> It's actually against our finance rules to pay for any recurring service charge without a negotiated contract.
Your company probably also employs a professional shark whose job it is to squeeze the blood out of every stone he is pointed towards. With even a modest number of sizeable contracts, such a person would pay for themselves very easily.
At my old company we were paying millions for contracts and software we didn't use or really didn't mean. One of the analysts volunteered to be the "undertaker" and renegotiate. After a year of screaming at people on the phone (I sat next to him), he managed to save us around a million dollars, which was around a 60% savings. He pocketed maybe 30% of the money saved that year. Not bad for a year of being a dick.
Your company probably also employs a professional shark whose job it is to squeeze the blood out of every stone he is pointed towards. With even a modest number of sizeable contracts, such a person would pay for themselves very easily.