Photocopier Lease/Service Scam

[localzuk]

The way leasing often works is that the school/business signs up to take a loan from the bank, but the principal is paid to the arranging company who then use it to supply the equipment.

 

Our printer lease - which our accountant and Bursar went through with a fine tooth comb and are 100% certain is not a scam - works this way. We pay the lease repayments direct to the bank, not to the company who supplied the equipment. If that company goes under, the printers are still ours and we still make the repayments. The problem is when schools are told that someone else is making the repayments but then sign a document that says the opposite.

 

All of our leases are like this - the lease is held with a finance company, which in some cases is a division of a bank.

[tmcd35]

The way leasing often works is that the school/business signs up to take a loan from the bank, but the principal is paid to the arranging company who then use it to supply the equipment.

 

Maybe some mis-reporting on the Beebs part then, or I misunderstood what the program was saying. They were suggesting that the school signed the lease with DTS/LBT, almost strong armed on the spot, and it was DTS/LBT who got the loan from the bank. Where as your description makes more sense with DTS/LBT effectively being agents for the bank.

 

Still can't work out were the schools thought the money was coming from to pay these leasing costs?

[PiqueABoo]

What did you think of the show - I was rather disappointed?

 

I've had my hands on some DTS 'free' laptops and Panaroma told it exactly the way that one happened. My disappointment is that even though Panorama spelt out what happened V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W-L-Y W-I-T-H P-R-E-T-T-Y P-I-CT-U-R-E-S some folk here still don't understand the relatively simple plot.

[AngryTechnician]

Still can't work out were the schools thought the money was coming from to pay these leasing costs?

 

There are an awful lot of people out there, even in schools, who think we routinely get something for nothing. Remember, that's why its legal for us to install single-seat licences across the entire school and photocopy entire textbooks without charge.

 

(I also remember the bemusement from our sports department last year when our head declared that he thought we'd be able to get a Team GB medallist to open our new sports centre without an appearance fee.)

[Earthling]

 

And lets be honest, while there's no excusing the behaviour of the firms discussed at all, their 'victims' didn't exactly come out of this smelling of roses (claiming the salesman "refused to leave" until the deal was signed indeed. Love to see them try that where I work...)

 

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That was THE face-palm moment for me......and these people are teaching our next generation.