For a Dq Treat location, who is responsible for paying cellular overage fees and associated taxes?
Dq_Treat Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Participating Location understands that it is solely responsible for paying any and all overage fees and associated taxes and fees that result from over usage associated with any of their devices, activated or not at the time of invoicing, regardless of the circumstances that caused the over usage to occur.
Unlimited data plans are excluded from pooling. In the event location(s) within an ownership group have both limited plans for some locations and unlimited plans for others, pooling calculations will be performed using only the data plans for locations subscribed to limited plans.
Source: Item 17 — The following paragraph is added to the end of Item 17 of the Disclosure Document: (FDD pages 70–378)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Dq Treat Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisee, referred to as the "Participating Location" or "Customer", is solely responsible for paying any cellular overage fees and associated taxes and fees that result from over usage associated with any of their devices. This responsibility applies regardless of whether the devices were activated at the time of invoicing or the circumstances that led to the over usage. This condition is highlighted due to the probability of over usage when traffic traverses a cellular backup circuit.
This means that if a Dq Treat location uses cellular data services, either as a primary or backup connectivity method, the franchisee will be billed for any data usage exceeding the plan's limits. These charges are the franchisee's responsibility, even if the equipment is managed or co-managed by Acumera (a third-party service provider) to accommodate failover/failback or restrict data flow. The franchisee's financial responsibility extends to all associated taxes and fees related to the overage charges.
For franchisees subscribing to a pooled cellular failover plan, data usage is aggregated across multiple locations under the same legal entity. If the total under usage across all locations exceeds the total over usage, no overage fees are charged. However, if the aggregate over usage exceeds the under usage, each location incurring over usage will be billed individually. Unlimited data plans are excluded from this pooling arrangement. Therefore, Dq Treat franchisees need to carefully monitor their data usage to avoid incurring unexpected overage charges, as these can impact their profitability.
This allocation of responsibility is a critical consideration for prospective Dq Treat franchisees. Franchisees should ensure they understand their data needs and choose appropriate data plans to minimize the risk of overage fees. They should also clarify with Acumera or Dq Treat how data usage is monitored and what tools are available to help manage and control data consumption.