Senior Helpers Complaints

Senior Helpers complaints include allegations of failure to report a potentially abusive situation, inadequate caregiver screening, and putting profits ahead of its elderly clients’ well-being.

Are you familiar with Senior Helpers? Please share a comment below.

Senior Helpers was founded in 2001 to offer professional in-home care services, and began franchising in 2005. Franchisees of the Maryland-based company offer personal and companion care, senior care management and evaluation, nurse and “peace of mind” visits, surgery assistance, sitter services, and Alzheimer’s and dementia care.

 

One commenter alleged that Senior Helpers failed to investigate or report a potentially dangerous situation. 

JacR01 wrote:

After being told that a Client was afraid of their daughter, Senior Helpers did nothing to investigate the claims nor did they alert any state authorities

…After being told of the same daughter’s aggressive outburst of bringing a tire into the home and throwing it at their mother’s feet in a fit of anger, Senior Helpers did nothing to investigate the claim or alert the state authorities.

…After being told that the same daughter physically blocked their employee from leaving, Senior Helpers again did nothing to investigate the claim. All they did was tell the employee; "Well we weren’t there."

…After being told of the client’s daughter’s negative change in behavior in the way they treated their mother soon after gaining power of attorney, Senior Helpers again did nothing to investigate the claims or alert the authority.

It is our opinion that this firm cares more about their own financial gain than they do in fulfilling their financial obligations and making sure their clients and employees are treated in a fair and safe manner.

ducati_girl615 also alleges that Senior Helpers does not investigate or report areas of concern.  She also alleges that Senior Helpers will charge more depending on the client’s address:

I am a employee of Senior Helpers and agree 100%.  I myself have had situations of concern and was told that they would do mediation and nothing was done.  I also know that they charge the clients different fees according to what they think they should pay… by looking at the address to where a client lives.  They are very money hungry people who could care less about the client or the caregiver.  The training they claim they give us would be laughable if it weren’t for the fact that we are talking about seniors here..

They are suppose to do mediations with the clients every so many months but they do not.  All they care about is you sitting there getting those hours so they can send you a bill.  Please DO NOT be fooled by the smiles and the talk of church from these people.  They have one agenda and that’s getting you or your loved one to write a check.  People please if you care at all for your loved ones research the business thoroughly before putting your love ones in their hands.  I am only with them because I love my client and she and her family counts on me to be there…Remember YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!! They will claim they are the highest paid sitter service out there, but trust me THEY ARE NOT… 

I also work with another company who I feel really cares about the client as well as the caregiver.  They have counselors and clergy on hand 24 hours a day if you become stressed or concerned, so we do have honest people out there…

a loving caregiver alleges that Senior Helpers of Dayton underpays workers and does not perform drug testing on caregivers:

i work for senior helpers of dayton and i can tell you that they only care about getting paid. They dont care about their employees or clients it is very hard to get up and go to work for 8.00 a hour and do what they expect of us. They have no pay increasement so you make the same when you start as when you leave i would quit but i love my client and her family as if they was my own and couldnt think of not seeing them i am in a contract so i couldnt quit and still work for them so i am stuck please think long and hard about who you hire to care for your loved one and also they dont even drug test so some druggie could be taking care of your loved one just thought you should now

Mabes also alleged that Senior Helpers is primarily profit-driven and underpays its caregivers:

Money and profit is definitely the goal here. I worked for a franchise in PA for 1.5 years, finally getting terminated for demanding pay raise and health benefits they promised. They would pull me off regular assignments to work with clients I never met…sometimes I got to work with 2 CLIENTS, very sick, up day and night, of course, my pay was for 1. They typically charged clients in wealthy areas $225-250/day for live-ins, they paid me $90 after taxes!!! I told them to f#$% off and started my own agency and am in back in school for my RN.  I do private cases thru referrals and make $600-800 week and keep it all. These agencies don’t offer much for clients unless they are desperate.

ARE YOU A SENIOR HELPERS FRANCHISE OWNER, EMPLOYEE OR CLIENT?  ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH SENIOR HELPERS?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

Contact UnhappyFranchisee.com

Tags: Senior Helpers, Senior Helpers franchise, Senior Care franchise, Home Care franchise, Eldercare franchise, in-home care franchise, senior helpers complaints, elder abuse, senior care complaints, franchise complaints

QUALICARE Homecare Franchise Complaints

Qualicare Managed Homecare franchise complaints.  Are you familiar with the Qualicare franchise?  If so, please share a comment – positive or negative – below.

