Business Often a franchise consists of selling some form of product, and the participant is promised lucra- tive high-volume locations. In fact, locations are often very poor and sales figures only a small fraction of those promised. Sometimes participants are told that they will be granted exclusive tertitories and, in fact, many others in the same area are told the same thing. Often people are left only with the greatly overpriced vend- ing machines and unsaleable pro- duct. Companies selling these schemes nearly always originate outside of British Columbia, and it is difficult or impractical to sue them. If you are tempted to invest in this type of enterprise, the best advice is to consult with a lawyer or an accountant first before you sign anything. Consider the chain letter. This scheme usually invites you to send some money to a person whose name is at the top of a list, and then to prepare new lists inserting your name at the bottom. These are then passed on to other indi- viduals with the request that they do the same. Apart from being illegal under the Criminal Code, chain letters Many of us would like to make z some extra money, especially if the #@ risks seem low, the effort minimal Ee and the return good. Although “deals” may come along once in a while, a good rule of thumb is that “if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.” What you are more likely to encounter is an unscrupulous pro- moter with a scheme for the trust- ing ang the gullible. What these promoters have in common is a high-powered sales promotion and _a spell-binding description of potential profits. , Consider first the pyramid dis- ibution scheme. In B.C. the Pyra- mid Distribution Act does not make pyramid schemes illegal, but it regulates them strictly. In partic- : ular, the Act provides that if a 4 ® scheme is a pyramid, then a partic- ipant is not permitted to recruit another participant into the scheme for at least a year: This effectively makes it impos- sible to operate a genuine pyramid in British Columbia. Now, many merchandising schemes have developed that are “near-pyramids” and which are usually referred to as “multi-level istributorships.” The product can € anything, although some of the more successful ones market “consumables” such as cosmetics and cleaning products. It might appear that anyone who participates is assured of making a | large amount of money but, in fact, only a relatively small number 1 yourhome @ and reasonably priced, then you sinks, lavatories, etc... @ © may be able to supplement your Blue-Green stains on income in a modest way. Ss, levalories, ate., E} 5 Then the franchise. When peo- 20) Suse) AN) ON | ple hear the word “franchise” they Gee O00 may think of the outstanding inter- afealors: <4 OO - National successes such as Soaps lose suds é r McDonald’s. By association, they Quickly) = 5236) = OO are tempted to think that anything Chrome fittings etched | that is a franchise is a sure success. oh een eatenaway.. O O | Unfortunately, m : ESE SENS IN + ec franchises? - eee ae clothing, linens, etc. .. OO : Excessive spotting of to persuade people to part with | dishes and silverware. O O substantial sums of money. The Black stains on amounts involved are usually silverware .......... les | much greater than in the multi- Tastes and/or odors in level distributorships. drinking water....... 0 O - my cam the large sums. To achieve targeted sales figures water Bass may take a lot more time and effort thi 9 than many people are willing to this test? devote. However, these marketing schemes do not normally cost a Take a few moments now to great deal of money to get into, and inspect your home for prob- they are generally easy to get out lems caused by water. It will of if you don’t like them. Save you time and money. In addition, if you are prepared ORIN to sell, and the product is useful Normally, a franchise seller will seek at least $5,000 and up to $50,000 from prospective partici- pants. Newspaper advertisements are often inserted to attract inter- ested persons. Potential buyers are then shown what purport to be financial state- ments indicating large returns on the investment, but often these @ figures are wild exaggerations gp Which have nothing to do with reality. Rusty-Red stains on If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions your, Bruner/Goulds professional water dealer can help you toa. better life through quality water — call now. “webb GOULDS - =e bruner WELL MASTER PUMPS & WATER SYSTEMS LTD. Michael Garthwaite 656-7474 NEW HOURS: Open 6 days a week from 11 a.m. to Serve you. / CLOSED TUESDAYS! {f RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED 656-1822 9732 First St., Sidney |’ Business opportunity schemes are almost always guaranteed to fail. The only people who may benefit are the actual instigators of the scheme. Success for a few people can only occur if many people lose everything they put in. The best thing to do with chain letters is to throw them out. Another type of business scheme urges you to send money for details on how you can earn substantial income “stuffing enve- lopes.” Or you may see an adver- tisement of a “successful” indi- vidual who claims to have a secret formula for success, which he will share with you for only $10. These schemes are invariably misleading. There is no “lazy man’s way to riches.” When the schemes are analyzed in detail, the advice which is being sold boils down to telling people what has just been done to you, namely to place ads in other newspapers persuading other peo- ple to send you money. Legal Tips is a law series pro- vided by the lawyers in your community. These tips are for general information only. If you have a specific legal problem you should consult a lawyer. TheReview Wednesday, September 5, 1990 — A13 ANNOUNCEMENT BY GOLDEN SHEAF BAKERY 980) LTD In order to simplify our business commitments we have sold our Sid- ney Store to Mike & Colleen Hay who will operate it under the new name of BEACON BAKERY. We wish them good luck and great success and we hope the people of the peninsula will support them as well as they have supported us. We would like to thank all our customers for their Patronage over the past seven years. We will continue to operate our Victoria store at 730 Fort St. Phone 383-9725. Sincerely LOU & JOAN NEUDECKER 50)| Golden Sheaf E35! Bakery «asso itd. | pom pm “under the yellow awning” RR aS IN 30th September 28, 29, Invite your friends and plan now to attend for a week- end of great Dixie- land Jazz and fun. Watch this space for more details. A proud sponsor of a great event.