subject: Office Supply And Toner Ordering [print this page] Many companies receive calls from someone claiming to be their current copier company. Often these people will excitedly claim that they are calling with a "great" or "special" deal on copier supplies; paper, toner cartridges, ink, etc.
These people are quite often "toner pirates" who are running ordering schemes. A toner pirate is an illegitimate company that will call your business and try to deceive you into telling them the make and model of your copier.
Often, if deceit does not work, they will attempt to bully the receptionist into giving them this information.
Once they obtain your copier model and style numbers, they will either ship the toner and charge you outrageously inflates prices, or they will bill you and not even bother to ship the merchandise.
Here are several steps you should take to protect your business from these schemes:
-Never give out any information about your copier over the phone to anyone except your own vendor whom you are familiar with and whose voice you recognize.
-Make certain you are 100% sure about who you are speaking with. If you have any doubts, tell the person you want to call them back. Take their name and number and make sure they really are working for your current vendor.
-Many of these people are very good at what they do and will have previously researched your company. This allows them to drop names of people who legitimately work at your company into the conversation, lending them faux legitimacy.
-Use only OEM toner cartridges on your machine. Do not fall for scams claiming lower prices for toner that is "just as good as OEM." Non-OEM toner can damage your machine, and it will almost definitely void your warranty or service contract.
-Designate a specific person(s) within your company to handle all purchasing of supplies.
-If your company does fall victim to one of these schemes, do not feel pressured into paying the bill. Illegitimate companies will often threaten and bully with claims of collection agency and attorney filings. Write letters and carbon copy your own attorney on them. If you believe you have been a victim of a scheme like the one described above, you should also carbon copy the State Attorney General's Office.
-Institute a company-wide ordering process and distribute the particulars to all of your locations and all employees to help protect your company from incurring these expenses.