According to the Qualicare website, “Qualicare offers healthcare solutions for people struggling with life’s changes due to medical events. We help people stay at home when faced with acute or chronic illness or when challenged by aging. Qualicare provides guidance, support, hourly or live-in care and private nursing services.”

The Qualicare program was inspiredby the challenges founders Andrea and Wayne Nathanson’s faced when Wayne’s father, Nardy, was fighting a lengthy battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Qualicare franchise website claims it provides exceptional franchise support:  “We are committed to every business owner in our system. Our priority is to make you successful, so that you represent our quality brand in an exceptional way.”

“We’re committed to your success, which means being available to answer your questions.” the website states. “In addition, we’ll follow-up with one-on-one coaching. Our coaches get involved in your territory, to help you realize the true benefits our business model offers. We’ll encourage your suggestions because every franchise owner is an important part of our team.”

However, we’ve received a complaint that tells a different story.  An UnhappyFranchisee.com reader, who claims to be an early Qualicare franchisee, writes:

This is a post that I am writing to bring to everyone’s notice regarding Qualicare franchise. I would be obliged if you can get this published so that no other person faces the same issue as I have faced and Qualicare management addresses the concern of their franchise owners professionally:

“Qualicare has a dubious entity. When they offer their franchise they make so many promise that they will offer full technical support when anyone purchases their franchise but all these are fake promises. I purchased qualicare franchise to serve needy people but qualicare management is just there to make money, all they do is extract franchise money from people like me and fill in their own pockets.

This gentleman Wayne Nathanson from Qualicare can easily entice you into purchasing the Qualicare franchise with his flowery verbiage but once you are a Qualicare franchise owner they just turn a blind eye towards the requirements essential of a franchise. Nathan Weber, who is the VP of Qualicare was so friendly and reachable when I had shown my interest of owning a Qualicare franchise. Nathan used to give me back to back calls and it seemed that Qualicare is here to really make a difference to the lives of senior citizens but the reality is that Qualicare is here just to make quick bucks by selling their franchise showing fake social responsibility.

If you really want to serve the senior community then please never go for Qualicare franchise, they are not the right people for serving the senior community. Qualicare management would be at their best behaviour when they want to sell their franchise to you but once you purchase their franchise they show their true colors. Wayne Nathanson and Nathan Weber never returned any of my calls when I wanted to talk to them regarding loopholes in Qualicare franchise functioning and now today I am regretting my decision of buying a Qualicare franchise.

All I want to say is that, please do not believe these Qualicare guys, they are a fake senior care organization who just want to make money by making fake promises.

The Qualicare franchisee complains that:

• Qualicare uses a slick sales pitch & friendly persona to close the franchise sale
• Qualicare does not provide promised franchise support
• Qualicare execs do not return calls from franchisees
• Qualicare execs are not available to discuss franchise operational problems

As with all complaints on UnhappyFranchisee.com, we do not vouch for the identity of the complaintant or the accuracy of his/her complaints.  However, we point out that these are issues worth investigating for yourself if you are considering the Qualicare franchise opportunity.

We invite your comments, opinions and insights below.

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE QUALICARE FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY?  IS IT A FRANCHISE SCAM OR LEGITIMATE OPPORTUNITY WITH A CARING FRANCHISOR?

 

HOME HELPERS / DIRECT LINK Franchise Complaints

(UnhappyFranchisee.com)  Home Helpers franchise complaints:  Are you familiar with Home Helpers senior care franchise?  Please share your opinion below!  Thank you.

According to its franchise listing at Entrepreneur.com, “Home Helpers provides care and companionship services for: seniors, new moms, working parents, those recuperating from illness or injury and those needing continuing care for lifelong challenges. These services include assistance with meals, light housekeeping, transportation, errand services and much more… Home Helpers is affiliated with Direct Link, an in-home emergency monitoring system.”

Senior care is one of the fastest growing segments in the franchise industry.  Yet while many senior care franchises have shown significant growth in recent years, one company has seen many of its franchises cease operations:  Home Helpers.

