TN Certificate Services

Victim Location 43604

Type of a scam Other

We received a letter from TN Certificate Service offering us the chance to obtain our Certificate of Existence for a fee of $83.50. I’ve been in the legal field long enough to know that a Certificate of Existence comes from the state’s Secretary of State for a nominal fee (generally around $20). The letter looks official and if you did not already know that this was a scam or if you didn’t read the very fine print, it would be easy to get caught up in this scam. I called the phone number that was provided and asked if they were in any way affiliated with a government agency. The woman indicated that they were not. I replied "so you want me to pay $83.50, over four times what an actual Certificate of Existence costs, to get it from you and not directly from the Secretary of State?" The woman replied "this is just a service we are offering, you don’t have to take it." I said "yes, but you are preying on people who may not know any better and this is a scam." The woman was silent for a moment and said "I’m sorry you feel that way." I said "no, I don’t "feel" that way, it is a scam." She then stated that they would do the "paperwork" for us, and that is what the fee is for. I responded that I know that there is no paperwork, you simply request a Certificate online from the Secretary of State. The woman had nothing to say. I want people to be aware of this so that no one pays unnecessary money for a bogus service.