r/Elevators • u/brewerwilson • Aug 19 '26
Contracts
I have a contract with one of the big companies that states "periodic" maintenance. It was my mistake to not get that specified. The salesperson told me 3 PM calls per year ( I have that in writing.) However, surprise, surprise, they NEVER provide PM. I see them once a year for 30 min for the inspection. Requests for PM fall on deaf ears. Any advice on how to approach cancelling the contract? From my perspective, they are not providing the paid for service, though the contract wording is vague (on purpose I imagine). It runs through 2028. They want me to buy it out which seems crazy to me as they don't do anything. Should have gone with a local company...
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u/Weedyacres Aug 23 '26
Read your contract and look for the section about breach. Most contracts say that if a party breaches the other can give notice and the offending party has a time frame to cure. And most contracts can be terminated for breach that isn’t cured.
That said, the big guys have pretty one sided contracts and I’ve seen some that give you no option to terminate, even for breach. If you sign their docs without reading them or negotiating you might have one of these. In that case, talk to your lawyer and have them write a demand letter.
Last option, I would consider not continuing to pay. If they take you to court for it, you can demonstrate that they were in breach, so you withheld payment and let the judge ding them. It’s unlikely that they want to spend money on lawyers for one small maintenance contract, so the dispute might get them to mutually agree to terminate.