In fact, since 2008, more than 200 Home Helpers franchises may have ceased operation.  This chart shows the number of U.S. Home Helpers franchises in operation, by year:

YEAR	Home Helpers U.S. Franchises
2011	500+*
2010	658
2009	678
2008	745
2007	699

* Home Helpers stopped providing Entrepreneur with franchise numbers in 2011.  A recent press release simply states there are “more than 500” Home Helpers locations currently.

Why did so many Home Helpers franchises fail?

It’s hard to find the exact cause.  A recent franchise prospect asked their sales representative about recent closures and was told, shockingly, that “the bottom 20% always fall off.”

There are numerous complaints on Rip-off Report website, though most are dated.

Back in 2008, Anonymous wrote on RipOff Report:

“Home Helpers is a big scam franchise and its parent company Strategic Franchising. Anybody who wants to buy a franchise should stay away from buying a Home Helpers franchise or any of their franchises for that matter. They are a complete waste of time and money and they are only interested to take your money and squeeze you dry. They say that they are low cost, but they charge you for all kinds of fees. There is no national advertising but you get charged through the nose for the non-existent national branding.

“Their marketing products are overpriced and any and all advertising you do as a franchisee is all out of pocket. They send you to all sorts of companies in which they have a ‘partnership’, but they do not guarantee success and the ’discount’ you get is negligible. You do not get any support, unless you count calling other franchisees and asking their permission to use their own formulated flyers.

“The ‘operations’ department are composed of non-franchisees and people with NO EXPERIENCE running a business or even in Home Care. They are hardly ever there and have no idea about any questions that you might have 99.9% of the time. You are on your own…which completely defeats the purpose of buying a franchise in the first place.Your fellow franchisees are your biggest competition even if you have a set “territory”. They will backstab you and ruin your business any way they can because they are all hungry and need any and all clients they can get. They are not above personal attacks either.

“They are a high pressure sales franchise and call you relentlessly during the sales period even at 10PM. Even if you ask them to remove your name, they call you even more. After you buy a franchise, you can never get a hold of anybody. LITERALLY. They talk down on you on the phone literally and talk to you like you are some kind of idiot. Not surprising as the VP for Operations, Emma Dickison looks down on everybody , never provides any answers and talks condescendingly to anybody and everybody who raises a concern.

“They guarantee money in 90 days. Obviously the guarantee does not work but they do not do anything about it, they just tell you that you didnt follow their “success formula” even if you did to the letter. It is just more bogus advertising to draw people into their web of half truths.

“They say that they will happily buy your franchise back if you don’t think the business is for you. They say that it is a ‘NO RISK’ franchise. They don’t tell you that you have to pay all the fees for the next six months while they try to sell your franchise for you for current market value and pay you for how much you originally paid for your franchise, MINUS $10,000 transfer fee to the new owners.

“They are relentless and money grubbing. They are number 1 in entrepreneur magazine for 2008,2007 and 2006 because of all the lies and half truths they push down your throat during the sales period. All they are is number one in sales. Nobody keeps track of how many there really are. Home Helpers Franchising is like getting on the Highway to Financial Bankrupcy.

“They say that their business model is designed for financial independence and you, as the franchisor, not to be operating the day to day. The truth of the matter is that their top franchisee do not even operate in his own territory and operates out of a run down building in a very bad area of his town. Another ‘successful’ franchisee just recently moved out of his own home office to rent an outside office and was finally able to afford an assisstant after 6 years of operation. Do the math, it clearly shows hollow promises and misleading advertising. A lot of the newer ones are not even operational after 18 months and eventually sell or surrender.

“They do not show franchisee income unlike Goddard Schools franchising. Probably because their franchisees do not make as much as they would like to portray.

“They have a 5 day training class where they basically encourage franchise owners to spin stories and basically LIE just to ‘relate’ to the people they are marketing to. A whole afternoon of workshop is dedicated to this story-telling event, anywhere from having a fictional father suffering from cancer to a fictional child with down’s syndrome.

“Bottomline, you are paying Home Helpers franchising $45,000 of your hard earned cash for a few books, a day of bashing its ‘competitors’ and how to bad mouth them, a 5 day “training class” where all they do is present vendors and get you to spend more money and little else. Nothing that you can’t learn at your local SCORE, nothing you can’t learn from any marketing textbook and obviously, an expensive way to buy yourself some disappointment, harrassment and headaches for months to come.

