Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/06/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  First Step Business Solutions is a scam website. When entering geauxbiz website for LA it redirects you to first step unknowningly. It then falsely claims to be renewing your local LLC and takes 175 dollars from your account with no renewal or avenue to get a refund. Very hard for small business to survive in this country! We need help from our government entities like yourself. Please hunt this hacker down and stop this from happening to others. Any help in my case would be greatly appreciated.

  Business response

  01/07/2025

  Hello,

  Let me address some of the comments here, as they are not at all accurate. We are a legitimate business administration service that offers certain state filings as one of our services. We do in fact file with all states in the United States, and perform the services we advertise. Geauxbiz does not redirect you to our site...Almost invariably, if you have not done business with us before, you clicked on an ad on a search engine that was clearly marked an ad. We do advertise our service, and we do charge a fee for our service. We don't falsely claim to renew an LLC, we do actually file annual reports. We don't "take" money, we accept payment for our services, that are clearly defined on the form you fill out, and are required to agree to our terms of service that you also are required to actively indicate that you have read in order to submit payment. There is absolutely a refund policy, and we received absolutely no communication from you before this review was written in order to cancel your order, or request a refund. Since seeing this review, we have taken it upon ourselves to cancel your order and issue a refund for the fees you paid other than the cancellation you fee you agreed to upon submission of your application. BBB is not a government agency either. It is a review site, just like yelp.

  We do try to work with our customers given the opportunity, and almost invariably come to a mutually agreeable solution to any issue. Without being given that opportunity, we regretfully are forced to respond to complaints like this, rather than ascertain the issue at hand and resolve it.

  Customer response

  01/07/2025

  Thank you!! I have received an email stating they have refunded a percentage of the money however it is not in my account and it was not clarfied when it might be there. I will keep you updated if it actually happens. 

  Customer response

  01/09/2025

  refund received thank you

• Initial Complaint

  04/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On on O2/06/2024 I was filing a report on for my son, ******* ** ******* *** for a renewal of a business called Bluewater Apts. *** ******* ***** ****** ********* *** ****** I sent $300.00 thru my Discover Card account. I received a call from ********** and was told that I sent it in error and should have filed it with the DPR. I spoke to 2 people and they told me that the money would be refunded approximately 2 weeks. They were very accommodating and I had no doubt this would happen. It has not. I have called your phone number and left 4 messages with no response. I am now wondering if you are a legitimate company and before I go any further with this, I do expense a response.

  Business response

  04/15/2024

  Hello, I am sorry for the confusion here.

  Your order was refunded on Feb 7, approximately 1PM EST. It is likely that the charge was still pending in your account, and so the charge simply does not show as having ever existed on your statement. I have resent the refund receipt the email address provided in the original order, which is different than the email used to submit this feedback.

  If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us directly.

• Initial Complaint

  03/14/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I see that there are numerous people who have experienced this same scam by this company called "New Business Filing. Org". I was under the clear impression that I was on a NJ government website. I was on this all day. However, I was unknowingly taken to another website after being led to file my new business under the new Corporate Transparency Act of 2024, for all new businesses as of 2024. It states that if you don't pay, you will be charged $500/day. (After researching this on the ACTUAL government site, businesses have until Jan 1, 2025 to do this!) I was given the option to pay $200 for one year or $250 for 5 years--thinking this was an incentive for businesses to remain compliant. This company is a complete fraud. I will be reporting them to the state of NJ. They better refund my money in full. I don't want anything they have to offer or that they claim they filed on my behalf. This is disingenuous, and apparently, are making a mint off of innocent people who are just trying to run a business and be compliant with the government.

  Business response

  03/14/2024

  We are sorry to hear you are unhappy with our service. We see that you have now spoken with our customer support and have accepted a partial refund as the services you requested from our very clearly commercial site were performed and the state fees were paid on your behalf.

  There is no scam. We provide a service, and advertise that service in various places, most prominently search engines. When a search is performed, those search engines place advertisers first as relevant results. Every complaint ever issued against our company has clicked on one of these ads, and not read anything on our site. We have in bold print on our home page that we help you file with your secretary of state of filing commission. You are required to choose in which state you wish to register. our terms of service state that we are a privately owned company and spell out the terms of purchase and service. Every page on our site says that we are "not affiliated with or endorsed by any government office or agency." We do provide the service that is requested, more quickly than any other business in our industry to our knowledge as well.

