I am a mobile beauty therapist and have recently bought a business that a local lady was selling.
She was working from home in her conservatory but wanted to sell the business because of having arthritis in her hands. To cut a long story short she has about 400 clients that I bought off her for £400.
When I went to fetch the client details she had printed me off a list of all the names address and telephone numbers of the clients.
I thought she was going to give me the client record details as well but she didnt. Now Im worried that she might use them to carry on doing treatments.
Should I get the client records off her or does she need them for account reasons.
Sorry to go on!:zzz:
Hmmmm. If she has given you a list of genuine active clients then you haven't been ripped off.
It is legal for her to sell the data to you if it is her intention to transfer the business of those clients. Data Protection Act doesn't apply in this situation.
If she has given you a list of 400 people who she has transacted with over 5 years then the list is of dubious value. When is a client, not a client? I think a three month cut-off date is reasonable. What I mean by this is any "client" who hasn't had a transaction with the business within the last three months is not an active client. A past client yes, a potential prospect for marketing too yes.
The problem you face is based upon what your actual agreement with the lady is. It is a concern that if she agreed to "sell" you the business that she hasn't transferred the client details. By my definition the business in this case is the full records, so if you haven't got full records then you haven't received "the business." However if you were actually negotiating for a list then the lady has done no wrong.
The advice, based on what you understand of your side is to go back to the lady and request the full client details if it is the "business" that you agreed to buy. I would also ask her for a copy of her appointment book/diary so you know who is due back, when and for what treatment at what price.
As for the price, £400 could be cheap, IF the list contains active clients.
Lets say you get 100 active clients off the list who are willing to use your services, you do 10 a week and take say £25.00 off each one. Your stock cost should be less than 10% plus travel. In effect you pay off the £400 in two weeks. Four weeks at 5 per week.
It is very important to write to the 400 clients quickly explaining the friendly transfer due to ill health and listing your services, prices. Secondly you should begin phoning the list straight after this to begin booking clients.
For anyone planning something like this always, always make a simple agreement in writing agreeing what exactly is happening.
It never ever does any harm to pay a free 1st visit to a solicitor for some basic advice or your local business link.
Good luck.