“This is a totally worthless franchise. Some are successful while a whole lot are not. The few that are just happen to be lucky, more power to them…but they are still a far cry financially from what they tell you during the selling period. They are more than happy to take your money, but it will be till kingdom come if you need your money back. They will find all sorts of fees to charge you just to hang on to your money. Time and time again.”

What do you think?

Anonymous definitely has an axe to grind, and his/her allegations are a bit dated but… there also must be some explanation for the rash of franchise failures other than “the franchisees didn’t follow the system,” or “the company wasn’t selective enough in accepting franchisees.”

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE HOME HELPERS / DIRECT LINK FRANCHISE?  IS HOME HELPERS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY OR A FRANCHISE SCAM?  SHARE A COMMENT – POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE – BELOW.

 

COMFORT KEEPERS Caregiver Bilked Elderly Man

Comfort Keepers franchise employee Tammy M. Sainato pleaded guilty to charges of stealing more than $32,000 from a 79-year-old man in her care, according to a story in the Gloucester Times.

Police began the investigation after receiving a call from Sainato’s supervisor at Comfort Keepers, who indicated that the victim’s daughter had discovered irregularities in her father’s bank accounts  including a $10,000 Sainato cashed on Nov. 11, 2009.

 Sainato reportedly told police that her elderly patient gave her the check after he overheard her talking on the phone about her financial hardships. The man denied giving her the check.

According to the article, Sainato admitted to police that she had forged three checks totaling $6,200 between Dec. 27, 2009, and April 1, 2010, but denied making three withdrawals totaling $16,000 during the same period.

Tammy M. Sainato blamed her ”serious” financial problems, and her husband’s unemployment, for her actions. 

She was charged with five counts each of larceny from a person over 65, uttering a false check, and forgery of a check.

Related stories:  LIVHOME Senior Care Franchise Rocked by Caregiver Theft Scandal

HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE Franchise Nightmare: Everybody Loses

After pleading guilty to the charges, Sainato was put on probation until Feb. 24, 2015, and ordered to pay the victims $10,000 restitution.  The judge also ordered Sainato to stay away and have no contact with the victim and his family, and  not to engage, either as an employee or volunteer, in caring for any handicapped or elderly people.

The judge stated that the $10,000 restitution order does not prohibit the family from being able to pursue further restitution through civil court.

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH COMFORT KEEPERS & OTHER SENIOR CARE FRANCHISES.  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

LIVHOME Senior Care Franchise Rocked by Caregiver Theft Scandal

(Unhappy Franchisee) by Sean Kelly  LivHOME, Inc., one of the nation’s largest providers of at-home care for seniors, made news this past October by announcing the launch of its franchise program this past October.

In December, LivHOME made news with the appointment of Brandon Neilson as Director of Franchise Development to lead the new franchise’s recruitment process.

But in recent weeks, media attention for LivHOME took a dark turn when one of its former employees, Norma Ruth Casini, was arrested on charges of stealing more than $600,000 from the LivHOME client in her care, and spending the money on her home lease, dog day care and a “dog whisperer,” orthodontic work, laser eye treatment, shopping, concerts, travel, and other personal items.

The Casini Caregiver Scandal is truly a family affair, as Norma’s husband Leno Casini (a department assistant with the Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office) has been arrested on suspicion of burglary and receiving stolen property.  Their daughter, Anastasia Darlena Mendezkestler, has been charged with felony counts of accessory after the fact and receiving stolen property, second degree commercial burglary, and fraudulently using an access card.

The story is a public relations nightmare that could not have come at a worse time for the budding LivHOME franchise company.

Meet Norma Casini:  Senior Care Employee From Hell

According to reports posted on the Orange County District Attorney’s website, the LivHOME client who was victimized by Casini was an 85-year-old woman with no family support who required 24-hour in-home care. LivHOME entrusted employee Norma Casini to care for Nancy W. from November 2006 to March 2009. 

The Orange County District Attorney alleges that Norma Casini stole approximately $610,000 from Nancy W.’s bank accounts and credit cards for personal use.

In March 2009, Casini was terminated by LivHOME after the company determined that the defendant was not in Nancy W.’s home during her shift. A subsequent review of the victim’s bank accounts revealed that her savings had been depleted from over $700,000 in June 2008 to less than $5,000 in April 2009.

