Ic:
Franchisees left to keep trading after the collapse of DP Furniture Express have been asked to pay as much as £200,000 each to win freedom from their contracts.
The new owner of the franchise, furniture wholesaler Mohammad Saeed from Leeds, paid an average of under £6,500 for the rights to each of 17 DP Furniture Express franchises, adding up to more than £100,000.
And, through his Cobco 808 vehicle, Mr Saeed says they must stay within the franchise model - or pay him a substantial sum to leave, worked out through a formula based on what payments he would be due if they remained.
But the franchisees say they are not receiving any of the services they were promised when they first took on the DP Furniture Express name, so should be able to walk away without penalty.
Despite a face-to-face meeting two weeks ago, the two sides are still a long way apart in their valuation of the franchises - and the matter looks set to be settled by legal action.
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