In July, 2009, Franchise Pick explored the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of franchising.  I’ll let you decide which is which.
Do you know a franchise company, franchise opportunity, franchise vendor or issue you’d like to recommend for us to feature?  Email Sean Kelly at info[at]ideafarm.net.
Here’s what we covered in July, 2009:

July’s Featured Franchise:  Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning

Featured Opportunity: Oxi Fresh Franchise 33 Comments
Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning Franchise Profile
Interview with Jonathan Barnett, Oxi Fresh
OXI FRESH Pt. 2: The Green Franchise 22 Comments
OXI FRESH Franchisees Happy to be Green (1)
OXI FRESH Franchisees Happy to be Green (2)

July’s Featured Franchise Vendor:  Contour …read more

According to the website Weight Loss Complaints, LA Weight Loss has reached a settlement agreement with the Oregon attorney General, and agreed to refund members in Oregon up to $200,000 for services and products they paid for, but never received.  The full press release and settlement agreements are posted at LA Weight Loss to Refund Members $200,000
According to the release:
The Oregon Attorney General has issued the following press release:
The Defunct Diet Center Chain and Oregon Franchise Agree to Pay $200,000.
Attorney General John Kroger announced a settlement that will provide up to $200,000 for Oregon consumers who bought …read more

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced last week that LA Weight Loss Centers Inc. reached a settlement to pay $275,000 in refunds to thousands of New York state customers who paid for but never received services after LA Weight Loss closed its doors in January 2008.
Read more here: LA Weight Loss to Pay Refunds to New York Members
Also Read:  LA WEIGHT LOSS, PURE WEIGHT LOSS

As the clock ticks down on the Bush administration’s Reign of Error, government agencies are under pressure to put points on the board before the big buzzer sounds.  It seems the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  (EEOC) has devised a brilliant ploy for racking up last minute points:  Win huge, uncollectable judgements against extinct companies on behalf of imaginary employees.
In case you’re interested in seeing your hard-earned tax dollars at work, but don’t have time to read the latest EEOC press release (“LA WEIGHT LOSS SETTLES NATIONWIDE SEX DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT WITH EEOC”), here’s a summary:

The EEOC has won $20 million …read more

Just about a year ago, a company named Pure Weight Loss (formerly known as LA Weight Loss) announced that it would be closing all 400 of its weight loss centers nationwide on January 4, 2008.  The employees of its corporate office and hundreds of centers rang in the new year unemployed, many with bounced paychecks as a bonus and the good feeling one gets knowing that the members they signed up would be getting stiffed out of $500,000 of prepaid products and services.
Pure Weight Loss  declared bankruptcy (see Pure Weight Loss Files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Protection), claiming it had In …read more

(Franchise Pick)  Related:  LA WEIGHT LOSS CENTER CLOSINGS (updated 10/3/08)
LA WEIGHT LOSS CUSTOMERS
The post LA WEIGHT LOSS: La Quinta Center Closes Abruptly, Strands Members reports that the LA Weight Loss center in La Quinta, CA closed abruptly, stranding its angry members without notice, without an alternative program, and without hundreds, even thousands, of dollars worth of prepaid products and services they were due.
What else is new, right?  This story has been repeated over and over on Franchise Pick and Weight Loss Complaints, where the unofficial LA Weight Loss center closings list has topped 60 recently.  However, two new aspects emerged …read more

(Franchise Pick)  In what has become an all-too-familiar refrain, a former LA Weight Loss customer has reported that the La Quinta, CA weight loss center closed abruptly, stranding members with neither a weight loss plan nor the products or services that they pre-paid for. 
Jody Feingold writes:  “Another one bites the dust… La Quinta, CA closed without notice. I paid for my program with the maintenance plan in advance, including the supplements and the LA Lites. I am out over $1000. The owner does not return calls, and neither does the corporate office. How is this not being investigated nationwide!!!”
This brings …read more

(Franchise Pick)  LA Weight Loss centers continue to close without a word to the press or communication with their customers.  The website Weight Loss Complaints compiles a list of recent and upcoming LA Weight Loss center closings from news reports, rumors and tips posted by customers and employees.  Read about them here:
LA WEIGHT LOSS CENTER CLOSINGS (updated 9/29/08)
LA Weight Loss Closings: McMinnville, Oregon, Sherwood, Oregon
LA Weight Loss Closings: Poway, San Diego Centers to Close This Week
LA WEIGHT LOSS RUMORS: Nashville Market to Close in October
LA WEIGHT LOSS: Texas Centers Reportedly to Close 9/26
LA WEIGHT LOSS: Oklahoma Centers Rumored to Close …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  Also read:  LA WEIGHT LOSS: Widespread Closures Reported Across the Nation,  LA WEIGHT LOSS: The Closings Begin,  LA Weight Loss Rumors: What Have YOU Heard?
Over at WEIGHT LOSS COMPLAINTS, Suzy reports:
Just another FYI – The Temple, TX center closed last month and the Waco, Killeen, and College Station, TX Centers are due to close on September 26th.
Thanks, Suzy It’s been added to the list of LA WEIGHT LOSS closings.
See the unofficial*, updated LA Weight Loss store closing list here: LA WEIGHT LOSS CLOSING
* LA Weight Loss chooses not to comment on store closings, past present or future
WHAT DO YOU …read more

As we did for its predecessor Pure Weight Loss,  FranchisePick.com and Weight Loss Complaints (http://weightloss.franbest.com) will try to keep LA Weight Loss customers and employees informed notifications of LA Weight Loss center closings, rumors of upcoming closings , refund and complaint information.  Like Pure Weight Loss before it, LA Weight Loss prefers to remain silent, not return calls and ignore the inquiries of those who entrusted them with their health and financial information, not to mention hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in prepayments. 
We rely almost solely on information reported in our comments by customers and employees, so please …read more