Upon termination of the Bath Tune Up franchise agreement, what must I do with the business telephone number?
Bath_Tune_Up Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- (b) Upon termination of this Agreement, for any reason, Franchisor will retain or change the telephone number relating to the Franchised Business in its sole discretion and Franchisee will do all things necessary or appropriate to transfer the telephone number to Franchisor, including paying any outstanding accounts with any directories and telephone service providers, and will not provide a call forwarding or telephone number referral with respect to any retained or disconnected telephone number. At any time during the Term of this Agreement, Franchisor may require Franchisee to sign a telephone supersedure form applicable to the telephone number relating to the Franchised Business. Furthermore, upon termination, Franchisee will not indicate in any manner it was previously affiliated with Franchisor.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 52)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Bath Tune Up Franchise Disclosure Document, upon termination of the franchise agreement, the franchisor has the sole discretion to retain or change the telephone number associated with the franchised business. The franchisee is obligated to take all necessary actions to transfer the telephone number to Bath Tune Up. This includes settling any outstanding accounts with directories and telephone service providers.
Furthermore, the franchisee is prohibited from using call forwarding or providing telephone number referrals for any retained or disconnected telephone number. Bath Tune Up also retains the right to require the franchisee to sign a telephone supersedure form applicable to the telephone number related to the franchised business at any point during the term of the agreement.
In practical terms, this means that if you decide to leave the Bath Tune Up franchise system, you must transfer the phone number you used for the business to them. You cannot forward calls from that number to a new business or provide referrals. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, as the phone number is often associated with the brand's goodwill in the local market. This ensures a clean break and prevents confusion among customers who might try to contact the Bath Tune Up business after you've left the system.
Additionally, upon termination, the franchisee is prohibited from indicating in any manner that they were previously affiliated with Bath Tune Up. This prevents the franchisee from leveraging the brand's reputation after the franchise agreement has ended.