Franchisee Bill of Rights: What Would You Include?

Franchisee Bill of Rights: What Would You Include? 

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FETCH! PET CARE Paul Mann Complaints

Fetch! Pet Care is a Berkeley, CA dogwalking and pet-sitting franchise founded by its current President Paul Mann.

There are disturbing allegations about the Fetch! pet care franchise opportunity scattered across the Internet, but no cohesive franchise story as of yet. 

Paul Mann is not beloved, by any means, by the independent pet sitters he competes with nor those who post as disgruntled franchise owners. It seems clear that the Fetch! Pet Care franchisor has played fast and loose in terms of franchise compliance in registration states.  The Attorney General of Maryland issued a Consent Order[pdf] alleging that Fetch! Pet Care sold unregistered franchises in its state, and the CA Department of Corporations issued a Notice of Violation [.pdf] for noncompliance with its franchise laws.

If you’re familiar with the Fetch! Pet Care franchise opportunity and its founder, Paul Mann, please share your impressions below.

Here are some of the warnings posted on the Internet regarding Fetch! Pet Care franchise:

Deborah posted this comment on 4/24/11 on Crain’s NY Business:

“I pity the people that may have purchased a Fetch franchise.  Paul Mann is under investigation by multiple states for NOT being legally registered to sell franchises in certain states, including New York!  And, more than one former franchisee is suing Paul Mann and Fetch for fraud.  The state of New Jersey is also looking into Paul Mann’s business activities, with regard to classification of contractors.  The state of NY requires that Fetch pet sitters be classified as employees but the franchisor continues to promote a failed and illegal business model… Check public the records: Fetch was fined for misclassifing contractors and recently, the franchisor had to refund monies to victims that were sold franchises in New York illegally.”

Sacmen4fun wrote on Yahoo! Answers August 20, 2010:

“…2 [New Jersey] franchises, Greater Wayne-East Hanover and Somerset Hills-Long Valley, are joined in a law suit against Fetch and Paul Mann. In addition, at this point, one—Greater Wayne is being audited by the state of NJ. Contrary to buzz, the case has not been moved to California. It is before the Appellate Court of NJ.

Paul Mann and Fetch were served with complaints on the following counts:

First Count: Breach of Contract

Second Count: Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

Third Count: Fraud and Misrepresentation

Fourth Count: Violation of the Franchise Practices Act

Fifth Count: Violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act”

On ComplaintsBoard, 11/13/10 sjtlymt wrote under the heading “Franchise CEO Dishonest”:

“Fetch! Pet Care franchise ownership

”Be very cautious before you get engaged with the purchase of a Fetch! Pet Care franchise. They are experiencing a lot of problems due to compliance issues with each individual state labor law. In my experience the current Fetch! franchise owners tend to be extremely responsible, caring and animal-dedicated individuals. It’s the corporate office you need to be cautious of.

”The sales numbers they “projected” tended to be grossly inflated from the actual numbers of franchise owners we spoke with. Working with pets seems like such a wonderful way to make a living; however, please, help yourself by going through a thorough due diligence process. Learning your state labor laws, the cost of insurance (liability, damage, workers comp., unemployment, etc., etc., etc.) the increasing franchise fees each year you’re in business, the difficulty of finding/retaining quality Pet Sitters, the number of fixed monthly expenses, and understanding the massive responsibility/stress of caring for people’s homes and dearly beloved pets.

”As any small business owner will tell you, all of the “small” monthly expenditures/taxes that you don’t always figure, really eat into your margin and make it difficult to be profitable….”

On ComplaintsBoard, 108 days ago, fetch pet care scam wrote:

“All of the Fetch Pet Care franchises in the state of Oregon have closed due to the business model created by scam artist Paul Mann is not legal! It’s not legal in his own state of California! Paul Mann is a thief! Numerous franchises have had to deal with being audited by their state, and have found out the business model of using independent contractors as pet sitters isn’t legal since their being instructed directly by the local franchise they are in fact misclassified as independent contractors, and are in fact employee’s. Their is simply not enough margin in the pet sitting business to pay for employee’s. DON’T PURCHASE THIS FRANCHISE SCAM!”

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE FETCH! CARE FRANCHISE & FOUNDER PAUL MANN?  SHARE A COMMENT – POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE – BELOW.

LIBERTY TAX Boasts Growth in Tax Returns & Revenue

(UnhappyFranchisee.com)  Liberty Tax kicked sand in the faces of tax franchise competitors Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block by boasting strong systemwide sales growth for the just-completed tax season.

Here is the Liberty Tax company news release, posted on Businesswire.  Feel free to share your views about the health of Liberty Tax, Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block in the comments section below.

Read previous posts here about LIBERTY TAX.

