Franchie operations manual

[lames B]

Is it a legal requirement for a Franchisor to supply a franchisee with an operations manual ?

Sorry if wrong forum

 

[Mitch3473]

It is certainly within the franchisor/franchisees best interest and expected.

 

[Psl]

Of course you should provide them with one,as how else are they to run the business?

Are you a franchisor or franchisee?

 

[lames B]

I am a franchisee in a dispute with my franchisor & I was never given any literature of any kind. I am wondering if this would put them in breach although the franchise agreement does not mention having a manual as such.

When they wanted to join the BFA they weren't allowed to until they had a manual in place.

 

[KM-Tiger]

It will depend what it says in the Franchise Agreement, far as I know there is no specific law outside of the agreement between the parties.

But, as said, it would normally be there in a Franchise Agreement.

 

[Psl]

I am a franchisee in a dispute with my franchisor & I was never given any literature of any kind. I am wondering if this would put them in breach although the franchise agreement does not mention having a manual as such.

When they wanted to join the BFA they weren't allowed to until they had a manual in place.

So you just signed a franchise agreement and started? No literature, support etc?

What franchise was it,as it is madness to operate a franchise business without an ops manual?

What is the dispute about? I used to be a franchisor.

 

[lames B]

I saw an advert on eBay for a franchise installing external doors which doesn't really need a manual as it's more a hands on type of job & I was given a weeks training which was not that great & certainly not good enough. Luckily I am that way inclined so didn't find the work that difficult but new people who hadn't got that background in fitting doors did struggle.

This is how naive I was back then..... I paid the money for the franchise having read only the ebay advert & having a meeting with the Franchisor who let me talk to selected Franchisee's who at that current time were obviously doing OK.

In that ebay advert they make claims of £50k in the 1st year easily achievable yet in the 1st year I made £8k profit & the second year £16k profit. Having talked to the so called "Big hitter" he was only making £30k a year after doing it for 5 years & has since left.

The problem I had was that yes I could be busy, but I was being sent to other areas that had no Franchisees and after a while it was obvious that the fuel made the long distant jobs not financially viable which isn't obvious straight away. 66% of my work was out of my area & as other areas got taken then I was left with just my area that would make me less than £5k a year profit. After a few heated debates about this & the quality of the products I was then frozen out (like others have been also) where it got to the point that I was getting no work at all.

I set my own website up, got caught & had my contract terminated ( no time limit or on going payments - terminated there & then)

I threatened to tell all the new Franchisees what had happened & how the franchise really operates so they wanted me to sign a non disclosure agreement & I refused.

Six months passed by & nothing was said but then they found out about about a website I hosted telling everyone about my experiences with this company & in the mean time one of their franchisees had contacted me to see how I was going & if I had any work I could give him so I gave him leads in his area for work ( I received no payments for any of this either)

I then get a letter from a solicitor saying they were going to sue for Defamation & "Coercing" a Franchisee into breaking his agreement (turns out he refused to sign his agreement but was working with them as though he had signed one) & was getting my own work whilst still a Franchisee.

Believe this or not, & yes I know how stupid I have been, but I didn't sign my contract until after working for them for 3 months !! There is also another franchisee out there who also refused to sign his agreement. I signed mine because at the time I was busy but didn't realise I was busy but making very little profit for the outlay spent (£20k franchise & £10k on a van)

Having had a few letters from their solicitor it was agreed that I would settle out of court ( pay all their legal costs of £5k) & sign a non disclosure agreement. I hadn't sought any legal advice but I did get the non disclosure agreement checked out & the solicitor asked why I was paying them the money & that they "Should" have given me an operations manual & could be in breach of contract for not doing so.

My Dilemma is pay the £5k & be done with it as my business has taken off very well or spend £2k on a solicitor which may lead to me being advised just pay the £5k & move on.

 

[Psl]

OK, from what you have posted there are certain things that I need to be ascertained before I can give you any further advice. My advice would be based on my being a ex-franchisor with many franchisees in the UK and abroad, also master licensees in 4 separate countries.

One of the first things I would like to know is did the franchisor operate a 'pilot area' prior to launching the franchise business?

