PC World to offer on-the-spot credit checks for leased IT equipment

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 7 May 2003 at 16:19

PC World will be leasing IT equipment to the SME sector, removing much of the red-tape with an on-the-spot credit check in its retail stores.

By offering this 'convenience leasing' approach through its network of 120 high street stores, Dixons-owned PC World is hoping to capture business from the 3.5m SMEs in UK, many of which it claims have shied away from the lengthy process of organising equipment-leasing more suited to enterprises.

Ned Montarello, MD of RentSmart - the system used for credit-checking, said: 'Small business doesn't want to jump through the same hoops for financing a £1,000 PC as it would for a larger facility, so our systems have cut through this, delivering a convenient point-of-sale service.'

RentSmart has entered into an exclusive deal with Dixons, and the new PC World rental service will be branded SmartPlan, which is on offer from today.

Under SmartPlan, businesses will be able to lease sub-£15,000 hardware under a contract that after three years will allow them to either buy it outright for one third of the original price or continue, but with the latest models. Customers will get the same support that PC World offers all its business customers.

Additionally, businesses get the finance boons of not having to stump up all the money to buy computer hardware in one hit, and instead pay tax-deductable monthly sums.