It's like I didn't leave my last employer 3

[jfudo]

My old boss is telling his clients that I'm on a leave of absence, when in fact I'm starting my own company. He is aware that I'm not coming back. On top of that, my email account is still active and he has been receiving those emails for the last two months.

I've been trying to see if this is ethical for him to be doing, but I haven't had any luck. I really would prefer him to stop. He is worried that I'm marketing to his clients, which I haven't even though I have every right to do it.

Maybe this is like double jeopardy, since I've already been convicted of the crime, maybe I should actually commit it. Sorry for the rant.

Any suggestions?

 

[MadMango]

The company owns your email address on their domain, not much you can do about that. I would make those clients aware that you have left, that's not solicitation.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[JAE]

1. I would think your boss can tell people anything he wants...but as time goes by he's going to look quite foolish to his clients when he claims that your on a leave while you are handing out to these same clients your new business card and telling them, "no, I'm not with them anymore."

2. Keep your eyes open on this though. Recieving emails on your old account may not be an ethical issue, but responding back to the the sender as though YOU were responding is unethical. If you have any evidence of this then I'd go on the attack.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

"On top of that, my email account is still active"
Do you mean the account allocated to you for your previous company business use or a personal one created by you?

 

[KENAT]

Would it be ethical to contact some of those former clients to let them know you're no longer with the company?

Don't say anything about starting your own place just make sure they know you aren't there. It's egg on your ex bosses face but at the same time, I think what he is doing is un-ethical.

My sister in law was in a similar position, though in sales. She left the company because she was tired of things that were going on (money to pay for new age consultants but not to pay for sales leads or some staffs wages).

The management were telling clients she was still with them and she was getting phonecalls on her personal cell from those clients.

I can't remember all she did but she did put a message on here voicemail that made it sound like the phone was disconnected.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[KENAT]

look at thread765-199326

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[jmw]

On the other hand, if your business doesn't work out, your boss may well be in a position to take you back; if that is a good safety net for you, then don't upset him.

But it seems you think he has some worries about some of his business going to you; he might well feel that there is no room for sentiment in business and if some of his customers could one day be yours then you do need to be careful.

JAE makes an excellent point about how emails to your account at your old company are handled.

The fact that you know the account is still active and you know what he is saying to your old clients suggests you have a pipeline into the company and it might not hurt to find out a bit more and go get some legal advise if you think anything he is doing could be harmful to your prospects.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[msquared48]

My advice to you is to let it go. What goes around comes around.

If you choose to concentrate on the petty things of the business like this that will not make you money, you will fail. Concentrate on creating your own clients and market. To qoute a movie line from the past, "If you build it, they will come."

Just build your business, and your good reputation.

Mike McCann
McCann Engineering

 

[RARWOOD]

What your boss is doing is definitely unethical. Telling the truth is ethical lying is not.

What your old boss is doing may also be ilegal Since he is trying to create the impression you still have ties to your old company, he maybe commiting fraud. However to be sure you would have to contact a laywer.

My best advice would be to ignore the whole issue as much as possible. Among some of the best advice I have ever received was, People with class act with class. I received this reply when I asked my boss who just laid me off how others in the same situation were reacting. While others were getting mad at my boss I treated him like I always did. There was no use making him feel uncomfortable, when he had no choice in the fact he had to lay off half of his staff.

I would however be sure to give a new business card to any of your old clients you run into. I would not go out of my way to track them down however.

It may be likely that some of your old clients will seek you out. In the past they may have stayed with your old company because they trusted you and enjoyed working with you.

 

[MintJulep]

Telling clients that you are still with the company is not cool.

If he will tell that lie, what other lies is he telling?

Looking at your old e-mail inbox is, I think, ok. It is possible that your contacts that may not know you have left, are trying to communicate with your old firm through you. The firm has a legitimate right to those communications. No different from someone calling on the phone to ask for you, and the receptionist putting the call through to the ex-boss.

However, if I were in your shoes, I would spread that old e-mail address around to every questionable web site, marketing site, mailing list and whatever that I could find. Your ex-boss will quickly tire of wading through the spam, and the IT department will cut the account off due to the excess traffic.

 

[MedicineEng]

I believe that this is a lesson for everybody:
When you leave a job, be sure that you send a communication to all your professional contacts informing the fact.
Like that, there will be no situations like this.
There is a recent trend on this subject also.

Now, I agree with some of the respondents: even if annoying, I wouldn't actively do anything to confront my ex-boss, but I would be sure that everytime I meet a client to tell him about my new comapny. Engineering world is samIs just a quesiton of time that everybody knows that your ex-boss is lying regarding your presence in the company.

Godd luck with your new entreprise and worry about making $$$ and build a reputation. Leave the non-revenue issues in the bottom of your to-do list.

 

[Ashereng]

Keeping your old email account alive for a time after you have left is common - in case someone didn't get the notice that you have left the company and is trying to get a hold of you. We moved into a new office building, and still get clients of the previous tenant coming in. We re-direct them to the new address of the previous tenant.



"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[Gymmeh]

I have the last engineers email forwarded to me... I am suprized some times.... but his account is still open after over 6 months

 

[jeebusmn]

A very curt email which alludes to the fact that may consult with a lawyer should be more than enough.

 

[RossABQ]

Did your old email account have a Webmail access option? If so, go into it and create a Rule that auto-replies that you have left the company.

 

[GregLocock]

I'm pretty sure that the company owns the email address and that once you have left you have absolutely no right to use it or read it.

I'd /guess/ that you could even be legally liable if you behaved as MJ suggested.



Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[IRstuff]

Sounds like a fun case to argue in court. There's no doubt that the DOMAIN name is owned by the company.

However, YOUR name is always your property, as are your images, etc., so the email address is certainly a usage of your name without your permission, and you should be recompensed for that usage, and/or damages/economic losses to your business.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[jmw]

First company to bitten by the implications of the workers name in the email address would probably
(a) get you to sign a waver as part of your employment contract
(b) insist that your name is not part of the email assigned to you. So, you could become a number and not a free man.
The worker rarely wins, maybe a minor battle but never a war.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[GregLocock]

Fair enough. My legal name is not glocock, so I don't think I could succesfully argue in court that an unsigned email from glocock@bigbadcompany.com is an abuse of my identity, sadly.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[IRstuff]

I don't think that it necessarily has to be your legal name.

As with trademarks, if your email address is synonymous with you to the public or to the customers, a smart lawyer ought to be able to argue that point in your favor.

TTFN

FAQ731-376