Certificate Services

They sent an unsolicited form that attempts to pass itself off as an official form from the Maryland government to the unwary.
This business tries to make money by looking like it is a part of the Maryland government. I uploaded their exact mail to me.

Intentionally misleading advertising - impersonating a government agency to trick people into paying them a fee for something that is unnecessary
They sent a mailing in which the envelope and letter intentionally impersonate an official government document. Only a tiny fine print on one piece of the letter states that this is not a government agency, and it still implies that this is a necessary service or fee - which it is NOT

Recieved unsolicited non-official notice from this company requesting a $87.25 collection fee to obtain a good standing certificate from state of MD.
My complaint is exact in detail as the complaint submitted within the last 12 months and on-file with your organization.

I received what appeared to be an official government bill in the mail on Friday 4/24/2020 from this company. It was dated 4/17/2020 and titled "2020 Certificate of Good Standing Request Form." It had the name of my newly formed business, a document number and notice/respond by dates of 4/27/2020. It also states, "A Maryland Certificate of Good Standing is issued by the Secretary of State and may be required for loans, to renew business, licenses, or for tax or other business purposes..." It goes on to state additional uses of a certificate. At the bottom, there is a tear away form asking for my email address, phone number, name and signature and a check or money order for $87.25. It looks very official, like it is trying to pass as a document from the Secretary of State. No other information was included in the envelope, only a return envelope. In tiny print, just above the tear away section it states, "This is not a government agency." Had I not caught this fine print I would have sent my information, my signature and money to a company apparently engaging in a fraudulent practice. I cannot find the name of this company online and there is no email or website listed. I google mapped the address and it is a UPS store where there is a box #301.

Beware! Beware! Beware!

Desired Outcome - No further contact by the business. I no longer wish to have this business shut down.

Committing Fraud - as noted by the MD Office of the Attorney General
This business is sending out "2020 Certificate of Good Standing Request Form" to new businesses. They're charging more than the state allows for these documents and potentially committing fraud with the information they collect.

The Office of the Attorney General warns that this letter is fraudulent.

The scam letter asks the recipient to send a check or money order to an entity named "MD Certificate Service" in Annapolis, MD in exchange for an "elective Maryland Certificate of Good Standing."

The letter goes to great lengths to look official with a "document number" and a barcode, and includes a customer service phone number of 1-855-222-3322.

Some business entities in Maryland are required to have a certificate of good standing, but not from the Secretary of State.

An official certificate of good standing is available from the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation for a nominal fee.

Anyone who receives this letter can report it to the Maryland Secretary of State, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at http://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov, or the United States Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455.

I received what appeared to be an official government bill in the mail from this company. It was titled "2020 Certificate of Good Standing Request Form." It had the name of my newly formed business, a document number and notice/respond by dates. It also states, "A Maryland Certificate of Good Standing is issued by the Secretary of State and may be required for loans, to renew business, licenses, or for tax or other business purposes..." It goes on to state additional uses of a certificate. At the bottom, there is a tear away form asking for my email address, phone number, name and signature and a check or money order for $87.25. It looks very official, like it is trying to pass as a document from the Secretary of State. No other information was included in the envelope, only a return envelope. In tiny print, just above the tear away section it states, "This is not a government agency." Had I not caught this fine print I would have sent my information, my signature and money to a company apparently engaging in a fraudulent practice. I cannot find the name of this company online and there is no email or website listed. I google mapped the address and it is a UPS store where there is likely a box #301 where these envelopes are collected. Beware!