**FAX ALERT**
December 13, 1996
To; All Field Partners
From; Norman Slunk, President
Subject:
MESSAGE:
UPDATE
As of today! Friday, December 13 StarTronix and their financial institutions have now been able to do a credit evaluation on every credit application that has been submtitted to the company from the beginning. There are applications that still fall into the "pending" category and you will be told this. Those that are "pending" are those that are borderline under the credit criteria set by the financial institutions that we work with. We are making every effort to try to turn these "pending applications" into definite approvals. We expect these "pending applications" will be decided upon next week.
Leases have gone out to most, if not all, of those individuals who have qualified for a lease. They should have been received and/or will be receiving them in the next day or so. You will be able to call Customer Service starring Friday; December 13, 1996, and they will be able to tell you;
1 If we have received your credit application.
2. Whether you have been approved! declined; or are pending approval for a lease.
3. The applicable deposit rate.
4. Customer Service will also be able to give you your placement in the queue for StarScreenTM delivery. We stated in ourFax Alert of November 25th. that many, if not all, of those people who have already received their lease from LeaseCom should have received a new lease. Please note: StarTronix has not cashed the checks that have been sent in with those first leases. Those who have received the new lease need to fill in the new lease papers and send them back without any additional deposit.
The shipment ofyour StarScreen is contingent upon the receipt of your new lease so make sure you return it as soon as possible. Please Note: Those who have signed the original leases and returned them will not lose their place in the queue for StarScreen delivery as long as the new lease is returned in the shortest reasonable time possible. We will send the original signed lease back to you.
Overall, most people feel the new lease agreement is simpler and easier for people to understand, however, there are still multiple documents that need to be filled out and signed: (A) The new StarScreen System Agreement (it has changed slightly), (B ) the lease agreement, (C ) the Lease Confirmation Form. This also applies to those people who have already returned the previous LeaseCom paperwork.
There have been some questions raised about specific Paragraphs of the new lease agreement. The following are the clarifications to the questions we have been asked the most.
The simplest comparison that I can give to you as to why some points are covered in one agreement such as the StarScreen System Agreement and other points are covered by the lease agreement and at times they seem to be contradictory to each other is as follows:
For any of you that have ever had the expenence of leasing a car, the car and its 50,000 mile or 5 year warranty comes from the auto company itself - for example - Ford Motor Company. when you sign your lease papers, the lease comes from Ford Motor Credit. Both have the name Ford in it but each of those companies have different responsibilities. Your car itself, its warranties, etc., come from the motor company. StarTronix Inc. and its StarScreen Service Agreement is like that Ford Motor Company. The lease from StarTronix Financial Services is like Ford Motor Credit.
LEASE ADJUSTMENTS: In the lease agreement under Paragraph
I, it states that the cost which you are leasing is based upon an
estimated cost and that the company has the right to authorize us to adjust the monthly lease payment by up to 10% higher or lower. IN ORDER TO CLARIFY THIS, this clause is put in because in the future we will be able to add in, for those people who wish to add in, additional peripherals such as a CD ROM, etc., to the lease if they are available at the time of signing the lease. For those of you who are getting the basic units (as everyone is now), your lease price will not in any way, shape, or form be changed from the original price put on the face value of the lease for the entire term (except for applicable taxes andior penalties possibly due to default).
WARRANTIES: As stated above, warranties are one of those areas in which you are flilly covered for all normal wear and tear under the StarTronix System Agreement- The lease which comes from StarTronix Financial Services does not warranty anything and it states that. StarTronix Financial Services and the financial institutions we are working with are not responsible for warranties at all and again the
lease reflects this. Paragraph 10 of the StarScreen System Agreement gives you a description of the warranty from StarTronix Inc. (the supplier). This warranty is exactly as we have presented to our field from the very beginning.
PRIMARY ADDRESS: As when you lease a car, you are responsible for listing your address at the primary place it will be located. You take your car out every day and use it but you don't need the lease
company's permission to do that. This clause is effective if you change the address you have listed on your lease as the primary address. You will need to notify the leasing company as to the change of address and get their written confirmation. Your ability to take the StarScreen System and transport it to people's homes, meetings, and demonstrations is key to our business strategy and philosophy. We
would do nothing to inhibit this.
INSURANCE: As in any lease for any product that you bring into your home, if it is lost or stolen, you are fully responsible for it's
replacement value. Therefore, you need to list it on your homeowner's
or renter's insurance. That is the intent of this clause. When I leased one of my cars, on the insurance card I received, it has my name as well as Ford Motor Credit listed. You need to do the same thing with your existing homeowner's/renter's insurance. That way, if your StarScreen is stolen, lost, or destroyed, the leasing company can be reimbursed for the amount that is outstanding. It is my understanding that it is relatively easy to add the StarScreen to your homeowner's/renter's insurance policy naming the lease company as the loss payee. Please note: The Optional Enhanced Service Plan offered by StarTronix is an "accidental breakage" service plan. It
does not cover loss or theft.
TAXES: You are flilly responsible for the State/Province and/or
Federal taxes associated with the StarScreen System lease. In addition to your monthly payments you will be required to pay taxes. The leases being used are standard leases from the financial institutions we work with and they cover many types of leasing situations. There are no property taxes involved with the StarScreen System so this does not apply. StarTronix Financial Services collects the tax on your behalf, acts as your agent in paying the tax, and we need the rights to deal with those maffers dealing with the taxes.
INFORMATION HOT LINE: We are establishing a telephone hot line that will be in effect as of Thursday, December 12th,% the number is
415-273-6031. This hot line will be updated at least once per week
and it will list information that is vital for the smooth running of your business. Most of the information will be the type that goes into a fax alert. This way instead of calling Customer Service on some of the key issues, you can call up this pre-recorded line and get the company's responses and answers to many of your pending questions. Please pass the "Hot Line" phone number to your downline.
STARSCREEN SYSTEM SHIPMENT UPDATE: As you know, we have been beta testing units throughout North America and the overall comment is that we have UNDEREPROMISED and OVER-DELIVERED. With a few minor modifications we are ready to ship. We have notified the factory of the changes and they are already being addressed. As promised in my fax alert of November 25th, the factory will start mass shipping the units by the weekend and we expect by next week to be able to start shipping large quantities to the field. Please note: We are still on track for delivery as promised in my Fax Alert of November 25th.
GENERAL SHIPPING: We have to apologize to the field that the
renovations at our US fulfillment center, which were supposed to take
a little over one week, have stretched far beyond that. We have been
given assurances that we will be able to resume shipping by this
coming weekend. Again, I apologize for any inconveniences caused.
HOLIDAY: On December 18th at 4:00pm our corporate offices, Customer Service, and Order Entry will be closed for a holiday party for our staff. On December 24th the office will close at 2:00pm and
we will resume regular business hours on December 26th. We will also
be closing the office at 2:00pm on December 31st and returning our
regular business hours on January 2, 1997
Again, thank you for your patience. All your family the happiest of holidays!
Best regards,
Norman Shink
President |
