A Co Down man has spoken of the physical and emotional stress he suffered during a nightmare stint as a Vodafone franchisee as more than 60 people bring legal action against the company.
A group of 61 current and former Vodafone franchisees across the UK filed a £120+ million legal claim against the company on Tuesday.
The claim alleges that commission payments and remuneration to the affected franchisees were cut drastically and with little or no explanation; that Vodafone benefited from government business rate reliefs that were intended for the franchisees when they were facing financial distress during Covid; and that Vodafone often failed to pass on rent free periods in its underlease terms to affected franchisees and charged them full rent.
Bangor man Andrew Kerr, 42, became a Vodafone franchisee in 2019 and the stress caused by the fallout left him in crippling debt and facing physical and emotional pain, culminating in a collapse in his kitchen in November 2022.
Mr Kerr ran Vodafone franchises in Forestside, Larne and Ballymena.
He claims that, with just 14 days’ notice, almost a third of his revenue was wiped out by Vodafone’s decision to cut his commission. He eventually lost his business in March 2023
His family was so concerned about the mental and financial strain he was under that they feared he might take his own life, and insisted he see a counsellor.
“It started off as a dream – and it’s ended up as a nightmare that haunts me every day. I felt I became Vodafone’s piggy bank. They pushed me to the point of financial ruin, and then took away my stores leaving me in crippling debt,” he said.
Mr Kerr continued: “Despite trying to raise issues and find solutions with Vodafone, I often felt silenced.
“I was let down by Vodafone on all the elements of the partnership that were important to me – trust, cooperation, good faith. My mental and physical health, as well as my financial security, have all taken a battering as result of the way I have been treated.
“I haven’t been able to think about anything else for the last four years and the last hope I have of holding Vodafone accountable is in bringing this claim. I want to be a dad again, a partner to my wife – I just want my life back.”
The affected Vodafone franchisees claim that Vodafone – which has recently left the British Franchise Association – has breached its duty of good faith and the terms of the Franchise Agreement. They allege that Vodafone did this by imposing irrational and arbitrary business decisions on them from July 2020.
Vodafone has said it “strongly refutes” claims that the company “unjustly enriched” itself through the franchisees.
A statement by Vodafone said: “We are aware of the allegations and take them very seriously, and we are sorry to any franchisee who has had a difficult experience.
“While we have acknowledged challenges were faced by some franchisees, we strongly refute claims that Vodafone has ‘unjustly enriched’ itself at the expense of small businesses.
“Our franchise model is a commercial relationship. We offer our franchise partners a large amount of cost-free support, but, as with any business, commercial success is not guaranteed.
“The majority of franchise partners are profitable and there is strong demand among our current franchisees to take on new stores. We maintain that where issues have been raised, we have sought to rectify these and believe we have treated our franchisees fairly.”