'Vodafone sold us a dream - the reality was something different'

Two women from Lincolnshire are among 62 former franchisees taking the phone company to court. 4 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Jessica Lane East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Two women say they were left tens of thousands of pounds in debt and with mental health issues after running Vodafone franchise shops. Donna Watton and Rachael Beddow Davison, from Lincolnshire, are among 62 former franchisees taking the phone company to court. In their legal claim, the group alleges that Vodafone – which has more than 350 franchise stores – made business decisions in "irrational, arbitrary" ways. Vodafone says it has reviewed and made improvements to the franchise programme over the past two years and has tried to resolve the legal claim, including by offering a settlement, which it says was rejected.

"They sold us a dream, but the reality was something different," Beddow Davison says. Watton, 44, and Beddow Davison, 45, were store managers employed by Vodafone when they were offered the chance to take over their stores as franchises in 2017. It meant running their own phone shop businesses under the Vodafone brand and using the company's business systems. Watton, who joined Vodafone in 2008 and managed a store in Boston, says the franchise offer "looked amazing" and she was excited about the opportunity to be her own boss. Beddow Davison, who had been a store manager since 2013, says she "jumped at the chance" to take on the Lincoln shop as a franchise.

Vodafone said they wanted to make their managers entrepreneurs," she adds. According to the court claim, the franchisees allege that Vodafone made changes in 2020 that affected their businesses. They claim Vodafone suddenly cut commission on upgrades to phones and other packages, and shortly after this, brought in a fines and penalties system. Vodafone has indicated the reduction was approximately 40%. Also separate to the court claim, Watton and Beddow Davison say Vodafone encouraged them to take on additional stores with no trading history or customer base.

Additionally, Watton says Vodafone did not renew her contract to run her profitable Boston store. Also separate to the court claim, the women say footfall counters were faulty, which meant Vodafone thought their stores should be making more revenue than was possible. Vodafone has indicated that the footfall technology was owned and managed by a third party company, which it says investigated issues raised. The women say they raised concerns with Vodafone many times. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here today." In October 2023, Watton says she was told Vodafone would not be renewing her contract to run the Boston store with two months' notice.

"Vodafone put me in such a bad situation. A spokesperson for Vodafone said: "We are sorry if any franchisee had difficulty operating their business. The MPs have called for a meeting with Vodafone bosses. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices More on this story Lincoln Mobile phones Skegness Boston Vodafone Two women from Lincolnshire are among 62 former franchisees taking the phone company to court. 'Vodafone sold us a dream - the reality was something different'