Are the fees paid to City Wide refundable, and if so, under what conditions?
City_Wide Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ed | Various Providers, Suppliers and Employees | | TOTAL22 | $226,784 to 393,084 | | | |#### NOTES:
- (1) Type of Expenditure: All fees are uniformly imposed by and are payable to CITY WIDE, unless otherwise noted. Any interest owed begins to accrue from the date of underpayment. No other fees or payments are to be paid to CITY WIDE, nor does CITY WIDE impose or collect any other fees or payments for any third party. Any fees paid to CITY WIDE are nonrefundable unless otherwise noted. Any fees paid to any third party may be refundable, depending upon the contracts, if any, between a third party and you. CITY WIDE relied on its own experience in the business, and that of CITY WIDE's Affiliates, to compile these estimates. You should review these estimates carefully with a business advisor before making any decisions to purchase the Franchised Business.
- (2) Initial Franchise Fee: Upon your execution of the Franchise Agreement, the Initial Franchise Fee is deemed to be fully earned and non-refundable under any circumstances, except as provided in ITEM 5.
- (3) Initial Territory Fee: Upon your execution of the Franchise Agreement, the Initial Territory Fee is deemed to be fully earned and non-refundable under any circumstances.
- (4) Technology Provisioning Fee: This fee is for us to set you up on our CITY WIDE intranet computer software and customer relationship management software to facilitate communication and collaboration with us and the System.
- (5) Travel and Living Expenses While Training: You must participate in CITY WIDE's training programs. You must involve your Manager (as defined in ITEM 15) in all CITY WIDE training programs as stated in ITEM 11 of this Disclosure Document.
Source: Item 7 — ESTIMATED INITIAL INVESTMENT (FDD pages 21–24)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to City Wide's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the general policy is that fees paid to City Wide are nonrefundable unless explicitly stated otherwise. However, fees paid to third parties may be refundable, depending on the specific contracts in place between the franchisee and those third parties.
Specifically, the initial franchise fee and the initial territory fee are deemed fully earned upon the execution of the Franchise Agreement and are non-refundable under any circumstances, except as provided in ITEM 5, which is not included in the provided documentation.
Utility and security deposits may be refundable under agreements made with the landlord and utility companies. It is important for a prospective franchisee to carefully review all agreements and contracts with third parties to understand the conditions under which any fees may be refundable. This is a standard practice in franchising, as initial fees are typically non-refundable to compensate the franchisor for initial services and territory rights.