Last month,  Norma’s husband was arrested after he was linked to stolen engagement and wedding rings from a Nancy W.’s 62-year marriage.  Orange County sheriff’s deputies located the rings in a pawn shop and traced them back to Leno Casini.  Leno Casini was arrested at the Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office in Santa Fe Springs where he works.

Norma Casini faces a possible maximum sentence of 49 years and eight months in state prison.

Husband Leno and daughter Anastasia each face a maximum sentence of 12 years in state prison. 

The defendants are each in custody on $610,000 bail and must prove the money is from a legal and legitimate source before posting bond.

The Home Helper who Helped Herself

After being fired by LivHOME for not being in her invalid client’s home during her shift, one would think her career as a caregiver would be over.

One would be wrong. 

Norma Casini was hired by senior care franchise Home Helpers, where she worked from December 2010 to January 2011.

As Home Helpers Senior Care Employee-From-Hell, Norma Casini allegedly ripped off an elderly couple by taking the woman’s debit card, changing the password, making purchases, stealing her wedding ring and band for her alleged scumbag husband to sell to the Jewelry Buyers pawn shop.

But Home Helpers’ PR nightmare is another story for another post.  One can only describe so much vile depravity at one sitting.

Are Senior Care Franchise Companies Doing Enough to Protect Clients?  Will They Cause Their Own Downfall?

Yesterday, I posted a story on a similarly ghastly story involving senior theft on the part of a Home Instead Senior Care franchise employee (See:  HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE Franchise Nightmare: Everybody Loses).  After this, I will write on the effect this same story will have for the Home Helpers franchise.

In-home health care is a huge and growing market.  Senior Care franchises are positioned to meet this need and reap the benefits for years to come, but only if they can earn the degree of trust promised in their well-crafted marketing materials.

Are senior care franchise companies doing enough to screen and supervise employees, and to make sure their franchisees are doing the same?

What could they be doing to better both protect their clients, their brands & the reputation of their franchise chains?

In a business entirely built on trust, are they doing enough to earn it?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

Sean Kelly is a writer, Internet publisher and marketing consultant with more than two decades of franchise experience. 

He can be contacted at seankelly[at]ideafarm.net.

HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE Franchise Nightmare: Everybody Loses

(Unhappy Franchisee.com)  – by Sean Kelly  Home Instead Senior Care of East Bridgewater was paid $3000 per month by the family of 80-year old Joseph Guarino to care for the decorated Korean war veteran.

The Home Instead franchise sent Debra Belcher, aka Debra Blair, 29, – a woman with a history of passing bad checks who had been fired by another Home Instead franchise – to care for Guarino.

According to news reports, Belcher allegedly left Mr. Guarino unattended for hours in a locked car.  Unbeknownst to the Guarino family, police say Belcher also was stealing money from her elderly client, as well as jewelry and tools that she and her husband pawned.  She may have even taken Guarino’s war medals from his uniform.

When the family complained about Belcher, the Home Instead Senior Care franchise (owned by Richard M. Sasso and Harriet C. Sasso of Brockton, MA) reassigned Belcher to an elderly couple named Sergio.  According to police, Debra Belcher went on to steal cash, jewelry, and silver flatware from the 71-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s and her husband.

The new caregiver assigned to Joseph Guarino by Home Instead Senior Care of East Bridgewater was caught on video stealing food.

In franchise nightmares like this, everybody loses.

Home Instead Senior Care has terminated the East Bridgewater franchise owned by Richard and Harriet Sasso for their “multiple lapses in judgment,” according to company spokesman Dan Wieberg.

The Home Instead Senior Care franchisees lost their business. 

50 to 65 Home Instead employees lost their jobs.

65 Home Instead clients lost the help they thought they had, and the trust they thought they could put in what they thought was a respected company.

The non-profit agency that recommended Home Instead to Belcher’s victims – Old Colony Elder Services – has lost credibility.

The Home Instead Senior Care franchise brand and the reputation of its franchisees nationwide has certainly been tarnished by the negative publicity brought on by its franchisee’s allegedly unscupulous, thieving employee.

The negative publicity is a blow to the industry as a whole, and to the contention that hiring a national senior care franchise provides enhanced trustworthiness and safety.

