SCAMCA Certificate Service Reports & Reviews – Page 2 (26)
CA Certificate Service Contacts
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Thanks but no thanks, CCS.
The reason I decided to add my experience is because after doing some digging, it appears this person owns several LLCs in different states doing the same thing - trying to provide a "service" of filing a request for a Certificate of Status. For new business owners like myself learning the ropes and wading through all the paperwork and compliance measures, this is a fairly legitimate looking form...luckily my LegalZoom packet included a serious message to be on the lookout for scams (shout out to LegalZoom!). So when this arrived in the mail I went straight to look it up online, and also quickly came across a fraud alert from the California Secretary of State website.
I see that the "business" responded to some of the complaints here by saying it uses the word "elective" - which I can verify it does say that once: "You have one step left in order to attain your elective California Certificate of Status." I give this person credit for being extra sneaky and mirroring a lot of the language that appears on other filing documents I've received "Congratulations..." "Your Articles have been filed with the Secretary of State..." "Confirm Business Name & Document Number are correct..."
It also does have "This is not a government agency" listed, which I gather might protect them legally in their Michigan case--unless they can be prosecuted for acting in bad faith. That said, this line about not being a government agency is in very, very small print, by far the smallest print on the page (I'd say it's in 5 or 6 pt. font), and is situated in the position just above a dotted perforated line. As my brilliant wife pointed out, it could easily be overlooked (she couldn't see it without her glasses) and auto-pilot/psychologically presumed to say what you would usually see in that font size on a bill: "Tear here along the perforated line."
After reviewing the document more closely (I've done work in typesetting and my wife as a postal carrier), there are many other small details and giveaways that it is not an official document after all. I'm not going to list them here so as not to contribute to them improving on their scheme. But the real kicker was that they are charging $77.25, when a certificate in California is $5. FIVE DOLLARS. I generally like to assume people are good and give them the benefit of the doubt, but in this case, this "business" is clearly meant to mislead and they are conducting themselves in obvious bad faith.
The legal action taken against this company in Michigan was in July 2019, and then the California LLC address was registered in September 2019 (which is the one that contacted me). I had the time and wits (and forewarnings) to have looked into this, but many people won't.