Thursday, January 25, 2007

My Mea Culpa….Cuppy’s is Okay

Well, I had lost $30,000 from my deposit in Java Jo’z. I just wanted my $ back. I’ve spent the last week or so meeting with a local laywer, he got a bunch of information from Cuppy’s, and we went over everything. My lawyer in Florida had told me as much…so for the second time the lawyer’s tell me I am out of luck, so to speak.

Here’s what I learned: Cuppy’s is a totally separate company from Java Jo’z. Cuppy’s didn’t buy the company, they just bought some of the assets when it went out of business, which is like a real estate company buying Enrons building. It doesn’t mean they owe Enrons debts. I still think they could have made that clearer to those of us screwed by Java Jo’z.

So, I guess I need to set the record strait, or so the Richmond lawyer told me.

#1….Cuppy’s is not Java Jo’z. Different company entirely.
#2….Java Jo’z has my deposit and unless I want to go to a bankruptcy attorney (which is expensive) I cannot enforce my agreement against Java Jo’z.
#3….Cuppy’s appears to be running an above board operation. (Their franchises seem to be happy, and there is one right down the street from me.)
#4...Cuppy’s even offered to discount a building in their system so that I wouldn’t lose the money outright, but I don’t even want to deal with these issues anymore.

Here is a link to some background information on Cuppy’s click here

I will, however, not conclude this without making some suggestions to everyone out there investing in a franchise.

Do your due diligence. Review the company financials, drop in unexpected on the company HQ, get a complete list of franchises. And don’t get caught up in what others are saying online, either pro or con. Use your brain and figure out whether a franchise opportunity is right for you. I am out of this whole situation now. Lesson learned.

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