What is covered under each Service Level Agreement option for equipment

Pitney Bowes Sending Technology Solutions offers several different Service Level Agreements for equipment. Coverage will depend on which Service Level Agreement (SLA) is purchased and listed on the order. Certain coverage options may not be available for select products, and in certain areas where the equipment is located. Contact your sales representative for availability and details.
Note: SLA does not include maintenance and support for licensed or subscription software products. Software maintenance and support is described in the software maintenance agreement (SMA) for each respective proprietary licensed software product.

Service Level Agreement terms are within the general PB Terms document located on the page, Pitney Bowes Terms and Conditions.

Terms are subject to change but in general, are described in sections 25-30.


SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT

25. Applicability of SLA

This SLA section applies to you if we have entered into an agreement to provide service for any Equipment we lease, rent or sell on the Order, excluding any DI2000 (the covered equipment is called “Covered Equipment”).
 

26. Service Level Options

(a) (i) If you sign up for Standard SLA on the Order, PBI will provide at its option either repair or replacement services for the Covered Equipment during the Initial Service Term or any Renewal Service Term (each term as defined in Section 20) (the “Service Term”). You are also entitled to: (x) replacement printheads for Covered Equipment without additional charge, except for printheads which need to be replaced as a result of any Excluded Circumstance, and except for integrated printhead/ink cartridges; and (y) two preventative maintenance service calls per calendar year. PBI will notify you when preventative maintenance is due or you can request preventative maintenance service. If your Covered Equipment needs repair, PBI may provide repair by remote access, diagnostics and service and/or by on-site repair service. Repair service is provided only for damage resulting from normal wear and tear. Repair service may include the use of new, reconditioned, or remanufactured parts and assemblies. PBI will provide parts or assemblies for discontinued equipment (or equipment not marketed as new) only if available. If PBI deems it necessary, PBI will dispatch a service technician to arrive at your location for on-site service. You won’t incur hourly charges unless service is performed outside Normal Working Hours, which will be done only with your consent. “Normal Working Hours” means 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday, excluding PBI- observed U.S. holidays, in the time zone where the Equipment or other items are located. 

(ii) If PBI determines that replacement of Covered Equipment is necessary, PBI will, at no additional cost to you, promptly ship new, reconditioned, or remanufactured equipment of the same or a functionally equivalent model to replace the affected Covered Equipment. Unless PBI instructs you otherwise, within five days of receiving the replacement equipment, you must pack the Covered Equipment to be replaced in the shipping carton that contained the replacement equipment, place the pre-paid return address label on the carton, and return it to PBI. You are responsible for the Covered Equipment until PBI receives it. 

(b) If you are eligible to receive Performance SLA under our policies and you sign up for Performance SLA on the Order, you will be entitled to receive: (i) all coverage provided under Standard SLA; and (ii) one two-hour application consultation for your mailing and shipping needs. If PBI determines that on-site service is necessary, PBI will use commercially reasonable efforts to have a service technician on-site (during Normal Working Hours only) within 4 hours or 8 hours, as specified on the Order, after PBI has determined that it can’t resolve the issue remotely (the “Response Time Commitment”). The Response Time Commitment relates solely to the arrival of a technician at your location. It isn’t a guaranteed resolution of the problem within the Response Time Commitment period, and it doesn’t guarantee that all parts necessary to make a repair will be on-site within this time frame. The Response Time Commitment does not apply to Service designated as service by replacement, relocation services, software maintenance, preventative maintenance, operator training, or other services not essential to repair the Covered Equipment. If the Covered Equipment is moved from its original location, PBI may, at its option, remove the Response Time Commitment. If this happens, you will receive Standard SLA and we will adjust the SLA charges payable by you appropriately. If we don’t meet the Response Time Commitment, we will provide you with a credit equal to the difference between the cost of Standard SLA and Performance SLA for three months. In order to receive this credit, you must use a credit request form which you can obtain from your service technician or by calling the Customer Care Center. The credits are limited to credits for four failures to meet the Response Time Commitment in any twelve-month period during the Service Term. These remedies are your sole remedy for PBI’s failure to meet the Response Time Commitment.
 

27. Service Term

PBI will provide you with Service for twelve months, if you don’t have a Lease, or for the Lease Term, if you are leasing Equipment (the “Initial Service Term”). SERVICE AUTOMATICALLY RENEWS FOR CONSECUTIVE ONE YEAR TERMS (EACH A “RENEWAL SERVICE TERM”) UNLESS YOU TERMINATE YOUR SERVICE AS PROVIDED BELOW OR THE LEASE EXPIRES OR IS TERMINATED OR THE RENEWAL IS PROHIBITED BY LAW. If you don’t wish to renew Service, you must deliver a written notice (the “Termination Notice”) at least sixty days prior to the renewal of the term to us at 27 Waterview Dr, Shelton CT 06484 or you may create a case (follow the instructions on this page, How to Create a Case). Your Termination Notice must include your customer account number and lease number (if applicable). PBI reserves the right not to renew your SLA for any reason.