The Ops manual is quite important, even if the main activity of the franchise is 'hands on', as it outlines how the franchise should be operated.

I have sent you a PM with my email address. I am more than happy to give you my opinion on your current situation but you would need to send me a copy of your franchise agreement so I can give you advice, that's if you want it?

I will say that any advice I do give you should not be taken as any form of legal advice, it will merely be my opinion based on your current circumstances.

 

[Ash-CBO]

Although not a legal requirement of course it is beneficial to the franchisee to have some literature on the investment opportunity they have taken.

Refusal for a BFA accreditation would prick my ears up although there are many many legitimate and lucrative opportunities out there that aren't a member of this organization.

<link removed>http://www.completebusinessopportunities.co.uk

 

[pickaweb]

We recently interviewed a franchise expert Brian Allmey & you may find it useful.
You can watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sbBqZ6Pcno
Hope it helps.

 

[garyk]

Is it a legal requirement for a Franchisor to supply a franchisee with an operations manual ?

Sorry if wrong forum

No and sadly this one of a number of major flaws in the self regulated(?) franchising market.

Unfortunately too many franchises are built on unproven and undocumented business models/processes. They are purely created to give the franchisor pots of cash.

Gary

 

[Page]

I saw an advert on eBay for a franchise installing external doors which doesn't really need a manual as it's more a hands on type of job & I was given a weeks training which was not that great & certainly not good enough. Luckily I am that way inclined so didn't find the work that difficult but new people who hadn't got that background in fitting doors did struggle.

This is how naive I was back then..... I paid the money for the franchise having read only the ebay advert & having a meeting with the Franchisor who let me talk to selected Franchisee's who at that current time were obviously doing OK.

In that ebay advert they make claims of £50k in the 1st year easily achievable yet in the 1st year I made £8k profit & the second year £16k profit. Having talked to the so called "Big hitter" he was only making £30k a year after doing it for 5 years & has since left.

The problem I had was that yes I could be busy, but I was being sent to other areas that had no Franchisees and after a while it was obvious that the fuel made the long distant jobs not financially viable which isn't obvious straight away. 66% of my work was out of my area & as other areas got taken then I was left with just my area that would make me less than £5k a year profit. After a few heated debates about this & the quality of the products I was then frozen out (like others have been also) where it got to the point that I was getting no work at all.

I set my own website up, got caught & had my contract terminated ( no time limit or on going payments - terminated there & then)

I threatened to tell all the new Franchisees what had happened & how the franchise really operates so they wanted me to sign a non disclosure agreement & I refused.

Six months passed by & nothing was said but then they found out about about a website I hosted telling everyone about my experiences with this company & in the mean time one of their franchisees had contacted me to see how I was going & if I had any work I could give him so I gave him leads in his area for work ( I received no payments for any of this either)

I then get a letter from a solicitor saying they were going to sue for Defamation & "Coercing" a Franchisee into breaking his agreement (turns out he refused to sign his agreement but was working with them as though he had signed one) & was getting my own work whilst still a Franchisee.

Believe this or not, & yes I know how stupid I have been, but I didn't sign my contract until after working for them for 3 months !! There is also another franchisee out there who also refused to sign his agreement. I signed mine because at the time I was busy but didn't realise I was busy but making very little profit for the outlay spent (£20k franchise & £10k on a van)

Having had a few letters from their solicitor it was agreed that I would settle out of court ( pay all their legal costs of £5k) & sign a non disclosure agreement. I hadn't sought any legal advice but I did get the non disclosure agreement checked out & the solicitor asked why I was paying them the money & that they "Should" have given me an operations manual & could be in breach of contract for not doing so.

My Dilemma is pay the £5k & be done with it as my business has taken off very well or spend £2k on a solicitor which may lead to me being advised just pay the £5k & move on.

Look we all have to start somewhere and so worry not about your "mistakes"

I am not a legal expert but they want to scare you for sure and hopefully get some money out of you

You have been mislead/lied to with your initial purchase as to what was possible so may have some claim there and you might be able to do some deal setting the two off against each other and you shutting up about the company

Why not post on the legal forum and see what they have to say