NASHVILLE — Tennessee officials have some simple advice on how consumers and would-be businesses can save upwards of $130 when it comes to filing some state documents.
Do it yourself.
State officials are warning consumers to be on the alert for mailings resembling government agency paperwork landing in Tennesseans’ mailboxes but are really “angling to charge whopping prices to consumers for relatively inexpensive state services.”
The statewide alert was issued today by the Tennessee Consumer Affairs Division of the state Department of Commerce and Insurance, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett and the Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee.
The Consumer Affairs Division says the concern is about “companies misleading consumers when it comes to filing state paperwork on their behalf.”
“Consumers who receive one of these letters should contact the Division of Consumer Affairs or our partners at the Secretary of State’s office,” said TDCI Deputy Commissioner Bill Giannini in a news release. “You don’t have to pay someone else a big fee to file simple paperwork.”
According to the state, a number of companies are firing off letters offering to obtain business filings, corporate certificates of good standing and certified copies of deeds for homeowners.
The solicitations seek to charge consumers upwards of $150 for the services and, officials say, in at least one instance ask consumers to turn over their credit card information.
Instead of paying the $150, Hargett’s office says a corporation annual report can be filed for $20. Other Secretary of State business filings range from nothing at all, say, for a form for written consent for dissolution of a corporation, up to $600 for an application for a Certificate of Authority. (For a full list go to: http://sos.tn.gov/products/business-services/profit-corporation-fee-schedule-0
County Register of Deeds offices often only charge per page for copies of property records, which are typically under $10.
“We are committed to ridding Tennessee of unscrupulous operators posing as legitimate businesses,” Giannini said, adding the agency “will continue to make Tennesseans aware of these deceptive business practices through consumer alerts and outreach efforts.”