Really Upset... New salon using my name!

[nickij]

I opened my beauty business in a hotel last April and have been trading as
"Eden Beauty & Wellbeing" ever since... i'm a sole trader and never licensed the name...

Now this weekend there was a small add in the back of the local paper to say so & so have moved to new premises and are now trading as "Eden Hair & Beauty"

This new salon is appox 8 miles from me, so not walking distance but close enough to have client catchment area overlap.

I phoned the lady this morning to have polite converstion...

before telling her who i was, i asked her if when she named the business was she aware that there was already a salon called eden in the area? she said "yes, but when i checked if the name was registered it wasnt so we regesitered our business as it"

i didnt know what to say, apart from that i was gutted and that i dont understand why she'd want to use the same name, ie people might get confused etc... she said "well, its done now, so from now on if you don't want poeple to be confused you'll have to specify that your location"

she didnt say sorry once. i managed not to cry til i got off the phone but im absolutely devastated, ive spent a whole year building up business with this name and shes just stolen it in one fell swoop and i dont know what to do.

i know eden is not exactly the most original salon name, but i didnt think it mattered since i was the only one around until now.

what shall i do?
i'm thinking of ditching the name and rebranding since i dont was to share a name.

i'm so upset :cry:

 

[heidi14]

As inconsiderate and mean as this is I don't think there is anything you can do about it which is very frustrating and upsetting however, there could be a silver lining...why not take this opportunity to rebrand and relaunch your business this will draw attention to your business and could end up bringing you some new clients in!!

Hope this helps a little

 

[kimi1101]

what a bitch.

why would you do that if you knew that was another salons name? what is to gain, apart from if you are a busy salon and they want your clients?

don't really know what to advice. maybe go to your local business link as they can help and they are free.

some rubbish people out there

in response to heidi...you should do this!! put in the paper eden has changed its name to...whatever will give u the boost that this woman has taken from u

 

[trulyscrump]

You could look into registering the name as a registered trade mark. If you can then prove that your name has been in existence longer than hers (and hers is quite recent) she may have to change it.

I trademarked ours a couple of years ago. It was around £500 though. It's that versus lost business I guess.

Alternatively, you could get your marketing up and running and stronger than hers and nick some of her clients ;-)

 

[Verve Designs]

Dear me..some funny people out there. But, theres absolutely nothing you can do about it.

Any "games" might reflect badly on you in the end. Take it as a compliment- and use it as an impetus to out-market her!

Now, I did your original logo didnt I? New Page 2

If you contact me on my email, I'll do you a rebrand for free.

 

[Bejewelled]

Aw that's awful :hug: Something similar happened to the salon I go to, so they started to advertise themselves as being the ' The Original .(salon name)...'. Perhaps you could do this, put it on your flyers, website etc.

 

[Susie H]

Yes it's upsetting but is it going to cost you money? The name is different to your's, not by much I'll grant you, but from a legal standpoint, she's correct.
So you can do one of two things, you can rebrand and make sure you register your new name, then take out a large advert stating that you have changed your name from... to... and have never been associated with...
Or, you register your current name and see if you can get your local paper to do an editorial on your business, how long you've been there, what you do, where you are located, how happy your clients are, see if you can get some of them to give nice comments on how happy they are etc.
But ultametly, I don't think there is much you can do. I'm not name regesterd either and there is a lovely big salon on a main road in my town, only a couple of miles away from me, who has the same name but different spelling. I'm not even sure who's had the name the longest but, it hasn't harmed either of us. I've never lost a client to her or she to me.
Chin up hun, my advise would be to go with the editorial. It's a positive step and it ignores the other business completly.

 

[jes]

I can see why you're upset, but "Eden Beauty & Wellbeing" is not the same as "Eden Hair & Beauty"

You can register a whole company name (like Eden Beauty & Wellbeing) but I can't see how it can prevent other people using some of your words?

 

[BABSann]

I dont understand why people do such spiteful things.I was going to call my business by a certain name about 4 years ago now and I stupidly had a logo made for me amongst other advertising material.Then I thought I had better check(stupid I know,doing it that way round)to see if there were any businesses with the same name anywhere near me.

There was one with a very similar name about 20 miles away,slightly different but enough for me to think no!!!I wouldn't want to be called anything similar to another salon and I wouldn't be so cruel.