  We cannot be any more clear about our service, and cannot be held to account for our users ignoring the information we provide.

  We are happy that this has been resolved. Thank you for contacting us directly.

  Customer response

  03/15/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The State of New Jersey has since removed the web page that was listed on their correspondence that inadvertently led me to this company "NEW BUSINESS FILINGS" page. It's interesting how every "team member" who contacts unsuspecting business owners like myself are well-trained to defend this so-called company and offer a partial refund of $50. The amount of customer complaints has to be enormous. This is not over for me. I also find it to be quite telling that there is NO information on this company available ANYWHERE! It's location, nothing. The owners only give their first names - BEN and DAN -on their website. They obviously are not proud of how they operate. If this company didn't have so many claims against themselves, I'm sure they'd be proud to say who they are. This is a shame and disgrace what they are doing to unsuspecting business owners like myself. Refund my $200.

  #youmessedwiththewrongone

  Sincerely,
  
  **** ******* *****

  Business response

  03/18/2024

  In response tot he rejection:

  We spoke with you and offered a refund, which you accepted, and now want more. It is simply not reasonable to think, or ask anyone that may read this to think that the state at one time linked to us at all, much less that they did so, and then suddenly removed it JUST as you had a complaint. You did not find our site through the state. You found it through the use of a commercial search engine, which offers private businesses as results to searches for various services. That is the entire business model of a search engine. 

  We make it VERY clear that we are a service, look NOTHING like the state site that you were on "all day", and are not disingenuous, misleading or otherwise operating unethically. We offer a valuable service, albeit one that no one is required to use.

  We have tried to work with you. Have come to an agreement with you, which you now have decided is not enough, despite accepting it. Your annual report was filed, your state fees paid, exactly as you requested.

• Initial Complaint

  02/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I got an email saying that as of Jan. 1 a new law is I have to file my business with the Federal Government or I will need to pay 500.00 once a month until I file. there was a link, so I clicked on it. and payed. I called the number and then they helped me with the procedure. I thought I was talking directly to the Federal Govt. and payed 99.00, I did the first part but did not finish the second part as there were 2 parts to its because I felt it could be a scam I did not know it was a third party. I tried to call them but no answer. They tried to call me but by that time I was afraid it was scam people. I called my credit union tried to dispute the charges but they were only looking for fraud. But didn't look at the purchase and what happened with the 2 charges. so they did not refund anything. I called the New business filing and they would not give me any refund and said the credit union said they declined my dispute. So I told them I would take this to the better business bureau and she said go ahead. I told her she stole my money. I never finished and completed the transaction as there are 2 parts to it. I believe businesses are supposed to protect the public.

  Business response

  02/01/2024

  We would like to respond that there were 2 orders placed with our service. Upon completion of the first, we sent confirmation of the service, and within that email was an explanation of new Federal regulations. We offer to help with that filing as well within that email, which is what was chosen.

  Although we try to return missed calls as quickly as possible, we are not always able to do so the same day. We returned the Friday call on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and left voicemails each time, and were then notified that both charges had been disputed despite completion. Never, did we receive any request to cancel or refund either order. 

  Once a charge is in dispute, we are unable to simply refund the charge. We have spoken to this individual a number of times, and explained that once it is in the banks hands, it is out of ours. Should she have answered our voicemails or emails, we could have come to a resolution, but we were not given that opportunity.

  Customer response

  02/13/2024

  I disagree with what is being said.  First of all the email I got made it look like it was from the fed. Government.  And stated I would have to pay 500.00 a month til it was filed. Or a day, also when I clicked on the link they provided, I thought it was the Fed Government payment link. I didn’t know I had to do 2 parts. When it said I had to do another part 2 . I started to become cautious.  Why do they want more information. Then I saw it was a third party.  I never finished the part 2 and became afraid. I felt it was a scam and was afraid to talk to these people. I stopped my credit card right away.  My credit card company only reported as fraud.  They didn’t hear my whole story.  I tried to call the company as I saw I was charged twice.  But no answer on their part. I became afraid and didn’t answer any further questions.  I talked with sky then a man was talking on voicemail.  I was very afraid of what was going on at this point.  They sent something for me to complete the transaction this past week.  I never did .  Because I only want to deal with directly the Federal Gov.  not a third part where they have my personal information.  I never completed the transaction.  Only the first part. I completed.  