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Liberty Tax’s Preliminary Tax Season Results Show Solid Sustainable Growth

Company Has Responded to Changing Industry Landscape

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Liberty Tax Service has demonstrated the ability to respond to a plethora of industry challenges and regulations during its most recent tax season and reports solid growth in both tax returns and revenue for the just-completed tax season. Throughout this decade, Liberty Tax Service has demonstrated significant gains in an industry formerly dominated by tax giant H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) and, during the 21st century, Liberty has grown by more tax returns than both Jackson Hewitt (NYSE:JTX) and H&R Block combined.

Liberty Tax Service prepared 11% more returns through April 19, 2011, compared to the same time period in 2010. System wide revenues increased 12%. The Company continued to offer competitive choices, allowing its growing customer base to choose between professional services in brick-and-mortar locations, and do-it-yourself online tax preparation with its eSmart Tax product at www.esmarttax.com.

In 2011, change proved to be another of life’s certainties, and the major tax players were faced with challenges of offering tax settlement products after the IRS cancelled the direct deposit indicator. The IRS also began phasing in increased regulations of tax preparers and their credentials. With a tax preparer certification process in place since 2007, Liberty Tax Service was poised for stricter IRS standards for tax preparers.

“We have rolled with the punches during this tax season. Tax preparer certification benefits not only the consumer, but the credibility of the tax industry and our collaborative effort to fight fraud. Liberty’s continued ability to offer customers the range of filing and tax settlement product options they expect has been another factor in our success this year,” Liberty Tax Service Founder and CEO, John Hewitt, reflected. “In addition, our execution and preparation paid off.”

Aggressive marketing coupled with a strong commitment to customer service have been key factors in building a successful brand in fourteen years. Since 1997, the Company has grown from 119 offices located in Canada, to over 3,800 throughout the U.S. and Canada today.

About Liberty Tax Service

Liberty Tax Service is the fastest -growing retail tax preparation company in the industry’s history. Founded in 1997 by CEO John T. Hewitt, a pioneer in the tax industry, Liberty Tax Service has prepared over 8,000,000 individual income tax returns. With 42 years of tax industry experience, Hewitt stands as the most experienced CEO in the tax preparation business, having also founded Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.

The Liberty Tax Service franchise opportunity is #1 in the tax franchise category of the 2011 Entrepreneur “Franchise 500.” Liberty Tax Service is the only tax franchise on the Forbes “Top 20 Franchises to Start.” Each office provides computerized income tax preparation, electronic filing, and online filing through eSmart Tax. Other services include audit assistance, a money back guarantee, and free tax return checking.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

MARS VENUS COACHING: Does Your Life Coach Wear an Ankle Monitor?

(UnhappyFranchisee.com)  Mars Venus Coaching may want to consider renaming its June 9th licensee training seminar to Women are from Venus, Men are from the Clark County Detention Center.

According to the Mars Venus Coaching website, the new coach training session will be conducted by none other than coach Richard Bernstein.

Who better to train the future business coaches of America than a man whose past, according to the Las Vegas Sun, “includes a conviction for credit card fraud,” and has “numerous civil judgments for breach of contract [and] two Internal Revenue Service liens totaling more than $200,000 in unpaid taxes that have been recorded against him”?

Who better to teach success secrets than a professional investment advisor currently facing felony fraud charges that could land him a 20 year prison sentence?

Unhappy Franchisee commenter Phil claims that Richard Bernstein will be conducting the training session adorned with an electronic monitoring device under his trousers.

If true, that’s unfortunate.

UnhappyFranchisee.com Tip #6 for selecting a life coach is Avoid life coaches wearing orange jumpsuits and/or electronic ankle monitors.

But let’s cut Coach Bernstein some slack. 

At least he isn’t on the Colorado Convicted Sex Offender Website, like, say, Mars Venus Coach and Marketing Director Scott Lippitt.

Women Are From 7th Grade, Men Are From the National Sex Offender’s Registry

The Mars Venus Coaching website touts the high-powered background of its Marketing Director, Scott Lippitt.

Here’s an excerpt from the Meet The Team section of the Mars Venus Coaching website:

Scott Lippitt

Marketing Director

Based in Denver, Colorado

Scott is a highly experienced executive and consultant with more than 25 years of hands-on…experience…

In addition to being a Master Franchisee and Success Coach in Colorado, he also trains and coaches our new Mars Venus Success Coaching franchisees/success coaches on how to get their practices up and running as quickly as possible, how to gain awareness in their local markets, how to attract…

If anything, this bio understates Scott Lippitt’s “hands-on” experience, ability get things up quickly and his incredible talent for attracting awareness.