Worst of all, the victims and their families lost more than possessions as they suffer the anguish of being preyed upon when they were at their most vulnerable.

The loss of freedom to be suffered by Debra Belcher, aka Debra Blair, and her husband once the criminal and possibly civil courts are done with them can certainly never compensate for the harm they’ve caused nor the pain they’ve inflicted.

Related stories: LIVHOME Senior Care Franchise Rocked by Caregiver Theft Scandal

COMFORT KEEPERS Caregiver Bilked Elderly Man

Is this an isolated incident?  A Home Instead Senior Care problem?  Or tip of an industry-wide iceburg?

Home Instead Senior Care claims to be “the leading provider of in-home, non-medical senior care worldwide,” “the most respected name in the industry,” and “the most trusted source of home care in the world.”

If that’s true, and this could happen to the industry’s most trustworthy company, it’s a scary situation indeed.

The fact is that there are people out there who feel no hesitation in taking advantage of those who are most in need, whether they are draining their bank accounts, stealing their war medals or prying gold from patients’ teeth.

They are psychopaths.  They have no conscience.  They feel no remorse.

The growing senior population desperately needs protection from scammers and thieves like these.

If franchise companies like Home Instead Senior Care and their competitors wish to be the providers of that protection – without undue government  interference and regulation – they will have to provide more effective protection than the Guarinos and the Sergios received.

Related reading:  LIVHOME Senior Care Franchise Rocked by Caregiver Theft Scandal

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE FRANCHISE? HAVE YOU HAD EXPERIENCES WITH THEM OR OTHER IN-HOME CARE PROVIDERS? SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW.
Sean Kelly is a writer, Internet publisher and marketing consultant with more than two decades of franchise experience.  He can be contacted at seankelly[at]ideafarm.net.

To contact UnhappyFranchisee.com, email UnhappyFranchisee[at]gmail.com.

CAREPATROL: Franchisees Praise the CarePatrol Franchise

CarePatrol is a young, rapidly growing franchise system whose franchisees provide senior care consulting and referral services.

Recently, an anonymous commenter, claiming to be a friend of a failed CarePatrol franchisee, posted a scathing attack on (and warning about) the CarePatrol franchise opportunity. 

CarePatrol CEO Chuck Bongiovanni responded with a point-by-point rebuttal of the complaints (read both complaint and rebuttal at CAREPATROL Franchise Complaint – Updated), and angrily criticized UnhappyFranchisee.com for writing about the complaint.

Since Mr. Bongiovanni’s response, 3 CarePatrol franchise owners have posted comments praising the CarePatrol franchise and rejecting the anonymous critic’s contentions that most of the young chain’s franchise owners are struggling.

CarePatrol franchise owner Paula Vaughn of Tucson wrote:

As being one of the first franchisees with CarePatrol I totally disagree with the comments made by the anonymous submission posted on Sunday, August 1, 2010.

This franchise model is proven, works and is extremely successful. CarePatrol is based upon many years of hard work, experience, honesty and above all ethical practices when servicing our senior population. There is extensive support and training offered and required for each franchise owner. CarePatrol promotes success and is always available to assist with any issues we may have.

I am very satisfied with the growth and anticipated growth of my franchise. My greatest reward is the heartfelt thanks that I receive from my many clients when I have helped them solved their eldercare need.

CarePatrol franchisee Mike Messer wrote:

I purchased two CarePatrol franchises and ended up purchasing another a few months later. All three are profitable and growing every day. There are many negative people in the world who do more complaining then working. The anonymous posting lacks creditability. I have nothing but great things to say about CarePatrol…Well let me say 100′s of my clients have nothing but great things to say about CarePatrol.

CarePatrol franchise owner Sandy Messer wrote:

My husband and I currently own three franchises of this company. We purchased the first two in April of 2009 and then, because things were going so well and we were so pleased with our experience, we purchased the third franchise in June. I was amazed by the letter your Web site received from an anonymous coward. I personally take strong exception to anyone who doesn’t take responsibility for their own words, but that is only the first issue I have with this person.

My second issue is my franchises are not failing; we have made a steady income and rather than feelings of stress and sleepless nights, I go to sleep every night knowing that I have helped people. I have countless letters from families we have worked with thanking us for the blessing of finding our services.

