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'Harrowing' Vodafone evidence may spark franchise law change
The Guardian
|December 12, 2025
The government will consider laws to correct the power imbalance in franchise agreements in response to the "harrowing stories" of small business people running Vodafone stores.
The move follows allegations of suicide and attempted suicide among shopkeepers who had agreed to deals to run retail outlets for the £18bn telecoms company.
During yesterday's business questions in the Commons, Justin Madders, a former minister, said: "I'm sure the department will have been aware of the coverage this week of some of the harrowing stories of the treatment of Vodafone franchisees ... [The department] will no doubt recognise the power imbalance in that relationship and will they consider looking at some measures to redress that imbalance perhaps by a statutory code of practice or a national arbitration system?"
Dit verhaal komt uit de December 12, 2025-editie van The Guardian.
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