In a recent report on the status of the Franchising Industry, the Federal Trade Commission knowingly and falsely purported that its Franchise Disclosure Rules are cost effective. In fact; there is nothing inexpensive or "cost-effective" about the 190 to 230 pages of disclosures that franchisors must give to prospective franchisees. Anyone purporting such misrepresentations does so either for personal gain (Lawyer) or out of spite against franchisors due to a misunderstanding of what the franchising model is or how it works.
We see in many industries, for instance real estate, where laws, case laws, regulations have made a simple house purchase turn into a series of forms no less than 400 pages, (it may not look as big in 10pt font and double sided, but it is) and just short of the number of pages in this Federal Trade Commission report. What does all this mean? It means we have further complicated the original reason for such disclosures to the point of absurdity, where each side is so busy trying to CYA, in case of frivolous lawsuits that each side believes they have the right to be irresponsible in their business practices and have no need to fulfill their promises because there is a clause in the contracts and disclosures giving them a way out and behind that way out a lawyer who will be glad to make 2+2 equal 50 if you so desire and have paid the retainer.
It is all a crock, everyone in franchising knows it, no one is willing to say it and the Federal Trade Commission is so busy having meetings with lawyers that they forgot about the original consumer who is not helped in the least by over disclosure as the costs that the franchisors pay in the exorbitant fees to prepare the disclosure documents are passed onto the very consumer that the Federal Trade Commission is claiming they protect. It is total BS to say that such over disclosure helps consumers at all. Just a lie, an excuse for further rule making and minutia piling (BS). Simply helping lawyers to that which they did not earn and do not deserve.
While some might contend that franchise disclosure give vital and pertinent material information to prospective franchisees, such over disclosure hurts that very prospective franchisee if they buy the franchise and become a consumer of franchisor. The extra costs passed on to the consumer are not the only issues to be concerned with, there is also much proprietary information of the franchisor which is in such documents, information such as:
Number of Units expected to be established in the future in various states, Complete set of audited books, complete business structure, name and address and phones numbers of franchisees, often earnings claims which show unit performance by region, etc. all this information makes it really easy for competition to track and crush the fledgling franchisees by establishing stores in those regions and competing with all that information. Information that non-franchised competition do not disclose as they are not regulated in such a manner. This further un-levels the playing field for the franchisee unit and could cause them to go out of business. Thank you FTC. You fine folks at the FTC- "Forgot The Consumer" Again !!! How is it that no one understands this? I see no attorneys discussing these things in their comments? Why? Because the attorneys do not understand the market place and really have no business commenting on the proposed franchise rule changes as they are the ones who have made the modern day franchise model highly unworkable for their own personal gain a fees. The FTC doesn't get it, the lawyers do not want you to, the consumer doesn't understand what is happening and the franchisors are drowning in minutia. Wake up. Think on this, debate the topic if you will, but any rational human being with half a brain can see what is happening. Thanks for listening and all the best.
"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.worldthinktank.net/wttbbs
tidy up service Northbrook ..Handing over power to Vladimir Putin in 1999, Boris Yeltsin... Read More
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) estimated that there were... Read More
"The Jesuit priest John H. Surratt, proven to be the... Read More
Where are all the high-speed trains we were promised? Where... Read More
Societies have always had a problem of what to do... Read More
We have known of the innate characteristic need of members... Read More
Submiting the Criminals to The ICC!Everybody concerns about justice in... Read More
City Governments is their quest for; "quality of life" often... Read More
The United States and other first world nations have been... Read More
The American Dream is the promise to have it all... Read More
Quit paying the DEA to chase marijuana. We could save... Read More
The clause (c) of Electronic Crime Act 2004 has been... Read More
Hitler received a legacy from his Rothschild relations in Vienna... Read More
Industrial Recruiting. The absence of a state income tax in... Read More
Streamlining Homeland Security with a Free market flair? An idea... Read More
Why President Bush should have his second term? The arguments... Read More
At the start of the US involvement in WWII Joseph... Read More
I'VE ALWAYS ARGUED THAT ECONOMIC ILLITERACY IS VERY COSTLY.This is... Read More
The great leader and Senator from New York and wife... Read More
Why did FDR say Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Count... Read More
Fifteen hours is a tremendous barrier. It is the obstacle... Read More
I would like to discuss the blocked persons list of... Read More
An irresponsible Chinese General made a very telling comment recently.... Read More
I am an incurably ill American male forced to leave... Read More
Britain has a proud tradition of valiant armed forces and... Read More
reliable home cleaners Buffalo Grove ..If we go hog wild towards the liberal agenda where... Read More
We have seen an increase in Snowbirds from Northern States... Read More
We have all heard of the huge debates surrounding genetically... Read More
When North Americans discuss Cuba, they always focus the intense... Read More
Using Harmonic Beams to Pre-Detonate Shoulder Launched Surface to Air... Read More
I. OVERVIEWIn the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks... Read More
The idea is to have all the important items with... Read More
"The only time I open my mouth is when I... Read More
The Second World War was the continuation of World War... Read More
Just as everyone has breathed a sigh of relief at... Read More
"Those who sacrifice essential liberty for temporary safety are not... Read More
I heard on the news this week how America continues... Read More
The shouting is over and directions for the next four... Read More
The man on the tape raised his hand, pointing a... Read More
Recently I got to talking with a gentleman at a... Read More
Will a bus running across the borders bring cordial relations... Read More
Regarding the de-regulation of energy, this is not such a... Read More
In the previous article, we described the various methods developed... Read More
Public utilities and a problematic issue on the allowance of... Read More
UNAUTHORIZED HACKINGThe term "computer hacking" traditionally describes the penetration into... Read More
From the comfort of their plush offices and five to... Read More
You are not going to believe what is going on... Read More
While many Pennsylvanians are struggling to figure out how they... Read More
I applaud Monsanto for their R and D. I would... Read More
Many people make a lot of money in war. In... Read More
Political |