Florida Franchisees Part of Class-Action Against UPS.
Several former Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees in Florida have been certified as a class, in their California lawsuit against UPS. The Superior Court for Los Angeles County certified the class-action lawsuit in July. The suit was brought by over a hundred former Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees. Known as the Platinum Shield Association, they have claimed that UPS, since acquiring Mail Boxes Etc., has destroyed what was once a growing, stable, and profitable franchise. The former Mail Boxes Etc. franchise owners claim that UPS coerced them into changing from their profitable Mail Boxes Etc. Centers to The UPS Store through a program called "Gold Shield." They also say UPS then tried to destroy the remaining Mail Boxes Etc. franchises that refused to change to The UPS Store by discontinuing national advertising and stopping all support for the Mail Box Etc. franchisees.
Another group of unhappy UPS franchisees is the Brown Shield Association, and they are also litigating against UPS, alleging that UPS has engaged in competition with its own franchisees by offering lower prices to customers who use direct-pickup instead of dropping of packages at local The UPS Stores. Both groups face long fights before their cases will ever see an end. The case led by the Platinum Shield Association started in 2003 and is just at the point of sending out notices to potential members of the class action.
What do you do if you own a franchise and the franchisor sells to another company? Are you obligated to accept changes in your Franchise Agreement? Disputes can be complicated, costly, and take a long time to resolve. If you are purchasing a franchise or you own one already these are issues you might want to find out about by talking to your franchisor and a franchise attorney.
