Breach of contract over deals alleged
OLD FASHIONED Fish and Chips continues to fleece franchisees even though the Consumer Protection Act protects them against unfair business practices.
Most consumers who have approached Sowetan for help since last year say they cancelled their franchise contracts because this franchisor was in breach of contract and refused to refund their deposits.
Some were refunded after Sowetan intervened, but others have not been refunded even after they approached the National Consumer Commissioner.
Mandla Mahlangu and his three partners are the latest consumers who claim that they have been battling to recover their R100,000 deposit from Old Fashioned Fish and Chips since November last year.
Mahlangu said they decided to go into a franchising business in 2010 because they thought it was a goodbusiness.
He said Old Fashioned Fish and Chips demanded a deposit three months before they signed the contract.
They paid the deposit and then applied for a loan, but could not get it because they had no business plan.
Their business has never taken off though they have tried everything possible to get it off the ground.
"Even though we secured a business place, the franchisor failed to draft a business plan for us," Mahlangu said.
He said they found a trading place in Benoni in 2010 for which they pay R7,800 rent every month.
"It is not us, but Old Fashioned Fish and Chips that is breaching the contract," Mahlangu said.
He said when they tried to cancel the contract on the grounds that they could not get finance, they were told to produce three letters ofrejection.
This was impossible considering that all the institutions could not process their application without a business plan, Mahlangu said.
"If they had good intentions, they should have supplied all the essential information to facilitate a loan application when Grofin and Absa requested them to," he said.
Mahlangu said they had to date invested R293,000 on a franchise that had only brought misery and pain to their lives.
Mahlangu and his partners are not the only consumers who have had a nasty experience with this franchisor.
Mandla Mhlungu was refunded only R90,000 of the R100,000 he had paid to Old Fashioned Fish and Chips after Sowetan intervened.
He was refunded two weeks ago.
Mhlungu said he too could not get finance because the franchisor did not cooperate with the financial institution when they wanted documents to facilitate a feasibility study before approving a loan.
Nicolas De Sousa, the director at Old Fashioned Fish and Chips, had not responded to Sowetan's inquiry at the time of going to print.
Fish franchisor fingered
Breach of contract over deals alleged
OLD FASHIONED Fish and Chips continues to fleece franchisees even though the Consumer Protection Act protects them against unfair business practices.
Most consumers who have approached Sowetan for help since last year say they cancelled their franchise contracts because this franchisor was in breach of contract and refused to refund their deposits.
Some were refunded after Sowetan intervened, but others have not been refunded even after they approached the National Consumer Commissioner.
Mandla Mahlangu and his three partners are the latest consumers who claim that they have been battling to recover their R100,000 deposit from Old Fashioned Fish and Chips since November last year.
Mahlangu said they decided to go into a franchising business in 2010 because they thought it was a goodbusiness.
He said Old Fashioned Fish and Chips demanded a deposit three months before they signed the contract.
They paid the deposit and then applied for a loan, but could not get it because they had no business plan.
Their business has never taken off though they have tried everything possible to get it off the ground.
"Even though we secured a business place, the franchisor failed to draft a business plan for us," Mahlangu said.
He said they found a trading place in Benoni in 2010 for which they pay R7,800 rent every month.
"It is not us, but Old Fashioned Fish and Chips that is breaching the contract," Mahlangu said.
He said when they tried to cancel the contract on the grounds that they could not get finance, they were told to produce three letters ofrejection.
This was impossible considering that all the institutions could not process their application without a business plan, Mahlangu said.
"If they had good intentions, they should have supplied all the essential information to facilitate a loan application when Grofin and Absa requested them to," he said.
Mahlangu said they had to date invested R293,000 on a franchise that had only brought misery and pain to their lives.
Mahlangu and his partners are not the only consumers who have had a nasty experience with this franchisor.
Mandla Mhlungu was refunded only R90,000 of the R100,000 he had paid to Old Fashioned Fish and Chips after Sowetan intervened.
He was refunded two weeks ago.
Mhlungu said he too could not get finance because the franchisor did not cooperate with the financial institution when they wanted documents to facilitate a feasibility study before approving a loan.
Nicolas De Sousa, the director at Old Fashioned Fish and Chips, had not responded to Sowetan's inquiry at the time of going to print.
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