customer/sales list

[fcobarr]

What is the name of your state? tx

Typical story...left job to start competing business. Now, ready to begin selling after product development, production set backs, etc. I have a customer/contact list I intend to use for bulk mailing (approx 2K names).

I am concerned about repurcussions from prior employer. I have found online databases (www.spoke.com is pretty complete) that contain many of the same names I have. I could buy mailing lists from periodicals in my industry and get names that way too.

Even if I went through the effort of creating my own list through online databases and periodical mailing lists, I will probably still be sued for stealing their list, right? When sales people switch jobs and such, their contacts is all they have...they always take them with and share with their next employer. What happens to sales people?

How do these cases usually play out in the legal system? Does anyone on here have an experience where they have done this and how it all worked out for them?

Thanks.

 

[Ohiogal]

Actually sales people do not normally take their sales lists with them because the sales lists belong to their employer. yes you can be sued for stealing inside information. How you COULD have gotten the information is irrelevant because the way you did get the information was to steal company information.

Creating a list from online PUBLIC databases is different than taking a list from a prior employer to steal their customers.

 

[Rexlan]

I agree with Ohiogal. I think the sales list is the property of the employer and not that of a salesperson.

It would also be difficult to beleive that the OP really had a personal sales contact list of 2K people ... don't think so. If I was the original employer I think I would teach you a lesson and they will quickly discover that you have used their property for your own gain.