Anonymous
Good morning Sir/ Ma’am,

I am Rajesh Rathod from Pune, by profession, I am a Gym Trainer and also co-owner of Body Lab Gym in partnership with a Business Partner (BP) since July 2018.

Initially, before starting the gym I and the BP had invested a total of Rs 11,00,000/- approx 50% each to buy gym eqpt, advertisement, and interior design.

Following were our average monthly income/profit and Expenditure

Income: 65000
Expense: 55000
Profit: 10000

The main source of income for us was personal training which we gave

Following are the issues/ fraud being faced

1. After a few months of starting the gym BP introduced his brother Papa (My best friend) to Gym as a trainer, but it was not required as we had already a few students in the gym who were also used as trainers in gym
2. The rent amount of Rs 17,000/- was paid each month from the gym. However, BP had lied to me and he was taking 6,000/- into his pocket without my knowledge by only paying 11k which I came to know recently.
3. The gym eqpt was purchased for Rs 7,00,000/- however the actual amount paid by BP was Rs 6,50,000/- so he pocketed 50k without my knowledge.
4. I was out for a month recently wherein his brother(Papa) had pocketed Rs 6,000 by intentionally doing a miscalculation which can be seen by seeing the calculation done in the register.
5. Each month the profit was not distributed equally among us, the amount was kept with BP and he use to always say we have to pay rent, do advertisement etc
6. I asked him multiple times to open a joint current account and make an agreement but he always postponed intentionally and never got one done.
7. I along with my brother were planning to buy land for which BP had bought a deal. He said that the land is costing 22 lakhs but recently I came to know that the owner was selling for 16 lakhs. Being such a dear friend and co-owner of the gym he was trying to do fraud with me which I never ever thought in my dreams.


About BP
1. BP has been in this profession of Physical trainer for the last 10 yrs and I was a Gym Enthusiast for the last 5 yrs before starting Gym.
2. BP was a close friend of my brother and Papa (brother of BP) was my best friend.
3. BP approached me to open a gym in a partnership which then I told to my brother and Dad who then provided me Rs 4 Lakhs(took pers loan) and 2 Lakhs (from Dad) for initial investment
4. BP assured me that we together will do wonders, by doing good in this gym and then opening a chain of gym

Wrong Intentions of BP

1. Bearing a few days after opening the gym BP use to not come to the gym on regular basis and use to get engaged in his own personal training
2. He intentionally didn’t get the agreement done and the current account opened.
3. He secretly opened a new gym with the same brand in another area without informing me.
4. The amount invested in Chit fund Rs 25,000/- pm up to 2 Lakhs I was never involved in that.
5. Now he has humiliated me and told me that he has the vision to open a chain of the gym at least 10 and I was not his partner he has only built the gym and I was asked not to come to Gym. How dare he says that, I have lost all the faith and will never ever trust anyone so blindly

Presently I have the following option
1. Option 1: BP is asking me to tell one amount and get rid of the gym forever.
2. Option 2: Do an FIR against him but I have only a Shop act license and Pan Card on BodyLab gym on our both name and nothing else

What shall I do, pls guide me, if option 1 then how much should I quote him and If option 2 then how shall I proceed further

Thanks in advance

Mobile No: 9119416536

Email:

From India, Pune
Dinesh Divekar
7881

Dear Rajesh Rathod,

You have given your narrative. However, please note the following:

a) This is a forum for HR professionals. They raise their work-related issues. This forum is not for giving advice on the issues between the two business partners.

b) Nevertheless, you have given your side of the story. We need to listen to the other side also. Unless we know both sides, we cannot make opinions.

c) You had written your post by disclosing your business partner's name. I had to edit the whole post to withhold the name of your Business Partner.

Anyway, the following are the paragraph-wise comments:

d) Before starting a business, did you make a proper business agreement? If yes, has it been mentioned how the records of expenditure will be maintained?

e) While taking the business premises on rent, was a rental agreement made with the landlord? If yes, how come you did not see the rental agreement?

f) When the capital equipment was purchased, were you not involved in the selection and further negotiations with the suppliers of the equipment? Did you not check the invoice before clearing the payment to them?

g) If Papa has done a miscalculation, and if it is discovered at a later stage, then the calculations can be set right now. What is the problem?

h) You have written "Each month the profit was not distributed equally among us, the amount was kept with BP and he use to always say we have to pay rent, do advertisement etc." Why did you allow the bills to be passed without your verification?

i) You have written "I asked him multiple times to open a joint current account and make an agreement but he always postponed intentionally and never got one done." This is the root cause of all the troubles.

Final comments: - In life we do commit mistakes. Nevertheless, while doing an investment, one should consult the lawyers, and Chartered Accountants to avoid the disputes. The business investment cannot be done on blind trust. The following Nitishloka holds perfectly true in your case:

न विश्वसेदविश्वस्ते विश्वस्ते नातिविश्वसेत्।
विश्वासाद् भयमभ्येति नापरीक्ष्य च विश्वसेत्।।

- विदुर नीति (38:9)

अर्थ – जो विश्वसनीय नहीं है, उस पर कभी भी विश्वास न करें। परन्तु जो विश्वासपात्र है, उस पर भी आंख मूंदकर भरोसा न करें। क्योंकि अधिक विश्वास से भय उत्पन्न होता है। इसलिए बिना उचित परीक्षा लिए किसी पर भी विश्वास न करें।

English meaning: - One should not trust those who should not be trusted. Those who can be trusted should not be trusted too much. Hardships created by such trust can destroy the roots.

You have tossed two options and asked which is the better one. As you do not have incontrovertible evidence of the malpractices of your business partner, I recommend you execute Option I.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

From India, Bangalore
aussiejohn
661

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