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Welcome to the Platinum Shield (PSA) official web site.

The Platinum Shield Association (PSA) was founded by those Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees who refused to convert to The UPS Store business model and chose to litgate against UPS and Mail Boxes Etc. for the resultant destruction of the Mail Boxes Etc. brand.

Click on the above Tabs for the following:


About Us:
Background of the fight against UPS.

 Our Mission:
What Platinum shield is all about.
Resources:
Legal Documents such as...

1) The current complaint in our litigation against UPS and Mail Boxes Etc.
Click here for current complaint

2) Transcript of Federal Judge Wanger’s denial of Temporary Restraining Order.
The full document is posted. It details how UPS tried to end run our California case by filing requests for TROs in thirteen Federal jurisdictions against former MBE franchisees who were forced to go independent by UPS. UPS claimed that these franchisees were still using MBE branding in violation of MBE trademarks. On pages 17 & 18 Judge Wanger saw through this ploy and stated that. “Well, he who seeks equity must come into the Court with clean hands and he who seeks equity must do equity and so there's no basis to issue a TRO today. This looks like an ambush.”
Click here for Wagner's denial documents.



Contacts
Click here to be put on our mailing list.



NEWS
Click here for recent and historical press releases and news stories.



Times Square Billboard reads:
"UPS Franchisees Protest During Annual Meeting;
CEO Ignores Demonstration. Claims Concerns Are Mistaken"
 

Breaking News


Attorney Argues 'Evolution, Not Revolution' in UPS Trial
Mon, 2009/08/03 - 18:16 by Don Sniegowski
BREAKING: LOS ANGELES – The first day of trial begins with the Mail Boxes Etc. franchise owners facing off with their new franchisor...MORE

Publishers Jointly Offer Daily Coverage of UPS Store Trial
Posted Thu, 2009/07/30 - 20:43 by Don Sniegowski
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Blue MauMau and Courtroom View Network announce today that they will work jointly to report twice a day on the highly charged Morgate v Mail Boxes Etc. bench trial (no jury). It starts in Los Angeles on Monday morning, August 3, and is expected to last three days.
United Parcel Service bought the Mail Boxes Etc. franchising firm in 2001...MORE


UPS, Mail Boxes Feud Heads to Court
BlueMauMau.com July 23rd,2009
...But he adds, “Then again, if 77% of my premiere retail network were collapsing financially I'd cover it up too."... MORE


UPS, Mail Boxes feud heads to court
Franchisees say they were ruined when shipper took over

ATLANTA BUSINESS NEWS 6:25 a.m. Thursday, July 23, 2009
The six-year feud between UPS and franchisees of its Mail Boxes Etc. retail subsidiary will come to a head in a Los Angeles court Aug. 3.
The trial, which is expected to last five days, follows Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William F. Highberger’s ruling last month granting more than 3,500 Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees class-action status in the suit.....MORE


Amos Exposes Insider Information in UPS Acquisition of MBE
LOS ANGELES July 17th, 2009– Franchisees are currently engaged in litigation with the world’s largest package delivery company regarding whether they should have been forced to convert from their original concept of Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) to that of The UPS Store. United Parcel Services (UPS), through its acquisition of the 20-year-old franchise system in March 2001, has dramatically altered the MBE network, and now it is having to defend its actions in court against claims that it withheld crucial information and made misrepresentations ... MORE




UPS Denies Existence of Feasibility Study, Now Unsealed as Evidence
ATLANTA June 22nd, 2009– In an interview last October with United Parcel Services, spokesperson Norman Black emphatically stated that he could not confirm that UPS or Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) had engaged the services of the Boston Consulting Group to conduct a major study (pdf file, 15 pgs) on the financial health of the system. When informed that a deposition of MBE in-house counsel Rich Kolman revealed the alleged results of the feasibility report showing “77 percent of the network, meaning 77 percent of the stores, were operating at “either an at risk or worse ... MORE


JUDGE GRANTS CLASS CERTIFICATION IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT AGAINST UPS
LOS ANGELES July 13th, 2009—A California judge has paved the way for a coalition of Mail Boxes Etc. franchisee’s to proceed as a class in their ongoing, multi-million dollar lawsuit against UPS. In a stunning defeat for UPS...MORE


Related News

September 25th, 2008

Just in.. Listen to an interview of Howard Spanier and Joe Wightman discussing Platinum Shield and their 6 year battle with UPS on the number one podcast for the Mail and Parcel Industry



Brown has Some Seeing Red

Failed UPS Policies
UPS Fails to Gag Its Franchisees

Mail Boxes Etc. Name Change Lifts Sales, but Lowers Profits

What has Brown Done for Them?

PSA Trial Date Press Release Sep. 08

MBE UPS Franchisees to Protest 2006 UPS Annual Meeting

Top MBE Franchisee Forced by UPS to Go Independent

UPS Forces MBE & UPS Franchisees to Ship Pornographic Materials

UPS Forces MBE & UPS Franchisees to Ship Alcoholic Beverages



Fresno, CA MBE Franchisee Seeks His Day in Court with Shipping Giant UPS

Orange County, CA MBE Franchisee Hanging on To Her Business by a Thread as UPS Forces Business Changes That Are Not Profitable to Owner

Denver, CO MBE Blames UPS for Flawed Business Plan Forced on Store Owners

Court Says UPS Must Face Trial With Its Mom and Pop MBE and UPS Franchisees