A group of 62 of about 150 Vodafone franchise operators - some of whom said they had had suicidal thoughts because of the pressure exerted by the telecoms group - say the resulting personal debts have prompted them to join a £120m-plus legal claim against the company.
Vodafone is valued at more than £18bn on the London Stock Exchange and has just been granted regulatory approval to create the UK's largest mobile phone operator by merging with its rival Three.
The court papers allege Vodafone acted in "bad faith" by unilaterally cutting fees to franchisees, imposed swingeing fines on them totalling thousands of pounds for seemingly minor administrative errors, and then cajoled them into taking out loans and government grants to keep their businesses afloat.
Many said they feared losing livelihoods, homes or life savings after running up personal debts of more than £100,000. Some franchisees claimed regional managers had told them that only their stores were in difficulty, in messaging that some complainants allege echoes a theme in the Post Office scandal.
Rikki Lear, a claimant who ran three franchise stores in Kent, broke down as he told the Guardian: "They left me thinking about whether I wanted to continue on this earth. The only thing that kept me going was my family and my daughter." The Guardian has spoken to other franchisees who have relayed similar stories.
Vodafone, which had not seen the legal claim when it was approached by the Guardian for comment, said: "We are sorry to any franchisee that has had a difficult experience." It "strongly refutes" that the company "unjustly enriched" itself and said it has conducted "a number of investigations" into the allegations, which resulted in the company making "a number of improvements to our franchise partner programme".
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Postecoglou claims coach's life is harder than being PM
A Premier League manager has a tougher job than the prime minister, according to Ange Postecoglou.
Rashford rebuked Players must talk to manager not media - Amorim
Ruben Amorim has said when he was a player he would have spoken to his manager about being dropped rather than react in the media, as Marcus Rashford has done.
Tonali double puts rampant Newcastle into last four
A sticking plaster for Newcastle's internal tensions or a potential long-term cure for their problems? Whatever the reality Eddie Howe's inconsistent team are a two-leg semi-final away from a potentially transformative Wembley showpiece after two stellar first-half goals from Sandro Tonali and another from Fabian Schär undid an immensely disappointing Brentford on Tyneside.
Jesus hat-trick delivers early Christmas gift as Arsenal topple Palace
It seems fitting that Gabriel Jesus should have chosen this time of year to end his goalscoring drought.
Elliott the difference as Rusk's Southampton put up late fight
It was a night that Simon Rusk will never forget, the one when he took charge of Southampton for the first time in the wake of Russell Martin's sacking and carried the fight to Arne Slot and Liverpool.
United circus has derailed Rashford but fresh start is no guarantee of success
It was two years ago yesterday that Argentina won the World Cup. England had gone out to France in the quarterfinals and, beyond the usual kneejerk attacks on Gareth Southgate, there was a sense of general optimism.
Maresca still 'trusts' Mudryk after failed drugs test
Enzo Maresca has thrown his support behind Mykhailo Mudryk, saying he believes the Chelsea winger's insistence that he is innocent of taking a banned substance.
Caldentey's late spot-kick secures first place for Arsenal
A late Mariona Caldentey penalty powered Arsenal to the top of Group C in the Champions League at Bayern Munich's expense after a Magda Eriksson double looked to have secured a draw for the visitors.
Taylor 'desperate' for a break as brilliant Barça take top spot from City
Manchester City's head coach, Gareth Taylor, says his team desperately need the upcoming winter break to bolster their squad, after they were comprehensively outplayed by a Barcelona side who reminded everybody why they are the reigning European champions with an emphatic win.
Freddie calls up Flintoff as teen makes the grade for Lions tour
Rocky Flintoff has been called up to his father's Lions squad for next month's tour of Australia, with England using the trip to give young bowlers who are already in contention for a place in the senior Test squad experience of local conditions before next winter's Ashes.
