ANPR Hotline Number: (202) 326-3573

2:30 pm, April 7, 1997

My name is Frances Diaz, I am an attorney. My address is 8306 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 263, Beverly Hills, California. Zip Code 90211. My phone number is area code (310) 246-9270, with regard to the FTC rulemaking provisions on franchising.

Franchisors cannot self-regulate because they don't protect the consumer interest. Franchising organizations only protection the franchisor or the franchisee, but there is nobody to look over on how consumers are deceived by the whole franchising operation.

Consumers believe that the brand name is the company that they are utilizing when they are not told that, because each office is independently owned and operated, that the consumer is left only with that particular local office if they have a complaint.

Franchisors cannot self-regulate. As an example -- Century 21 Real Estate Corp. When there is a problem with a local Century 21 local agent, Century 21 Major Company says that they are not in the real estate services business. This is unfair. It should be changed. There needs to be more government oversight to protect the consumer from being duped into a false sense that they are dealing with the big company when in fact they are just dealing with that local franchised office and not really with the big company because the big company shields itself by saying that are only in the business of franchising. Thank you.