GEEKS ON CALL: Franchisee Geeks Squeal on Papa Geek
(FranchisePick.Com) I guess when you’re already called geek, you don’t care if you’re known as a tattletale, too.
Geeks on Call franchisees kept up their attack on their own franchisor company by filing a formal complaint against it with the Virginia Division of Securities and Retail Franchising. Their Geeks on Call franchisee press release indicates they believe that the squeaky geek gets the grease:
Concerned that Virginia Geeks On Call franchises would no longer be salable, [the franchisees’ General Counsel] Mr. Blasz filed a formal complaint with the Virginia Division of Securities and Retail Franchising alleging Geeks On Call America, Inc. was entering into new franchise agreements while failing to comply with the registration requirement imposed on all franchisors by the Virginia State Corporation Commission. Mr. Blasz further drew the agency’s attention to the faltering financial condition of Geeks on Call America Inc.
United We Geek, the Independent Owners Association of Geeks on Call America, Inc., is so concerned about upholding a favorable Geeks on Call brand image that it immediately issued a press release to national newswires to alert the world that its own company was violating franchise disclosure laws. Attorney Blasz made sure to point out to the VA regulators that the company was in dire financial straits so that they could apply extra scrutiny to its registration or perhaps impose escrow or other additional requirements.
The complaint filing comes on the heels of 10 federal franchisee lawsuits filed against franchisor Geeks on Call Holdings (read: GEEKS ON CALL: Beware of Geeks Baring Rifts), despite reports GOCH is fighting for its own financial survival (read GEEKS ON CALL: A Geek Tragedy in the Making).
According to the press release, the United We Geek franchisee association has recruited more than 30% of all franchise owners representing roughly 50% of the active territories. United We Geek was incorporated this past September 2008 to “provide Association members with a voice and to address Geeks on Call America, Inc.’s ineffective advertising, inadequate systems, deteriorating business processes, and also a distinct lack of urgency in addressing the franchisee’s needs.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
__________________________
Visit FRANBEST’s: Unbiased franchise information, franchise interviews and detailed, searchable information on 400 franchise and business opportunities.
.
Franchisees, customers & experts vote for their favorite new franchises at Top New Franchise: Who’s hot. Who’s not.
Tags: franchise, franchisee, franchisees, fraud, GEEKS ON CALL, lawsuit, suing, Ticker: GOCH, united we geek