01732 759725
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covers. For instance, does an A3 print count
as one click or two?
“There are also resellers who persist
with charging colour prints per colour i.e.
one click for cyan, one for magenta, one
for yellow and one for black. We do come
across users with these types of contract
and they are rarely aware of how they
actually function.
“Our belief is that simple, transparent
service agreements are best for all parties.
We all know how hard new business
wins are compared to existing customer
renewals, so it is imperative to treat
customers with fairness and respect to
earn their loyalty.”
Mark Smyth
Operations Director,
Vision
“We do come across this occasionally with
some of our competitors. It depends on
whether they are providing equipment as
new when it clearly is not. Transparency is
key for the client! As long as it's clear what
they are being provided with.
“In most cases, finance is provided as
part of the sale and all the finance partners
we work with have very comprehensive
rules on new and not new equipment that
protect both the client and reseller.
“For some years now we have tended
to provide only new equipment as part of a
Managed Printing Solution and the entire
fleet is tested, then pre-configured and
shipped to the client for installation.”
Alpesh Unalkat
Managing Director,
Capita Document and Information
Services Managed Print Business
“While it isn’t something we see
happening often in our industry,
unfortunately there are people out there
who have no qualms about tampering with
machines.
“This type of behaviour originates
with unscrupulous dealers looking to
gain from buyers, who may not realise
anything is wrong with the equipment
they are purchasing. For example, small
businesses or schools without a huge need
for printed materials might not know what
discrepancies or signs to look out for.
“Fortunately, manufacturers have taken
steps to prevent this rogue dealing by
introducing electronic meters that cannot
be reset. So it stands to reason that this
problem predominately affects older
technology, such as analogue machines
with manual counters.
“The solution to combatting this fraud
is to make sure buyers work with high
quality providers and, where possible,
always buy new rather than used
machines – that way there is less scope
for equipment to be altered, as it will have
come direct from the manufacturer.
“To make sure people don’t get
caught out, they need to be ‘buyer aware’
and ‘buy well’ from reputable dealers.
If everyone in our industry joins forces
to crack down on this kind of dishonest
practice, then hopefully it won’t be long
before it is stamped out entirely.”
Mick Harrison
Group Service Manager,
Arena Group
“The process of clocking a machine is
nothing new. Just as an unscrupulous
car dealer can clock a car’s mileage, a
photocopier can be clocked in order to
make it look younger than it actually is.
“It wasn’t all that long ago that most
photocopiers had mechanical counters
that could be replaced or simply turned
back to zero or whatever figure you liked.
Nowadays, most machines have electronic
counters and this makes clocking a lot
harder, although not impossible.
“Some manufacturers have cottoned
onto this with sophisticated electronics
that prevent you from changing the
counter. However, others are way behind
and they still allow you (with a little
knowledge) to reset the counter back to
zero. The industry needs further tightening
up to prevent this practice from taking
place, and it needs to start with the
manufacturers. Until then, rogue dealers
will continue to pass on used equipment
as new.”
Nowadays,
most
machines
have
electronic
counters and
this makes
clocking a
lot harder,
although not
impossible.
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Mark Smyth, Operations Director, Vision
Buyer beware
