http://www.business-opportunity-review.co.uk/5644/franchise/about-my-area/ Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:42:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://www.business-opportunity-review.co.uk/5644/franchise/about-my-area/comment-page-1/#comment-1429 admin Thu, 15 Apr 2010 23:03:21 +0000 http://server.awd/bizoprev/5644/directory/about-my-area/#comment-1429 I was told that the company had applied for full membership of the BFA and this should be obtained shortly. I have contacted the BFA several times and they have never heard of them. This is extremely damaging as it was assured that, once aboutmyarea became a member of the BFA then the value of each franchise would double, hence making it a sound investment. I also felt that this offered a sense of security and gave me belief in the credibility of the organisation. As they are not members of the BFA, they can offer no help or advice at all! I was told to look at other aboutmyarea websites (several were suggested) and add up the number of adverts on the sites. This would give me an idea of the value of advertising on the site, hence help to estimate the income that each site was making (income is generated through the sale of adverts). However, I attending my training event in January, only to be told to put as many adverts as possible on sites from Yell  copy and paste to make he site look busy. I immediately realised that the vast majority of adverts on the sites that I had looked at were free, hence the actual income on sites was minimal. I was appalled at this, as one of the main reasons I joined was that I could see that other sites had successfully sold adverts- of course, this is not the case and selling adverts is extremely difficult, so the actual income is negligible. I was told that, in the highly unlikely event that I would need to sell my site (I was told that no-one had due to the success of all sites!) then the company would help sell the site on. I have been trying to sell my site since June 07 and the company have done absolutely nothing to help. It has also materialise that numerous other sites are for sale. I was told that the company would offer an unprecedented level of support. This is absolute rubbish. When I first expressed an interest to the company, a member of their sales team telephoned me repeatedly for about a week (until I paid!). Since this, I have had virtually no contact from the company unless they want money from me. On numerous occasions, I asked them questions, requested information or simply needed help, and I rarely got a response at all. Following the training day I attended in January 2007, I was sent a questionnaire by the company. This was for me to indicate my goals and plans for my business. I emailed this back, and was supposed to receive a follow-up call to discuss my answers I never received this! I was told that all franchises can receive a full refund if their site is not successful. This is not strictly the case! Franchisees have to PROVE the impossible to qualify for this. And, who will make the decision  they will! What do you do if you do not agree with their decision, as there is no 3rd party to provide input (i.e. the BFA). I have asked how many people have received their money back and they will not tell me! Even if you sell your site, you have to pay a transfer fee, and pay back the cost of training, so you have to sell the business for a lot just to break even! This is despite aboutarea constantly changing the cost of new site a few months ago they were selling them for GBP1995.00 nothing like the GBP10,000 I had been told that sites would be worth when they became members of the BFA. Whenever I have questioned aboutmyarea about these issues, they have suggested that I am responsible for my business not working, and insist that there are many others who are running successful businesses. When I ask them how many are making a profit, they do not answer. Many people are no longer running their sites, but refuse to discuss their situation because they have agreed a deal with aboutmyarea, in return for their silence. This has made it very difficult to ascertain the real picture. However, I have recently spoken to many other franchisees, all of them have the same story as me totally miss-sold the product, no support and a failed business where they are committed to a 5 year contract. This has become a huge financial burden. The initial cost of the site was in excess of GBP5,000 and monthly fees are GBP200.00. I have not sold an advert for over a year, as I do not feel it is right to get others to spend money on this. Hence, this has become an extremely expensive hobby and one that I hope others avoid like the plague. I was told that the company had applied for full membership of the BFA and this should be obtained shortly. I have contacted the BFA several times and they have never heard of them. This is extremely damaging as it was assured that, once aboutmyarea became a member of the BFA then the value of each franchise would double, hence making it a sound investment. I also felt that this offered a sense of security and gave me belief in the credibility of the organisation. As they are not members of the BFA, they can offer no help or advice at all!
I was told to look at other aboutmyarea websites (several were suggested) and add up the number of adverts on the sites. This would give me an idea of the value of advertising on the site, hence help to estimate the income that each site was making (income is generated through the sale of adverts). However, I attending my training event in January, only to be told to put as many adverts as possible on sites from Yell  copy and paste to make he site look busy. I immediately realised that the vast majority of adverts on the sites that I had looked at were free, hence the actual income on sites was minimal. I was appalled at this, as one of the main reasons I joined was that I could see that other sites had successfully sold adverts- of course, this is not the case and selling adverts is extremely difficult, so the actual income is negligible.
I was told that, in the highly unlikely event that I would need to sell my site (I was told that no-one had due to the success of all sites!) then the company would help sell the site on. I have been trying to sell my site since June 07 and the company have done absolutely nothing to help. It has also materialise that numerous other sites are for sale.
I was told that the company would offer an unprecedented level of support. This is absolute rubbish. When I first expressed an interest to the company, a member of their sales team telephoned me repeatedly for about a week (until I paid!). Since this, I have had virtually no contact from the company unless they want money from me. On numerous occasions, I asked them questions, requested information or simply needed help, and I rarely got a response at all. Following the training day I attended in January 2007, I was sent a questionnaire by the company. This was for me to indicate my goals and plans for my business. I emailed this back, and was supposed to receive a follow-up call to discuss my answers I never received this!
I was told that all franchises can receive a full refund if their site is not successful. This is not strictly the case! Franchisees have to PROVE the impossible to qualify for this. And, who will make the decision  they will! What do you do if you do not agree with their decision, as there is no 3rd party to provide input (i.e. the BFA). I have asked how many people have received their money back and they will not tell me! Even if you sell your site, you have to pay a transfer fee, and pay back the cost of training, so you have to sell the business for a lot just to break even! This is despite aboutarea constantly changing the cost of new site a few months ago they were selling them for GBP1995.00 nothing like the GBP10,000 I had been told that sites would be worth when they became members of the BFA.
Whenever I have questioned aboutmyarea about these issues, they have suggested that I am responsible for my business not working, and insist that there are many others who are running successful businesses. When I ask them how many are making a profit, they do not answer. Many people are no longer running their sites, but refuse to discuss their situation because they have agreed a deal with aboutmyarea, in return for their silence. This has made it very difficult to ascertain the real picture. However, I have recently spoken to many other franchisees, all of them have the same story as me totally miss-sold the product, no support and a failed business where they are committed to a 5 year contract. This has become a huge financial burden. The initial cost of the site was in excess of GBP5,000 and monthly fees are GBP200.00. I have not sold an advert for over a year, as I do not feel it is right to get others to spend money on this. Hence, this has become an extremely expensive hobby and one that I hope others avoid like the plague.

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