  I’m afraid to give this company any more information.  I think it is Mis leading and given other people the wrong idea just to get business from us.  

  **** ******

  Business response

  02/23/2024

  We are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the service you purchased. Before this matter was ever put here, you had sent it to arbitration, which has been completed. Once in arbitration, you remove our ability to come to a resolution. 

  Customer response

  02/26/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  I would like compensation.  There should not be two charges.  as I have not completed anything.  The link provided was misguided.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ******

  Business response

  03/05/2024

  We are not clear on what clarification is being requested. This person submitted an order, and apparently later decided she did not want us to complete it. But rather than contact us to cancel the order (which we would have happily done), she disputed the charge with her bank, sending the matter to arbitration by which both parties are bound. We are unable to modify the outcome of arbitration. She is now unhappy with that outcome, but refuses to abide by the decision she initiated and agreed to accept.

   

   

  Customer response

  03/05/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:   That I never agreed totally and I was under the impression that I was directly filing from the Federal Government .  Not a third party.    I did try to contact and there was no answer which made me very cautious as to giving out more personal information.  I never completed part 2 of the contract and was also charged twice with I never signed.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ******

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company uses "redirection" of websites to people and makes things seem like a person is on the right path to completing an application. I have completed my application for my annual report with the state for many years and this company prays on people who believe they have entered the correct site. I personal thought that the state had changed the process for application and payment. I contact the company and they basically said, "too bad so said". I thought I was doing the right thing, I am in the middle of a home insurance issue at my property and my mother's cancer diagnose so I can see how people get taken advantage of. I want to let people know of this company. A normal payment for $26 cost me $150.

  Business response

  01/02/2024

  Hello, and thank you for your feedback.

  We do not do any "redirection" of any kind. We are a filing service that acts at the specific direction of the user. the only way you get to our site is by clicking an ad on any number of search engines where we advertise our services.

  We say, in bold print on our landing page, "We make it easy and fast to file the paperwork with your Secretary of State or Filing Commission". We offer a wide variety of services not available at the secretary of state sites. We say on every page of our site, including the form pages themselves, and the terms of service which is required to be marked read and agreed before payment can be submitted, that we are "not affiliated with or endorsed by any government office or agency". The user is required to choose the state in which they are registered. 

  We are always happy to work with our customers, but do not see any record of being contacted by phone or email before this complaint was submitted about an order that was completed well over 1 month ago.

  Customer response

  01/03/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I did try to solve this with them. Here are photos of the last correspondence from them so they lied about that. They fool people into thinking they need their service in order to take action.  I feel they were very arrogant and demeaning in their attitude and response to resolve my concern. I can send copies of all emails as well. I did file a complaint with the state too. I will be filing a complaint with AARP this week  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ******** *****

• Initial Complaint

  12/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The evening of 12/19/23, I went to a website that I thought was the State of Florida, Sunbiz.org. I paid 249.00 to acquire my LLC set to start 1/3/2024. It turns out that this was the not the official website. I finally called the company on 12/26/23 and I requested a refund. They declined a refund and stated they already filed my application with the state of Florida for my LLC on 12/20/23 and that I was out of luck. I explained that I did not wish to pursue the LLC which was designated for start no sooner than 1/3/24. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to cancel my request for an LLC and unable to get a refund for the amount. It has come to my attention that their practices are deceitful and they have a lot of complaints where customers think they are the official website for filing an LLC. They did not provide any avenue for redemption. They said that it would be hard for me to get a hold of the State of Florida for answers due to the holidays. This information would further deter me from having options to stop this process. I do not wish to acquire the LLC. I do desire a refund for the costs.

  Business response

  12/26/2023

  We thank you for you feedback.

