I bought a franchise from Mars Venus Coaching.
Mars Venus Coaching were all hype at the start and promised me I would earn 100,000 in my first year.
Mars Venus Coaching gave me disclosure documents that were 6 months old and failed to mention in them that 4 of the franchisees they had listed had since left the system.
Mars Venus Coaching also failed to mention that 2 of the Master Franchises had also left them system although they were still listed.
Celebrities were also put on the Mars Venus Coaching website www.marsvenuscoaching.com to try and make them seem better then they were.
I also found out later that a former Master Franchisor had taken legal action against Mars Venus Coaching and settled out of court. This was also left out of the disclosure document.
The biggest problem was that they were only interested in collecting their monthly fees. They had no interest in improving the system, only wanted to make a quick sale.
Also during meetings they told us a number of times that we were not allowed to speak to prospective franchisees who called us to ask questions. Basically they only hand pick a few franchisees who are new to the system and still excited. They use these to sell other franchises.
Darren Stephens is the CEO and he was filmed by a current affair who accused him of being a rip off artist. However, he is a master of deception and protects himself legally in all cases. The problem is that he is not committed to the franchise at all and have a number of other interests on they go.
In total there are over 10 franchisees who have lost in excess of $3 million dollars due to franchise fees. Most businesses didn't even last 12 months.
I personally lost over $100,000 in franchise fees and lost income potential as a result of buying the franchise.
If you are thinking of buying the franchise call previous franchisees. If they don't give you at least 5 names then don't go near them, as we are all out here.
Feel free to ask any questions via this forum.
Anonymous
Melbourne
Australia
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