Know How Some Postage Meter Deals May Invite Hidden Costs

There is no doubt about the fact that postage meters allow business owners to streamline their mailing processes and to send mail in faster and cheaper way. However, some postage meter companies include hidden costs in their rental packages which reduce or even nullify the postage meter’s cost saving advantages. If you are looking to sign up for a postage meter rental service, you should be aware of the possible hidden costs that your provider may charge you with so that you can avoid making ‘costly’ mistakes.

When your postage meter’s postage amount balance becomes low, you will need to pay to replenish your balance. You may end up paying postage download fees if your rental or lease agreement requires you to pay for the download charges. You may be charged from $8 to $20 per download which may increase your annual mailing costs to a significant extent. You may have to bear additional charges if you fail to make timely postage download payment. Your service provider may treat it as a line of credit, charging you interest at a rate of 18-22 percent and levying an additional late fee that may be as high as $40.

Ideally, rented postage meters should be covered by postage insurance. However, there are some service providers that will pass on the insurance charges to their customers without disclosing it in their rental agreements. Normally, such service providers will include the insurance cost in the invoice as part of equipment replacement fee which may often mislead the customer. Additionally, some providers do not inform their customers that they can avoid the equipment replacement fee if they have their own insurance coverage.

Service providers often offer discounts during trial periods as part of their service marketing strategy. Customers may be allowed to avail discounts during the first six months of a long contract period and they may soon discover that their rental rates have shot up drastically after the trial period. Undependable invoicing is another reason why you may want to conduct a thorough background check before you select a service provider. Large service providers may find it difficult to manage multiple customers, often failing to send timely invoicing to their customers who have to bear late payment charges at the end of the day. Some companies even levy lease termination fees on their clients and the amount may be as high as $1000. Additionally, some service providers even ask their customers to pay for ‘travelling fees” in situations where technicians are required to visit the customers’ homes to conduct repair and maintenance works. Notably, these are charges that the customers need to bear in addition to the technician’s fees.

Make sure you survey the market carefully before you select a postage meter rental service and compare the quotes provided by different companies. Reputed companies will always base their services on fair and transparent pricing models that you can easily understand.