Last issue I said more next issue on rave-from-the-grave photo-crookier company Lanwall, simply because I had too many cases to feature in the last issue.

David Wilson (C-Store, 25 October) is going to fight. Another, preferring to just be known as a newsagent in the Lake District, says the hire agreement cost him £6,000 all told and he made nothing from it. The copier is gathering dust in the stock room. Now the finance company, CF Capital, is offering an end of lease payment option or return the goods.

He decided to send it back, only to be told he would have to fork out for the courier to come and get it! (Er, no.)

Alison Doubleday, who runs Newsmarket in Mossley, writes that she received a phone call from a man saying that his company had received information from the bank that her ‘rentals’ had now been paid, and in order to have the ‘title’ of the machine transferred into her name she would have to pay £250 plus VAT.

“I asked how this can be when we have already been conned into paying for the machine in the first place and he said that, because it was rented/leased, it is still in the finance company’s name.

“The company is called ESL Equipment Finance. In return for the money we get the title of the machine and, he said, 5,000 free copies this will be given to us by means of printing paper and should the black ink run out before we have done those copies they will replace the black ink.”

She adds: “I would not commit to any of this so he put it in writing and sent us an invoice. Apparently, if we didn’t pay we had to return the machine that I have paid £360 a month for, for the past five years! Unfortunately, I paid which I now regret as I can’t get them to do the promised initial service on the machine, which they said they would do as well as taking the reading of the machine so that I can start to get my 5,000 maintenance-free copies.

“They have twice arranged to come and haven’t turned up. Also we have received nothing in writing to say that the title of the machine is in our name. I’m £300 out of pocket and could kick myself for being daft enough to pay.”

Trouble is, she was dealing with a finance company, which for my money means they are only in it for the dosh.

Her final question to me was: “Has anyone else experienced anything like this?”

Sadly, we all know the answer to that one.

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