A dispute has arisen in Waldoboro between two pawnshops, both located on Rt. 1, and both using the abbreviated name “Waldoboro Pawn.”
Waldoboro Pawn and Jewelry, owned by Dennis Blanchet, has been in the same location at the corner of Rt. 1 and Depot Street since 1978.
Waldoboro Pawn and Consignment, owned by Joey Peaslee, opened this week at 1401B Rt. 1, just down the road.
Blanchet feels the new pawnshop is infringing on his business by taking such a similar name.
“I’ve had people coming in asking me if we opened up a new branch,” Blanchet said. He’s also concerned about delivery and payment mistakes. “You can tell people over and over again how to make checks out to you, and they still get it wrong.”
Peaslee said when he was choosing the name for his store he didn’t know that Blanchet’s store was called Waldoboro Pawn.
“For years his sign just said ‘pawn,'” Peaslee said. “I chose my name because I’m opening a pawnshop and it’s in Waldoboro.”
Peaslee is less concerned about the effect the similarity between the names will have on business. “A little competition never hurt,” he said.
When he first heard about the new pawnshop opening up, Blanchet sent Peaslee a letter informing him of the similarity between their names, and asking him to choose something else.
Unfortunately, he mailed that letter to the Waldoboro Pawn and Consignment physical address, which is not a mailing address, Peaslee said.
When the Waldoboro Board of Selectmen granted Peaslee his license to operate on April 13, they didn’t do any research into whether the name he had chosen was taken or not.
“I’ve never dealt with anything like this before,” Waldoboro Town Manager Bill Post said June 3.
At the Waldoboro Board of Selectmen’s meeting June 8, the board renewed Blanchet’s license. Peaslee’s will not be reviewed until next year.
At that meeting, Blanchet’s wife Jackie Blanchet, said in the pawn business, a store’s name is everything.
“If [Peaslee] were to do anything to make people believe he was dishonest, people might not know which Waldoboro Pawn it is,” she said. “We’ve worked hard to build a name for ourselves that people know around the state.”
When Blanchet first brought the problem to Post’s attention, Post told him the town has no responsibility to research the availability of names before issuing licenses, Blanchet said.
At the June 8 meeting, Post said the town does not have any authority to regulate businesses names. “This is a private issue between two business owners,” Post said.
Blanchet and Peaslee agreed the town needs to do more to help prevent problems like this in the future.
“When you pay someone $80,000 per year, they should work for you,” Blanchet said. “It’s hard enough to start a new business, but when you wind up with someone else’s name, you’re getting off on the wrong foot.”
“Businesses shouldn’t be given the same name,” Peaslee said. “There needs to be town ordinance to prevent that.”
When Blanchet first learned the town would not handle his concerns, he attempted to contact a lawyer. Unfortunately, both of the lawyers that he’s worked with in the past have also represented Peaslee.
