Reasonable steps to promote compliance essential for franchisors to avoid liability & brand damage (FWO paper)

FWO ‘Reasonable steps’.pdf

Due to the recent bargain basement price for membership that another representative body has offered, the LPOG has been increasingly asked if we can match this offer.

In order to save Licensees and LPOG valuable time and resources, this article provides a brief overview of LPOG and our strategic view of Licensees choices in regard to their representation.

In short, no we cannot match POAALs offer.

Why?  Essentially you get what you pay for. The quality of your business decisions will determine the quality of your business outcomes. You’re welcome to set your own level. 

Last week many Licensees, (not many LPOG members, mostly POAAL members, and Licensees holding mail contacts it seems) received the standard request for Public Liability certificates, but for your future year's insurance cover, to be supplied by 6 June, 2018.

So someone within Australia Post is telling Licensees to pay your Public Liability insurance 6-7 weeks in advance, to provide them with a certificate 4 weeks before your existing policy is even close to expiring. 

LPOG has challenged the validity of this mail out, and whoever authorised this, and advised concerned Licensees to ignore the notice, and to renew their insurance, as and when it falls due, as is required under our agreements. 

Australia Post's CEO,  Christine Holgate, and the GM of the Post Office network, Dave McNamara attended Senate Estimates today, May 23 2018.

http://parlview.aph.gov.au/mediaPlayer.php?videoID=398579&operation_mode...

Skip to 12.02 for the start of Post's attendance

Apparently there was a POB Reporting and Reconciliation Guide provided by AP some time in February. 

Apparently it is available on POOP, for those of us that have enough bandwidth, and persistance, to get past the spining wheel and access the knowledge hub. 

Try searching for POBs and see how you go!

April's POMs is also corrupted by incorrect payment of the MMF, to add to the incorrect POB payment.

Just a heads up if you have Locked Bags attached to your office, your annual payment is incorrect. Most LPOs have been overpaid, but a few have been underpaid for your locked bag payment.

Post is just about to make the annual phones calls in relation to the annual incorrect POB payments, to let you know if you are in the bunch, and to sort out the recovery of the overpayment.

LPOG has made a submission to the Senate Inquiry in to The operation and effectiveness of the Franchising Code of Conduct.

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Corporati...

Submission 73: LPOG on page 4 (took so long over some concerns of commercial in confidence content)

Submission 65: Aus Post - could benefit from a reality checker rather than a spell checker!

Submission 42: POAAL - ummm.............no comment!

Submissions will continue to be uploaded to the Parliamentary website over the next few days/weeks. Our submission is too large to be posted to our web site, as we would then suffer the same bandwidth issues that POOP gives us at work, but at home too, and all day is enough of spinning wheels! Once the LPOG submission is uploaded it will be listed here - https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Corporati....

LPO Survey for Senate Inquiry Submission

UPDATE (26/04/2018): Survey is now CLOSED

The survey is now closed and we know you are all busy so a big Thank You for the time and effort in completing the survey.  We’ve had a great response and in reviewing the feedback there are common themes and shared experiences nationally.  We are now busy finalising the submission and a copy of the summarised survey results will be available shortly.  Many of you provided additional comments which really added a greater level of detail to the negatives (and some positives) of being a Licensee.  As a reminder, your identifiable information will be treated as in confidence.

In March 2018, the Senate referred an Inquiry into the Operation and Effectiveness of the Franchising Code of Conduct. The LPOGroup will be making an evidence-based submission to the Senate Inquiry and wants your participation to help shape the response. 

The survey is based on the Terms of Reference as detailed in the Senate inquiry and should take around 12 minutes to complete. Your indentifiable information will be treated in confidence.

This survey is open to all Licensees to complete and will close on Wednesday 25 April 2018. Once completed, responses will be summarised and used in the LPOGroup submission, which is due 4 May 2018.

Click here to complete survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/lpo-survey