Retailers who claimed they were misled by photocopier supplier EzeeCopy have won a court victory against the company after it tried to charge them thousands of pounds.

Pawan Kumar, owner of Woodman News in Essex, told Retail Express that he was tricked into signing a contract by a rep who said there would be no minimum charges, no fixed contract lengths and a 50/50 commission split.

He said he was not given a copy of the contract and that despite the rep’s promises, after several months the company began to charge him a £90 monthly fee and said the contract length was five years. After cancelling the direct debits, EzeeCopy demanded £5,000 for breaking the contract.

Retail Express has heard from three other retailers with identical stories.

When EzeeCopy took Kumar to court in December, the retailer showed evidence that he, and other retailers, believe they were misled over the contracts. The judge agreed with Kumar that his contract could not be enforced.

Speaking to Retail Express after the hearing, Kumar said: “I just want other shopkeepers who are struggling with EzeeCopy to know that they don’t have to put up with it.”

Other retailers have since told Retail Express that they are also going to fight EzeeCopy in court over exit fees.

Responding to the issues raised by Retail Express, EzeeCopy claimed it has a 99.2% success record in court, that the contract meets all regulatory requirements and that the company had sent a copy of the contract to Kumar but an “administrative error” meant the company could not prove this in court.”

Read EzeeCopy's response here.