HELENA — Businesses around Montana are reporting receiving official-looking mailers, encouraging them to pay to renew their business registrations. However, the Montana Secretary of State’s Office says those flyers are deceptive.
The mailers come from a number of different senders, but they follow a similar pattern. They generally tell business owners they need to update their registrations or get specific official documents, or else face fines or even the “dissolution of your business.” They offer a chance to pay fees – sometimes several hundred dollars – to get into compliance.
Sometimes, though, in the fine print, the flyers say they are not from the government, but from private third-party companies – and that businesses can get all the services free or for a lower price by going to official sources.
The Secretary of State’s Office put out a news release, calling the mailers “deceptive practices.”
“It's a scam,” Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen told MTN. “In many cases, our businesses have already filed their annual reports – and they certainly do not need to use these third-party vendors to do that.”
Jacobsen told MTN her office has sent cease-and-desist letters to four of these companies already.
“They continue to get more creative and resurface as a different name,” she said. “But I'm going to fight and make sure that this is stopped.”
This year and the past two years, the Secretary of State’s Office waived the fee for Montana businesses to file their annual report, as long as owners got the report in by April 15. Leaders say business owners can get copies of required documents through the SOS online business portal.
Jacobsen said legitimate mailings from her office or other government agencies will make it clear who sent them. Her office recommends checking mailers for disclaimers saying they’re “solicitations” or advertisements or that they’re not associated with the government.