When he was EVP, Marketing for Quiznos, Scott Lippitt gained widespread attention by getting arrested in an online teen sex sting operation. 

It seems the incredible Mr. Lippitt was busted after offering to Life Coach a supposed 13-year old girl on “how to be a woman.”   Allegedly, when he arrived at the initial consultation (with such coaching aids as condoms and sex toys), the young girl was neither from Venus nor middle school, but rather from the Canon City, CO police department.  Oops!

Scott Lippitt’s picture does not appear on the Mars Venus Coaching “Meet the Team” page, it does appear on his Colorado convicted sex offender web page.

Proposed Seminar for Prospective Franchise Owners:  Use Google Before Investing!

It would be very interesting to attend the June 9 licensing training session (or to watch from outside) just to see who would actually pay to be trained as a success coach by a convicted fraudster currently on bail and a registered sex offender.

Then again, I’m sure they’ll end up here eventually.  This site is, after all, named Unhappy Franchisee.

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH RICHARD BERNSTEIN, SCOTT LIPPITT & MARS VENUS COACHING?  WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

CUPPY’S COFFEE U.S. Department of Justice, FBI Investigating Cuppy’s Coffee Franchise / Java Jo’z

(Unhappy Franchisee) Cuppy’s Coffee franchise owners and Java Jo’z licensees and depositers:  The Federal Bureau of Investigation wants your help.

Numerous victims of the Cuppy’s Coffee franchise fiasco report having recently received letters requesting information and documentation regarding alleged wrongdoing and allegations of fraud in connection with the sale of Java Jo’z and Cuppy’s Coffee business opportunities. 

The letter and accompanying questionaire was sent by FBI Agent/Victim Specialist Michelle Thorne, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI-Jacksonville, FL.  [If you'd like Ms. Thorne's full contact information, please email ADMIN at unhappyfranchisee@gmail.com]

Whether you received a letter or not, if you believe you are a victim of Java Jo’z or Medina Enterprises Cuppy’s Coffee, you are invited to call Thorne or go to a designated website to register.  Victims will be provided a pin # which they can use to access case information and updates.

FBI Agent Michelle Thorne’s voicemail greeting at the provided number seems to indicate that the Cuppy’s Coffee / Java Jo’z investigation is her priority:

You have reached Michelle Thorne of the Jacksonville Division…

If you have received a questionaire pertaining to Cuppy’s Coffee and/or Java Jo’z, please complete the questionaire to the best of your ability.  Once completed, please return the questionaire to the Federal Bureau of Investigation… Attention Michelle Thorne.  If you are in need of financial assistance, please listen to the entire recording.  To leave a message, please press 1 and leave your name, case number, and a number where you can be reached and I’ll return your call as soon as I can…

Are you a franchise owner or depositer of Cuppy’s Coffee or Java Jo’z?  Have you received correspondence from Federal investigators?  Please share a comment or message below.

Not familiar with Java Jo’z or Cuppy’s Coffee?  Franchise writer Sean Kelly first began reporting early in 2007 about allegations of fraud regarding the sale of Java Jo’z drive thru coffee licensing opportunities by businessman Roy Snowden.  When Roy Snowden was convicted of tax fraud later that year, he sold the assets of Java Jo’z to Medina Enterprises Inc., owned by Robert “Morg” Morgan.  Sean Kelly’s UnhappyFranchisee.Com website and franchise news site BlueMauMau.org aggressively reported on allegations of fraud, deception and outright theft by Morgan’s Medina Enterprises, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including Cuppy’s Coffee and Elite Manufacturing.

In April, 2008 Fransynergy, Inc., owned by franchise consultant Robert Dale Nabors, purchased the assets and liabilities of the troubled Medina Enterprises, Inc., Cuppy’s Coffee, and its subsidiaries.  UnhappyFranchisee.com and BlueMauMau.org continued to report on ongoing allegations of fraud and theft under Nabor’s ownership  Lawsuits ensued.  Shortly thereafter, Nabors abandoned the company, leaving scores of franchisees on the hook for millions in loans and lease payments but no stores, equipment or support with which to repay them.  Dale Nabors and his wife Natalie Nabors were arrested in 2009 in Muscle Shoals, AL for passing worthless checks.

Michael Webster, franchise attorney and contributer to both UnhappyFranchisee.com and BlueMauMau.org’s Cuppy’s Coffee reports, has estimated that “there are some 200 or more franchise owners out there who have been convinced to hand over $30 million of their money to Cuppy’s [Coffee].”

Read our Blogiliography of Cuppy’s Coffee posts at:  CUPPY’S COFFEE OVERVIEW

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  ARE YOU A VICTIM OF CUPPY’S COFFEE OR JAVA JO’Z?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.