Some one profited from my name and professional profile

doch007

Hello,

Hoping some one can help here, I will provide as much info as I can without providing anything personal…

Some time back I came in contact with a person looking to start a business providing an online based service and this person was very new to the industry but had a lot of energy.

I offered many hours of advise on getting this business up and running as I was from a similar industry and the deal was that if it becomes a success I will join at a later date as I couldn’t leave my employment.

On the marketing material and website this person used my name and social media links to give the business some clout and listed me as the a senior C level executive without my knowledge.

It was agreed that any business I introduce I will get a % fee which equates to a few hundred which the person has now refused to pay.

Over all this business has made close to 5 figures and in the process has not paid many people who wrongly think I was a senior member of the team.

My question is, am I with in my rights to charge this person for using my Picture, Name and professional accreditations to gain financially?

Is there a case law or something similar about this I can look in to.

Thanks

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

A verbal agreement is just as valid as a written one but sadly the problem is proving what was said.

Do you have anything in writing? 

tightauldgit

It doesn't seem like you had any agreement in place for them to use your details for marketing purposes so I'm not sure if you can charge them or whether its more a case of a cease and desist to stop them doing it. Do you really want to be associated with this business as it seems quite shady? 

Alderbank

First, this has nothing at all to do with consumer rights.

You are an experienced professional, '...the deal was...', '...it was agreed that...' so clearly an intention on both sides to form a binding contract.

As @the_lunatic_is_in_my_head implies above, you are within your rights to charge exactly what is written in the terms of that contract, no more and no less.
I assume that because of its importance you had this contract checked over by your solicitor and accountant before it was signed by both parties?
If no specific fees for the use of your name and goodwill can be produced I believe a court would conclude that these items are included in the general terms of the contract. Courts are notoriously reluctant to interfere in the terms agreed by business parties. So the possibility that a court would say 'No fees for using name, profile, etc. are referenced in the contract so we will override that and impose fees of £x' is extremely unlikely.

eddddy

doch007 said:

On the marketing material and website this person used my name and social media links to give the business some clout and listed me as the a senior C level executive without my knowledge.

So if some customers paid "the person" money as a result of that misrepresentation, those customers might have the basis for a claim against "the person".

doch007 said:

It was agreed that any business I introduce I will get a % fee which equates to a few hundred which the person has now refused to pay.

If that's what was agreed, it's a binding contract. But do you have any evidence of that agreement?

For example, if you decided to take "the person" to court and...

• you say "It was agreed that any business I introduce I will get a % fee" 

• and "the person" says "No - we never agreed that"

• Or "the person" says "Yes we agreed that, but you haven't introduced anyone." (Did you agree a definition of "introduced"?)

How will you convince the court that you are right and "the person" is wrong?

doch007 said:

My question is, am I with in my rights to charge this person for using my Picture, Name and professional accreditations to gain financially?

You could if that's what you agreed.

Apart form that, you could send a "cease and desist" letter, and potentially apply for a court order (injunction) to stop them - but that would probably be super-expensive.

The closest relevant civil law might be "Passing Off". (For example, if I opened a food shop and put up a sign saying "Tesco Express", Tesco plc might take action against me for "passing off".)

In theory, if you can show that the "Passing Off" has resulted in a financial loss to you, you could try making a claim for damages. But I think that would be an extremely tough fight to win, and it would be extremely expensive.

RefluentBeans

eddddy said:

doch007 said:

On the marketing material and website this person used my name and social media links to give the business some clout and listed me as the a senior C level executive without my knowledge.

So if some customers paid "the person" money as a result of that misrepresentation, those customers might have the basis for a claim against "the person".

doch007 said:

It was agreed that any business I introduce I will get a % fee which equates to a few hundred which the person has now refused to pay.

If that's what was agreed, it's a binding contract contract. But do you have any evidence of that agreement?

For example, if you decided to take "the person" to court and...

• you say "It was agreed that any business I introduce I will get a % fee" 

• and "the person" says "No - we never agreed that"

• Or "the person" says "Yes we agreed that, but you haven't introduced anyone." (Did you agree a definition of "introduced"?)

How will you convince the court that you are right and "the person" is wrong?

doch007 said:

My question is, am I with in my rights to charge this person for using my Picture, Name and professional accreditations to gain financially?

You could if that's what you agreed.

Apart form that, you could send a "cease and desist" letter, and potentially apply for a court order (injunction) to stop them - but that would probably be super-expensive.

The closest relevant civil law might be "Passing Off". (For example, if I opened a food shop and put up a sign saying "Tesco Express", Tesco plc might take action against me for "passing off".)

In theory, if you can show that the "Passing Off" has resulted in a financial loss to you, you could try making a claim for damages. But I think that would be an extremely tough fight to win, and it would be extremely expensive.

Agree with everything in this statement and put more eloquently than I attempted to yesterday!

I would also add this almost certainly wouldn’t be considered a business to consumer contract, and so no consumer protection would apply. It would likely be a business to business contract and those are treated much more ‘to the letter’ than consumers where consumers aren’t expected to understand legalese. B2B contracts are normally enforced only to the degree that it says in the contract. 

If I was OP this is a tipping point - either they offer to take a piece of the pie (stocks) in lieu of upfront payment, or they sue for a payout of the previous money that was offered, and call it quits with the business and tell them to stop using their name. 

I would personally consult a solicitor - as the contract likely won’t be a coherent PDF, but rather in multiple messages, phone calls, and emails. And any future contract should be well written to avoid confusion in the future.

outtatune

Is this industry small enough that having your name associated with him will cause you actual reputational damage, or just annoyance and embarrassment? If so, can you not just put the word out what happened and let the gossip train do its work?

I'm assuming you weren't in breach of your employment contract doing this.

Okell

eddddy said:

...  The closest relevant civil law might be "Passing Off". (For example, if I opened a food shop and put up a sign saying "Tesco Express", Tesco plc might take action against me for "passing off".)

In theory, if you can show that the "Passing Off" has resulted in a financial loss to you, you could try making a claim for damages. But I think that would be an extremely tough fight to win, and it would be extremely expensive.

This ^^^

"Passing off" is a common law tort and occurs where a business holds itself out as having some connection or association with a third party when it doesn't.*

Usually the third party is well known or has a good reputation in that area and therefore the business gains some advantage from pretending to be associated with them.

The third party might be able to claim damages or get the business to account for profits earned.

That's only my recollection from a 44 year-old law degree.  I think if you wanted to pursue it you'd need professional advice rather than try to do it yourself.


*Of course one problem you might have is that that business actually does seem to have a connection or association with you    The problem is that the terms of the agreement - if any - that you have with them may be rather difficult for you to prove...