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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 HERE for the Latest PSA Appeal 01/15/11 The Atlanta Journal Constitution chose to run a story claiming that trials are over for franchisees that sued UPS over its forced conversion of Mail Boxes Etc. to the UPS Store. It is not an accurate story. The franchisee response is to the AJC editor is below. Dear Ms. Wallace, I was absolutely stunned this weekend when I read the story by Arielle Kass: “Trial Over for UPS in case related to Mail Boxes Etc. purchase”. What is most disturbing is not only the utter lack of accuracy in the story but that you chose to run this story without contacting the plaintiffs or their attorneys. I have been in regular contact with AJC reporter Peralte Paul for some time and he has all of the phone numbers to contact me. Further, he has all of the history of this litigation. One of our attorneys said that Ms. Kass left him a voice mail but published before he could respond. What is the rush to publish? It seems that you chose to rely on facts that were fed to the AJC by a PR flack for UPS. You should be aware that in the nearly ten years that I have been dealing with UPS, first as a friendly shareholder/franchisee and now as a plaintiff against them, I have never caught them in the truth. EVER. If you want to give them a credibility poke ask them to provide you with a full copy of the BCG report which reported to UPS that 70% of the UPS Stores are at financial risk. Ask why they denied its existence, why they only gave it to the court under seal and have never disclosed its findings in their franchise disclosure documents as required by law. Details are available at bluemaumau.com. Had an effort been made to check the facts it would have been discovered that UPS knows full well that the MBE plaintiffs have already notified them and the court that we are going to appeal Judge Highberger’s decision regarding the case of those franchisees that rejected the UPS Store conversion swindle and his decision on the class action on behalf of the 3,000+ that did succumb to their fear tactics. Further, you would have discovered that we have overturned four adverse rulings by the trial court. UPS has never prevailed in the Court of Appeal. Why is that never news worthy? They are proclaiming this skirmish victory as the end of the war because they are trying to dissuade thousands of UPS Store franchisees from their ongoing organization of additional litigation. They are running very scared because once the facts of this conversion scheme are made public at trial they will be looking at the final collapse of their 4,000 store network. Perhaps that will be newsworthy. What has to happen for mom and pop franchisees to get their side of this nearly eight year fight fully reported anywhere in the analog media? Please give us a fair shot at getting the truth out. Sincerely, Joe Wightman Board member Platinum Shield Association MBE Franchisee 917 880 9609 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" |
In The News
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
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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
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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