The thing is you could change your name only to have another one very similar pop up,I would stick to your name as someone mentioned the other salon isn't quite the same name.Keep your chin up sweetie.:hug:

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

what a bitch.

some rubbish people out there

To be perfectly honest and as annoying as it is, I don't see what the fuss is about. And I don't think the above comment is appropriate either. It is childish and not very professional. That salon owner may well be a member on this forum!

Eden Hair and Beauty is not the same a Eden Beauty and well being, similar perhaps, but not the same. Let this be a lesson that if you wish to preserve a name, then get it registered with companies house. It is actually not that expensive.

 

[persianista]

Firstly, a trademark is only worth the money you have to defend it! Find my thread about it.
Many years ago, my name, logo and even the lettering I used got ripped off by a restaurant in the area. I too was upset.
In the end, people assumed it was mine, and I must be doing really well to have bought a restaurant as well. Most people assume I own it!
Funnily enough it encouraged people to come to me as they thought I must be really good to be doing so well!
So what felt like a cheek, and the end of the world turned out to be a huge favour.
Chin up and carry on. x

 

[kimi1101]

I just meant that the way the woman acted when she was called to explain about it was not fair at all. this person knew that there was a salon nearby with a very similar name, but thought she would just go out and use it anyway. I understand it should have been registered to make sure its yours and yours only. But I think the way this woman spoke to our fellow geek was unfair. I can't imagine liking a name enough to knowingly use one of my competitors names.

I suppose its a lesson learnt, but just a shame it has all happened this way.

 

[Urban Geek]

You could havbe registered the name when you started using it. You didn't and there isn't anything you can do. The salon at the college I attend is called Eden Beauty so it sure is quite common.

I know it is somewhat inconvenient and expense is involved but I think you should dust yourself off and rename your salon. If not, you could add the name of the hotel you are based at to your salon name "Eden Beauty & Wellbeing at .......".

 

[Glamour Puss7]

Orr bless you Nickij!:irked: Some people are just hard faced eh...! Keep your chin up, I know thats easy to say it's very difficult! It propably won't effect you? Maybe put an advert in about yourself and put the year/month you started, this will show that you have been out there longer with your business name and this may help the confusion! Hope you get on ok, hold your head high girl. let us know how you get on? Vicky xx

 

[Lynne Baker]

It's not about being "hard faced", it's about being business minded.

 

[kezza*]

I asked on here before about this I no one told me to register my company,,, interesting how this happens to someone else how it makes you think. You expect that you think of a name and open your company,,, you think of a name that someone in your area isn't using and something that's you,,,,,, who in there right mind would think about using something that someone is using in your area, and look into it being registered,,,,,, where do you look for this????? Using someone else's name then you know what you are doing,,, your intension is to take there reputation,,,,,, would you use the name or something simliar if it had a bad name?????? Come on,,,,
Eden hair and beauty or Eden beauty,,,, sorry to me it's the same and the fuss is alot.
I remember sometime in business study (this was over 10 years ago) about sending a letter headed letter to yourself and never opening that letter is prove because it's stamped with a date,,,,,,make sure it has your company name on the envolope,,, it's the best prove to say that you have been using the name first.

 

[kimi1101]

I remember sometime in business study (this was over 10 years ago) about sending a letter headed letter to yourself and never opening that letter is prove because it's stamped with a date,,,,,,make sure it has your company name on the envolope,,, it's the best prove to say that you have been using the name first.

i've done this but in reality unless u can afford a court case im not sure how much it would do. food for thought.

 

[bombini]

I would be upset to but I think you should keep your existing name for the time being. Hopefully as its 8 miles away it shouldn't be to much of a problem.

When you advertise just make sure your location is clear. Might be an idea to start mentioning your name in all adverts so any past clients will recognise you.

 

[kezza*]

So business minded,,,,,,, I set up 6 months ago,,,, I'll see which salon's in my area is registered and I'll take there name and register it and the only reason your doing that is for there reputation,,, any respectable person wouldn't do this!!!!!!
I guess most of use are too trusting!!!!

 

[trulyscrump]

Let this be a lesson that if you wish to preserve a name, then get it registered with companies house. It is actually not that expensive.

Companies house won't protect you from Trademark infringement. You can set up a Ltd. company and trade under any name you want.

The only clear way is to trademark AND if another company has already been trading under that name before you trademark (especially if it's been for some years) you may also be prevented from stopping them using the name anyway.