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Registered Agent "service" scam. Legal Zoom has made an unauthorized charge to my bank account for $159. This is how the scam works: they sell you a service for which you agree to pay a stated price. You authorize Legal Zoom to debit your bank account for installments to cover the service you are purchasing. They do not offer you the option to just pay it out up front or if they do it is not readily noticeable. To complete your order you accept the terms & conditions by checking a box. You assume that the terms and conditions relate only to the service for which you have agreed to purchase but that is not the case. Mentioned somewhere in lengthy terms is an entirely separate service to act as the Registered Agent for the company you have formed. This service is $159 and is not included in the amount you agreed to. They wait until you have received your articles of incorporation at that time you will have made to installments on your agreement. They send an email notification reminding you when your upcoming installment payments are about to post to your account. They conveniently NEVER mention the $159 extra service fee for the registered agent service because then you may question and cancel it. You never receive an email about the impending charge. They simply debit your account for the full amount and wait for you to call to hear that it was not included and that when you accepted the terms and conditions you authorized payment for the service. The first person to take my call even said "we get a lot of these calls." It gets better: when you learn that all this service is for is "filtering" your junk mail they charge $49 to remove themselves as your registered agent. I was able to change my registered agent to myself with my state for $5 bucks. I am told that when they receive confirmation of my change they will prorate my "subscription" which in the end allows them to get at least 2 months ($26.50) payment for a so called service out of you that you would never have purchased otherwise add the $5.00 to make the change yourself (and that's only if I can get the proof before they bill again) and you have paid another $30.00 on top of what you agreed. I could have just paid a local attorney to draw up my papers for that less than that amount ($414.00). To stop unauthorized debits your bank will need to cancel your card altogether.
This complaint has been resolved automatically due to user's inactivity.
I have the same problem, except I wasn't given any option to remove the charge. I was refunded the majority of the charges ($146), but the catch is I have to get with the state first then, go back through the hassle of getting the "Service" stopped. Which, I'm sure leads to further charges. What I found frustrating was the attitude when I reached someone to speak about this matter. I was talked down to, as if this was some official mandatory state requirement. When I repeatedly asked what service, all I was able to understand was that someone will collect ALL of my mail from the state. That someone needs to be present at all times during business hours to collect mail. Extremely annoyed that I even have to deal with this. I will never use Legal zoom again for any service such as this. If you want do pass off some outrage fee for a non-existing service, at least have the decency to describe it fully and alert them of the recurring charge!
You can rest easy with LegalZoom, if you find there's a blip in your order they have great customer service to help resolve any issues. As for their registered agent service, I think it's a great time saver for a typical clerical time wasting task especially when you are based away from you companies home state.
If you want to have unauthorized charges and feel like you been swindled go with Legal Zoom!
The process of setting up a corporation is usually done by a CPA and an Attorney. Legal Zoom like any other business, charges for it's services. I'm using Legal Zoom right now and I've gone through all there questions and they explain everything in detail. But I'm also a CPA, so I know what a registered agent is, and what's necessary to apply for a Federal ID number. Most people don't ( and will never need to). The first thing anyone who is thinking about setting up their business is to talk to their accountant or tax preparer. Another question Legal Zoom asked was to set up a S-Corp. This is another question you should discuss with your tax preparer. In addition to the fees Legal Zoom charges, there are annual reporting requirement to both the Federal and (most) State Governments and minimum taxes can be quite high. For your information, most corporations establish themselves in another state and therefore a registered agent is required. This is why Legal Zoom offers this service.
As for Legal Zoom itself, I found the customer support to be excellent and their services reasonable. If there is any questions in using their service, please call them and ask.
Not my case! I even sent the sunbiz doc showing clearly the resignation letter dated November 2018! I called them twice to ask to be removed from thier system! What else someone has to do to not be charged anymore?
Actually disregard the last comment I made I just did a ton of research and It makes sense to have a registered agent and its an ANNUAL FEE, however the customer should be made aware of this fee upfront instead of the fine print.
The same thing happened to me :
Registered Agent "service" scam. Legal Zoom has made an unauthorized charge to my bank account for $159. This is how the scam works: they sell you a service for which you agree to pay a stated price. You authorize Legal Zoom to debit your bank account for installments to cover the service you are purchasing. They do not offer you the option to just pay it out up front or if they do it is not readily noticeable. To complete your order you accept the terms & conditions by checking a box. You assume that the terms and conditions relate only to the service for which you have agreed to purchase but that is not the case. Mentioned somewhere in lengthy terms is an entirely separate service to act as the Registered Agent for the company you have formed. This service is $159 and is not included in the amount you agreed to. They wait until you have received your articles of incorporation at that time you will have made to installments on your agreement. They send an email notification reminding you when your upcoming installment payments are about to post to your account. They conveniently NEVER mention the $159 extra service fee for the registered agent service because then you may question and cancel it. You never receive an email about the impending charge. They simply debit your account for the full amount and wait for you to call to hear that it was not included and that when you accepted the terms and conditions you authorized payment for the service. The first person to take my call even said "we get a lot of these calls." It gets better: when you learn that all this service is for is "filtering" your junk mail they charge $49 to remove themselves as your registered agent. I was able to change my registered agent to myself with my state for $5 bucks. I am told that when they receive confirmation of my change they will prorate my "subscription" which in the end allows them to get at least 2 months ($26.50) payment for a so called service out of you that you would never have purchased otherwise add the $5.00 to make the change yourself (and that's only if I can get the proof before they bill again) and you have paid another $30.00 on top of what you agreed. I could have just paid a local attorney to draw up my papers for that less than that amount ($414.00). To stop unauthorized debits your bank will need to cancel your card altogether.
I was very disappointed to discover this, this is a very sneaky charge and to put it in the terms and conditions like that is not acceptable. Every customer should be made aware of this ridiculous charge and have the option to opt out of it. I'm disappointed in myself for not paying more attention to the fine print and ashamed to have done business with them where they cheat other people who are trying to start their own.
Hi Kim,
We are sorry to hear that you were being charged for a service that you were unaware of. It looks like you may have opted in for LegalZoom to serve as your Registered Agent. We can assist you with changing your Registered Agent, if you haven't already done so. Please feel free to contact me directly for assistance at: Patty@lzserve.com.
Again we are sorry to hear about experience and would like to help.
LegalZoom Customer Care
Well, I did requested to take me out as a registered officer from a corporation in November 2018. In August 2019 I’ve received an email from LegalZoom asking me to re-confirm that I AM the registered officer for that company! I sent an email stating again that I am not. They reply: you have to call for your security if you want to be removed . So, I called again in August 2019 ( Remember I called in November 2018) to ask to be removed. What I found out? That I’ve been charged in JULY ( 1 month prior you sent me the email to confirm if I am still the r egistered officer, and 7 months after I already asked to me removed!). I had to call the bank to dispute the charge, and to request another credit card ( to make sure you guus will not charge anything else in the future!). What kind of company is this?
I have the same experience. Legal Zoom would continue to charge your credit card even if your LLC is no longer in business. They would take advantage of people who signed up in the beginning as their registered agents and would continue to charge you $399. They would tell you to contact the State to get the paperwork before they can stop draining your money. Shame on you LegalZoom. Never again.
LEGAL ZOOM you are a joke and so is your not needed registered agent service which you just charged me 300$ for and you will not reimburse. It is my bank account not yours. Thieves.