28. SLA Fees

You will pay the SLA fees for the Initial Service Term and any Renewal Service Term(s). We may increase the SLA fees after the Initial Service Term, and any increases will be reflected on your invoice. If you receive service for repairs caused by any Excluded Circumstance, PBI will charge you for the service at PBI’s current hourly rates and for any required parts. If you exceed the cycle volume of your Equipment specified on the Order, PBI may bill you for the additional cycles over the specified cycle volume (the additional cycles are called the “Overage”). The charge will be determined by reference to the rate in effect at the time that we determine that an Overage exists. Upon request, you will provide the cycle volume to us. If you do not provide the cycle volume to us, we will estimate the cycle volume and send an invoice to you for any Overage based on our estimate. If, in the prior quarter, we estimated cycle volume and later receive actual cycle volume, then we will make adjustments based on actual usage on your next invoice.


29. Service Changes

PBI may modify its Service by giving written notice to you (a “Service Change Notice”), which will state whether the change is material. After receiving a Service Change Notice, if the change is material, you may terminate Service by giving us a termination notice at the address indicated in Section 20 or you may create a case.

 

30. Additional Service Terms

You can’t elect to have Service apply to some but not all of the items of Equipment. Service doesn’t include services and repairs that are made necessary due to any Excluded Circumstance. Service excludes the supply of postal and carrier rate changes and Consumable Supplies. If you replace any of your Covered Equipment during the Service Term, and the replacement Equipment qualifies for Services, PBI will automatically enroll you for maintenance coverage on the new Equipment at PBI’s then current annual rates. If you acquire an attachment, or add a unit, to your Covered Equipment, PBI will provide coverage for each attachment or unit which we determine qualifies for coverage under the SLA and adjust your rate accordingly. If you choose not to continue coverage on the replacement Equipment, attachment or unit, you may cancel Service for the item within thirty days of the date of your initial invoice for the item from PBI. If you cancel, any further maintenance or repair services on the Equipment, attachment or unit will be subject to PBI’s current rates. Standard SLA will apply to rented Equipment at no additional charge.


Important related general terms are the “Warranty” and description of “Excluded Circumstance”:

GENERAL TERMS

1. Warranties

We warrant that all PBI-branded equipment (“PBI Equipment”) will be free from defects in material and workmanship and will perform according to the operator guides for a period of ninety days from the date (i) the PBI Equipment is installed at your location when PBI installs the PBI Equipment for you or (ii) the PBI Equipment is delivered to you when you can install it yourself. The DI2000™ inserting system has its own unique warranty that you can see at: pitneybowes.com/us/di2000-terms.

(a) A defect doesn’t include the failure of rates within a rate update to conform to published rates.

(b) We warrant that any service (“Service”) we perform under the Service Level Agreement set out in Sections 25 through 30 (the “SLA”) will be performed in a professional and workmanlike manner.

(c) YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR A WARRANTY CLAIM IS TO HAVE US REPAIR OR REPLACE THE PBI EQUIPMENT OR, IN THE CASE OF DEFECTIVE SERVICE, REPERFORM THE SERVICE.

(d) There is no warranty for PBI Equipment that needs to be repaired or replaced because of any Excluded Circumstance. “Excluded Circumstance” is a circumstance outside of PBI’s control, including an accident, your negligent or reckless use of the equipment, use of the equipment which exceeds our recommendations or in a way not authorized by this Agreement or any operator guide, use of the equipment in an environment with unsuitable humidity, line voltage, damage in transit, software virus, loss of data, loss or fluctuation of power, fire, flood or other natural causes, and other external forces beyond our control, servicing of the equipment by someone other than us, failure to use required software updates, use of the equipment with any system where we have told you that we will no longer provide support or that we have advised you is no longer compatible, or use of third party supplies (such as ink), hardware or software that results in (i) damage to equipment (including damage to printheads), (ii) poor indicia, text or image print quality, (iii) indicia readability failures or (iv) a failure to print indicia, text or images.

(e) The print engine(s), print engine components, structural components and printed circuit board assemblies supplied with the PBI Equipment may be reclaimed, reconditioned or remanufactured. These items are warranted to perform according to the same standards as the equivalent new item.

(f) The warranty doesn’t cover ink, integrated printhead/ink cartridges, ink rollers, toner and drum cartridges, ribbons and similar items (“Consumable Supplies”).

(g) EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT, WE (ON BEHALF OF OURSELF AND OUR SUPPLIERS) MAKE NO OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AS TO THE EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY AS TO ANY THIRD PARTY EQUIPMENT. WE AGREE TO PASS THROUGH TO YOU ALL THIRD PARTY EQUIPMENT WARRANTIES TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED.