I recently opened a Ladies Workout Express franchise from Lady of America in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We are located in California. I was told by our landlord that the lease that Lady of America (Bill Landman and Mark Camara) negotiated included a "kickback" every month to Elite Retail Leasing, a company owned by Bill Landman, VP of Lady of America, and operated by Mark Camara. The landlord said the payments were supposed to be for services rendered for negotiating the lease. But that is what the franchise fee was supposed to cover.
Now, I am stuck with a much higher rent because it includes a kickback to Lady of America, supposedly without me knowing it. Lady of America was not looking after my best interest when it found our location in a "high rent" area, but what landlord they could find to be an accomplice in their kickback scheme. It did not matter if the rental rates fell within the guidelines of acceptable start-up costs. They are just trying to line their pockets at my expense.
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