24/11/2024
A Story Finally Told.
AFTER THE COVID PANDEMIC, in April 2022, I bought the restaurant Secret Garden from Mr Uy Tran, a long-time friend, a fellow graduate classmate from CFVG MBA, and also the owner of immigration company Custom Invest. According to the agreement, Mr. Uy Tran agreed to transfer all equipment, the brand, social platform account including domain and all related business (which had been closed for nearly two years during the pandemic) for 500 million VND. After taking over, I had to invest nearly 200 million VND to renovate and repair the premises at 132/2 Tran Phu, Minh An, Hoi An.
Since this property was owned by Mr. Uy Tran's Grandmom (who had passed away), I could not sign a rental agreement for the premises or complete the ownership transfer for the business license registration. As per regulations, the old business registration license needed to be canceled and a new one issued with a valid rental contract. Trusting our long friendship and due to these limitations, I proceeded with the purchase based only on agreements exchanged via Zalo messages, without foreseeing the trouble I would face later when Mr. Uy Tran reclaimed the premises.
In May 2023, seeing the restaurantโs business improving, Mr. Uy said that Custom Invest was bankrupt, and that he and his wife got a lot of difficulties and needed to return to Hoi An to live, so he wanted to take back the premises. After several discussions, both sides agreed that Mr. Uy Tran would repay the expenses I had invested in renovating the premises at 132/2 Tran Phu and compensate for terminating the agreement early, equivalent to the amount of rental fee I had paid. Under a written commitment from Mr. Uy Tran's mother, I completed moving out of 132/2 Tran Phu on June 2023 without realizing that my nightmare had only just begun. Despite promises not to dispute or reuse the Secret Garden brand, Mr. Tran Uy and his family committed numerous dishonest actions:
1. They failed to return the money they promised to repay. This made it appear as though Mr. Uy intentionally defrauded an acquaintance by using the premises for free renovations after it had been abandoned for two years during the Covid pandemic.
2. Mr. Uy Tran continued to use the Secret Garden brand and the old business license under his name (which I was unable to transfer due to the rental agreement restrictions). He also created fake profiles impersonating the Secret Garden Hoian brand. Despite my multiple requests for him to stop violating the agreement, Mr. Uy Tran persisted, employing increasingly cunning tactics, such as fabricating stories that I was just renting the premises and had stolen his social media platforms.
3. His mother, Mrs. Phan Thanh Nguyet, supported his wrongful acts by spreading personal gossip about me and attacking my wife to divert attention from the fact that Mr. Uy Tran and his family had defrauded and appropriated my assets, including the brand and the funds I had invested in renovating 132/2 Tran Phu.
With the nearly 900 million VND I initially invested in Secret Garden, I could have had many better business opportunities right after the pandemic ended. I never thought I would need to write a post this long, but given Mr. Uy Tran's false accusations and misuse of social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, I believe I must speak out. Otherwise, he keep telling bu****it things such as I stole his brand name, his social account.
