switch does not automatically end the lease, and ending the lease does not automatically end the service agreement.
What to do in the next 48 hours
- 1Identify both agreements and both end dates. The finance company is named on the lease invoice.
- 2Request the current buyout figure in writing and note how long it is valid.
- 3Ask any new vendor to show the buyout inside the new proposal rather than describing it as absorbed.
- 4Line up the switch with your notice window so you are not paying two agreements at once.
The honest tradeoffs
- A buyout rolled into a new lease is convenient and adds finance cost across the whole new term.
- Waiting out the term costs nothing extra but leaves you with the service you are trying to leave.
Your next step
Questions people ask next
- Can I change copier dealers without breaking my lease?
- Often yes. The lease is usually with a finance company and the service agreement is with the dealer. Service can sometimes be moved before the lease matures, depending on the contract.
- What is a copier lease buyout?
- The amount required to end the lease early, typically the remaining payments plus a residual. Always request it in writing, with an expiration date.
More on a vendor I want to leave
- I inherited a copier contract nobody understands
- 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