Complaint Review: Fictitious Business Name Renewal Center

I received a very official looking letter with paperwork and a bill indicating I must pay $150.00 to renew my Fictitious Business Name, as well as an additional $35.00 to legalize a minor modification of ownership for my small business. I am a new business owner, and was completely duped by the professional looking paperwork and payment demands of this company, who calls themselves "Fictitious Business Name Renewal Center" or FBNRS. I paid a total of $185.00 to this company.

A month or so later, I received a notice from San Francisco's County Clerk indicating that my business name had not been renewed, and that it was about to expire. When I called San Francisco's County Clerk to uncover the problem, they told me that I was scammed by the "FBNRS", and that, instead of paying $185.00, I should have worked directly with the SF County Clerk, where I would have only paid $82.00 total for the Fictitious Business Name renewal + ownership modification. I am furious because the FBNRS posed as my only option for renewal. Their paperwork suggested explicitly that the only way to avoid losing my Fictitious Business Name, is by paying them. I had no idea there was another option.

It pains me to know that this fraudulent company is targeting small business owners, who are at the very core of our economy. I would like my money back, as well as a public record of this repeated scam performed by "FBNRS."