As to a steady stream of free leads, we do receive a steady stream of leads. We don’t pay any fees until a placement is made and then the costs of those fees is minimal in comparison to other franchise opportunities. Apparently, the author of the letter has never worked with our corporate office; it has always gone above and beyond to answer my questions and offer support.

It is most disturbing to me that this Web site would post anonymous letters from a person committing libel. It is truly sad that a company that has helped countless seniors and their families is being attacked by a nameless coward who knowingly and aggressively lies.

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE CAREPATROL SENIOR CARE FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY?  WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

Company responses, clarifications or rebuttals welcome.  Contact the author/site admin at UnhappyFranchisee[at]gmail.com.

CAREPATROL Franchise Complaint – Updated

UPDATED 10/12/10 CarePatrol Senior Care franchise has touted its aggressive growth as an indication of the success of its franchise offering.

A CarePatrol Senior Care press release in 2009 boasted of four franchise sales in its first month of franchising.  A recent press release boasted that, only in its second year, CarePatrol has 16 operating franchises, 6 corporate owned stores and 70 additional territories on contract.

CarePatrol was in Denver in September, 2010, “speaking to 40 potential franchisees for the 2 remaining territories in the Denver area.”

However, CarePatrol Senior Care franchise has been the target of a scathing complaint on RipoffReport.com, where Anonymous wrote:

Care Patrol

625 N. Gilbert Rd.
gilbert Arizona
United States of America
Phone:  480-632-0005
Web Address:  www.carepatrol.com

Category: Franchises Submitted: Sunday, August 01, 2010

Posted: Sunday, August 01, 2010

A friend of mine and his wife were unfortunate enough to come across this pathetic excuse for a franchise last year and have now lost well over $30,000 and many nights of sleeps due to stress.

This company claims to work in the senior care industry providing assisted living placement services to families.

They promise to provide a steady stream of leads for free but what they send are useless saturated leads and come in very infrequently. The system itself is laughable and completely useless.

Anyone with an ounce of intelligence could develop a much more successful method. There is no support given and the only time they heard from the corporate office was when they requested their “licensing fee”.

The most pathetic thing is that this company knowingly and aggressively sold franchises while involved in a class action law suit with another franchise company without informing any prospective franchisees. Most likely a violation of the law.

From what I’ve heard most of the franchises this company has sold have failed, are failing or have been abandoned.

These people should be in jail!!

Stay away

While anonymous comments should be taken with a grain of salt and independently verified, the statement “most of the franchises this company has sold have failed, are failing or have been abandoned.” is especially disturbing.  UnhappyFranchisee.com invited clarification and/or rebuttal of the Anonymous RipoffReport complaint from CarePatrol.

CarePatrol CEO Vigorously Denies the Allegations

CarePatrol CEO Chuck Bongiovanni vigorously denied the allegations, stating on RipoffReport that the complaint “was written by a lazy franchisee that were [sic] terminated just prior to this report showing up by an anonymous writer.”

Mr. Bongiovanni provided a point-by-point rebuttal (see comment section below), which are excerpted here:

RE: the allegation that a CarePatrol franchisee lost $30,000: Mr. Bongiovanni states “I do not know of any franchisee who has lost $30,000 due to the CarePatrol Franchise System… NO CarePatrol franchisee has mentioned, stated or alerted us of ever losing over $30,000 due to the CarePatrol system.”

RE:  That CarePatrol promises to a steady stream of leads but they’re useless: Mr. Bongiovanni states “CarePatrol never promises to provide a steady stream of leads to anyone…The way our franchise royalty works is that we only get paid for leads that we provide that are serviced by our franchisees. If we do not provide leads for our franchisees, we do not get paid….”

RE: Lack of support: Mr. Bongiovanni states “Our support is outstanding. We are available 24/7 for our franchisees and I am positive that they all will attune to this.”

RE:  That the company did not disclose involvement in a class action lawsuit: Mr. Bongiovanni states “CarePatrol has NEVER been involved in a Class Action Lawsuit ever.”

RE:  Claims of franchise failures: Mr. Bongiovanni states “…this is absolutely false. None of our franchisees have EVER failed… We had one franchisee abandon his franchise after he moved out of the continental United States to be close to his daughter.”

See the full rebuttal comments from Mr. Bongiovanni below.

Also read: CAREPATROL: Franchisees Praise the CarePatrol Franchise

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