I see people all the time that have paid to have Business Cards, Shirts, or Automotive Graphics made. Then later down the road they find another company to do something for them and request the design from the previous company. Most of the time the company will not give you the design saying they own it. If you did not pay for a Design Fee then they do. The best Route to take is to pay a freelance designer to make and send you all your graphics. That way you can go to any company with the design and get whatever promotional products you need made.
I was in the sign and design business for a few years. I heard these stories all the time. I even heard of Promotional Companies suing and winning people that used the design on products that they did not sell. I never had a problem with people using my designs that I was paid to do with someone else. First thing I always did was give my customers a CD and Email with the file. In my mind it made things easier for me so when they came back for more stuff I didn't have to search for the file.
