Joel Libava
This is long overdue.
Lesley Fair, an attorney who works for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), wants you to report any potential fraudulent activity you feel your franchisor has engaged in. In other words, if you feel your franchisor lied to you, report it!
In most cases, this refers to conversations you had with franchise company representatives…heck, even ones you had with franchise brokers, about the franchise opportunity you bought.
From Lesley Fair, on the FTC website:
“If you researched the opportunity thoroughly, signed on the dotted line, and gave it your best effort – but you have evidence that the franchisor didn’t give you the straight story or in some other way engaged in deceptive or unfair practices? Approach the franchisor directly to try to address your concerns. If that doesn’t work, explore your legal options.”
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Then she added this.:
“Another important step: Report your experience to the FTC. Use this special link to go directly to an FTC page created to collect information related to franchises.” Here’s the link.
On Reporting Franchisor Lies
One more thing, and it’s important.
Lesley wrote that “The FTC can’t conduct individual negotiations between you and the franchisor, but the information you report is important to investigatory efforts by the FTC and law enforcement partners.”
So document what you have, and send it in.
Because it’s an important first step if you feel you’ve been screwed by a less that ethical franchisor.
Finally, you still need to do your research…your homework.
But you should still believe (?) what the franchise team at headquarters and/or a franchise broker is telling you. The trick is to verify it. This usually happens by talking to a lot of existing franchisees.
Got it?
About the Author
Joel Libava is The Franchise King® — an independent franchise advisor with 25+ years in the industry, two published books on franchising, and his writing has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, CNBC, Entrepreneur® Magazine and others. In addition, he wrote exclusively for the U.S. Small Business Administration blog for eight years. He doesn't sell franchises. Instead, Joel helps you figure out if franchise ownership is actually right for you — and if it is, teaches you his powerful, proven-to-work franchise research techniques, so you can make a smart, informed decision on a franchise to own and be your own boss.
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