I re-register my LLC with the Secretary of State at the beginning of the year. January first. The first day of the year. I make sure the trade name is still in good standing, and the SoS typically emails me a confirmation, or I can check the website and see the words Grok Media LLC in “good standing.”
This year was no different except for the confirmation email. I missed it or didn’t get it, so when some company called US Filing Services started peppering my inbox with alerts about my business status and deadlines, OMG!!! I checked the SoS website. Still not updated.
More emails from US Filing Services, and I finally had to reach out to them to ask. The SoS. What the?
I was good. They updated the website. They also informed me that the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office does not have any agreements with third-party vendors related to business registration.
No affiliation at all.
US Filing Services is something of a fishing (I did not say Phishing) operation, or just an attempt to leverage a fee for something you should do yourself. They may say (hint, infer), or act like they are in cahoots with the state to ensure you stay in good standing, but that’s not true.
Maybe they can do it, but the State isn’t “working” with them nor they with the state, is my point.
I was reminded today when I got an email from them offering a Labor Day weekend discount to handle my business filing (the one not due for four more months).
I was reminded that I had meant to write about them and this so folks would know it’s just some company giving the appearance of an affiliation that doesn’t exist.
I could block them, label them as spam, or I could write a blog post and then do those things.
I get a lot of fishy and phishy email.
Pro tip to US Filing Services. You keep sending them to my junk email. The one I give out that is not my business email.
I still get a lot of spammy newsletter crap to my business email; don’t get me wrong. Every center-right operation with one adds me to their list. I get campaign updates and emails from Republicans running for things in Indiana, Texas- pick a state. It’s actually a regular to-do item to unsubscribe from these things when they start to pile up like snow in January.
I look at some of them. You never know where you might find a story or a tie-in that would interest our readers.
Then I delete them, just like the US Filing Services emails.
