Salon battle over R800,000 sees Tammy Taylor victim become the accused

Six years ago, Jannelle Joshie appeared on Carte Blanche as a casualty of the spectacular collapse of the Tammy Taylor Nails franchise empire under disgraced celebrity couple Mel and Peet Viljoen.

At the time, Joshie said she would “definitely not have bought into” the brand if she could turn back the clock.

But today she finds herself on the other side of a franchise fight — facing a fraud prosecution over allegations arising from her own Harmony Nail and Beauty Wellness Studio, the business she transformed her Tammy Taylor franchise into.

At the centre of the dispute is Surekha Doolabh, who says she ploughed her pension and savings into buying a Harmony salon in Boksburg for R1.15m.

Almost a year later she says she has neither the business nor her money back — while Joshie has been operating the salon herself since January.

The bitter dispute has spawned criminal and civil proceedings, complaints to consumer authorities and a Legal Practice Council investigation into a lawyer who represented Joshie.

Joshie’s legal representative, Mohsin Sharief, rejects Doolabh’s version and says the dispute is “highly contested”.

It began in September last year when Doolabh paid Joshie R800,000 upfront for the franchise. The remaining R350,000 was to be paid interest-free in monthly instalments once the salon opened.

But Doolabh was alarmed when staff employment contracts were handed to her bearing the Tammy Taylor Nails name.

As the November opening date approached, Doolabh said little appeared to be happening. Marketing, recruitment, training and construction were shrouded in delays and uncertainty, she claims.

“I started panicking as I realised I wasn’t dealing with a slick operation but rather a woman trying to organise everything herself using cheap, unreliable contractors. At the end of October the shop was a mess, so I consulted lawyers and met Jennelle, who promised the shop would be ready by November 12,” Doolabh said.

A franchise lawyer sent Joshie a letter of demand for the handover of a fully stocked salon. When that did not happen, Doolabh laid criminal charges of fraud and misrepresentation and complained to the Goods and Services Ombudsman and the National Consumer Commission.

By then, she said, her money was running out.

Joshie’s lawyers later told Doolabh the salon was ready for handover — but only after she provided written confirmation that the criminal charges and consumer complaints had been withdrawn.

“Our instruction is that [Doolabh] is to obtain written confirmation that the fraud and misrepresentation charges are withdrawn and the ombudsman and consumer commission complaints are likewise withdrawn.”

When Doolabh refused, Joshie’s lawyers accused her of deliberately abusing the criminal justice system, describing her conduct as “malicious and misleading”.

The correspondence prompted Doolabh to lodge a complaint against the lawyer with the Legal Practice Council. That complaint remains under investigation.

In January, Doolabh notified Joshie that she considered the franchise agreement breached and wanted the deal cancelled and her money refunded.

Instead, Joshie’s lawyers said they would enforce her rights to recover the outstanding R350,000, plus interest and legal costs, and would take operational control of the salon.

“And that’s what happened. She’s been operating my salon since January,” Doolabh said.

Sharief strongly disputes this account.

He said the salon’s establishment had been delayed by “various factors, including the availability and preparation of the premises, construction and contractor-related issues, procurement, changes to specifications and other matters arising during the process”.

He said these issues were “timeously brought to the attention of Ms Doolabh” and that Harmony had never breached the agreement.

He also rejected any suggestion that Joshie withheld the salon because Doolabh refused to withdraw the criminal charges and complaints, calling that allegation “denied and misleading”.

The criminal case initially appeared to stall when the National Prosecuting Authority declined to prosecute, but Doolabh sought a review.

On June 26, Gauteng deputy director of public prosecutions Rendani Ndou notified her that “I am of the view that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Jannelle Joshie on a charge of fraud.”

A month later, on July 28, Ndou directed that the prosecution proceed with an additional charge of attempted extortion while authorising the prosecutor to add further charges if necessary.

The criminal matter is now before the Palm Ridge commercial crimes court.

Sharief said the prosecution does not establish Joshie’s guilt.

“Our clients accordingly do not accept any suggestion that the continuation of the criminal proceedings establishes the truth of the allegations made against Joshi. Drawing such a conclusion from the enrolment of the criminal matter would be reckless by the Sunday Times,” he said.

There is also a R1.476m civil claim against Doolabh, which Sharief said relates to losses Harmony incurred in connection with the franchise agreement.

But Doolabh has received a significant boost from another quarter.

In June, the National Consumer Commission finalised its investigation into her complaint and recommended action against Harmony, including a full refund and damages to Doolabh, as well as a substantial fine.

The findings have been referred to the National Consumer Tribunal, which will determine the appropriate relief.

The saga echoes the Tammy Taylor controversy that Joshie herself once criticised.

The South African Tammy Taylor master franchise was run by Melany and Peet Viljoen and became embroiled in a series of liquidations, lawsuits and allegations by franchisees who said they had lost substantial sums.

The Viljoens also faced trademark litigation from the US-based parent company, while franchise-related disputes and allegations contributed to the collapse of their once high-flying business empire, and a default judgment exceeding R2m remains unpaid.

Joshie subsequently walked away from the Tammy Taylor brand and built the Harmony business. Asked whether Harmony was actively seeking new franchisees, Sharief said, despite franchise-related material appearing on its website and social media platforms, “Harmony is not presently actively pursuing new franchise opportunities.”