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
limousine airport Glendale Heights .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareBosnia-Herzegovina (heretofore "Bosnia") is an artificial polity with four, tangentially... Read More
Peace in the Middle East - whoa that is a... Read More
According to a postulate made by Ignacio Ramonet ecological resources... Read More
In today's Rants from Lance session I address the question... Read More
Many believe Al-Qaida already has nukes in the United States... Read More
A. THE PHILOSOPHY OF COMPETITIONThe aims of competition (anti-trust) laws... Read More
Just because we have been leading the World in innovation... Read More
Aspartame activists are constantly being attacked because all data are... Read More
The People's Liberation Army of China invaded Tibet in 1949.... Read More
Our Hydro-electricity accounts for some 20% of our current needs.... Read More
Entrepreneurs can clean up the environment if we would let... Read More
Even the most devout proponents of free marketry and hidden... Read More
Many are very impressed with the NIMA (National Imagery and... Read More
The recent first round of the Iranian elections somewhat resembled... Read More
"Rugged individualism" is actually a euphemism for Thomas Hobbes' baseless... Read More
Expected new applications for Mexican trucks to enter the US... Read More
Despite their signature on the Biological Weapons Convention of 1975,... Read More
It appears we are getting a little bit of Sun... Read More
We have seen an increase in Snowbirds from Northern States... Read More
The Palestinian Fatah Movement is doing whatever it can to... Read More
Some call it the "unofficial" or "informal" economy, others call... Read More
With gasoline prices at the pump climbing strongly into the... Read More
Here are some miscellaneous thoughts on issues many of which... Read More
China maybe stopping some of the SPAM coming into the... Read More
A quick look back at NAFTA; how did we do?Stabilizing... Read More
Lincoln Stretch rentals Willowbrook ..ADOLF HITLER:The common perception of Hitler being large and in... Read More
For many years now, I have been the proud holder... Read More
Many are condemning the latest GM Terminator seeds. Yet there... Read More
These leaders like the Rothschilds who backed Crowley's Hermetic Order... Read More
It is important as populations expand to work on the... Read More
With the world's largest oil and natural gas reserves, second... Read More
From the comfort of their plush offices and five to... Read More
I just got done reading a series of articles dating... Read More
I am noticing an increasing and alarming rate to which... Read More
Americans pride themselves on being the best, that's a fact.... Read More
As you know Delta Airlines is close to bankruptcy. Their... Read More
1. Why is it that no one seems to notice,... Read More
Bill Cosby got it wrong. His many speeches regarding the... Read More
What is the so-called "nuclear option" that Senator Bill Frist... Read More
Expected new applications for Mexican trucks to enter the US... Read More
Few understand the Franchising Format and even fewer have correlated... Read More
Is the only way to fight Fundamentalist Extremists becoming one... Read More
Reform Social Security has been talked of Capital Hill for... Read More
With new environmental technologies and modern efficiency methods in mining... Read More
Our trade deficit is directly proportional to our attacks on... Read More
Using Harmonic Beams to Pre-Detonate Shoulder Launched Surface to Air... Read More
We need more oversight and transparency in government. We need... Read More
This brings to our consciousness, issues concerning the ever rising... Read More
(1) Each person is to have an equal right to... Read More
Pierre Dupont de Nemours:After arranging the Armistice that ended or... Read More
Political |