Don’t pay that surcharge!

There’s something fishy going on in the document destruction business. A number of the “big boys,” or industry giants, have taken to imposing surcharges on their bills to customers.

Don’t get taken for a ride by this practice!

What is at issue is that most shredding companies derive a portion of their income from selling the paper products after they are shredded to recycling and other end user markets. A decline in the value of paper from a recent high of $130 per ton to as low as $10 per ton recently has significantly affected the bottom line of companies who sell the shredded paper.

Typically, the Goliaths in our industry will cut prices below their competitors, and make their money off the back end by selling scrap. In some cases, they will do the shredding for next to nothing. But, with the decline in paper, we hear that at least one of the large companies has imposed a 12.5% surcharge in an attempt to make up the losses. In the end, it’s the customer who’s paying for this.

What can you do about this? Read your contracts very, very carefully.  Look to see if there is a provision allowing these or other unexpected surcharges. And don’t be afraid to hold the vendor to account.

There are other practices that are, well, deceptive. These include fuel mileage and pickup fees. This is a small print ambush, basically. A quoted price should be ironclad. Period. No surprises.

At Destruction.com, a Datasafe Company, we have a “no surcharge” pledge. We’ve shredded over 550 million documents in our 29+ years. We’ve never imposed a surcharge regardless of the price of paper. And we never will.

If you’re using some other firm for your shredding needs, read the fine print carefully and make sure you aren’t paying surcharges, mileage or pickup fees. And, if you are using some other firm, consider giving us a chance to be your provider.  We’re established, we answer our own phones, our prices contain no surprises, and we have been doing this for nearly three decades.   And, if you need another reason to consider us, we have a record of three decades without a single security or confidence breach.