  Once a filing has been submitted to the state, it becomes a matter of public record and cannot be "undone". For this reason, the state will not issue a refund for the fees involved, nor can we as we paid those fees on your behalf, and at your request. the request cannot be cancelled after it has been fulfilled. Although the effective date of the filing is January 3, the filing had already been approved by the time you called to cancel. 

  You do have the full use of the LLC registered in Florida as of January 3, 2024, and if you decide to maintain that entity, you will not need to file an annual report until 2025, avoiding the 2024 annual fee, which was the reason for the delayed effective date.

  Customer response

  12/27/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I’m filing a complaint with FTC. This business makes a habit of scamming people. Just notice what others are saying.  It’s not acceptable. 
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *********

• Initial Complaint

  11/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was fooled by the newbusinessfiling.org website. Their website Notes NJ Gov which is misleading the user to believe that they are a New Jersey government site. I was misled that I was entering the State of NJ site. The link said "Online Filing-NJ Secretary of State". We ended up paying an additional $125 to file a document that I entered all the info myself. For me this was a ripoff. Now they have my credit card information and personal information .

  Business response

  11/22/2023

  We appreciate your feedback, however there are some inaccuracies. We do not note NJ Gov, but we do file with the secretary of state of New Jersey on behalf of our customers. We state on every page of our site that we are a filing service and not affiliated or endorsed by any government office or agency. 

  We are sorry you feel misled, but we do nothing to mislead anyone. The likely, and really only path you travelled was that you did a search to file for your business, anda search engine recommended us as a paid ad to help you achieve you goals. Those ads are above what is called the "organic" search results, but are clearly marked as "AD" or "Sponsored".

  Please contact our customer support if you have further questions.

  Customer response

  11/22/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  Thank you for the follow up.
  
  I am attaching two files for support.
  We followed the official instructions from the State of New Jersey, regarding the annual filing, and typed in the Google search box www.nj.gov njbgs website.

  See attached screenshot. #1
  
  Google Search returned :"NJ Gov Njbgs - Online Filing" which is the exact search criteria from the State of New Jersey instructions.

  When I clicked on the  NJ Gov Njbgs link [see #2], it brought me to a website, which looked to me as the New Jersey official website.
  
  Moreover, the .org designation of the website [typically used by non-profit organizations], was also a reason to be further misleading.

  From the New Business Filing LLC with the State of Ohio, the business is for profit.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** *******

  Business response

  11/27/2023

  Hello,

  It seems that you have settled this with our customer support team. 

  We appreciate your feedback.

• Initial Complaint

  11/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I used this site on the basis of thinking this was Kentucky secretary of state and thought I was resolving an issue with them on a dissolution of my business. I paid $250.00 to this company and I did not receive a receipt or know what it is I actually paid for. I can not get ahold of the company either by email or phone to receive a refund or what my options are. This was October 27th, 2023

  Business response

  11/17/2023

  We are always happy to work with our customers. It looks like you attempted to call us at 8PM on Friday Oct 27, the same day you placed the order. We refunded your fees the following Monday, Oct 30 as we are not in the office over the weekend. We received another communication from you Monday afternoon, again requesting a refund that had already been issued. We responded that we had already refunded you and cancelled your order per your request and now, over two weeks later you file a complaint and are again asking for a refund without having made any further attempt to contact us.

  If you have further questions, please feel free to contact our customer support.

  Thank you

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On October 27 2023 I went on line to pay Geaux biz for my license annual reporting. The cost is $30. When I went to pay I put my debt. card information in and after placing the payment it said $150.00. I noticed that somehow another business had somehow switched my payment to them? I do not know how they got on the web site because I went to Geaux biz.com. I called them to try and get a refund of my money but I was told it was a third party company that took the payment. I disputed the payment with my bank to try and recoup some of the additional $120 charges. This is not good business. It is or should be illegal for a business such as this pose as a web site because they need the business. I feel other persons that file there licenses for themselves should be aloud to do so without being intercepted by a illegal business like this.

  Business response

  11/13/2023

  We thank you for your feedback. We pride ourselves on giving the best service possible, and certainly do not wish for people to unintentionally do business with us. 
  

  Once a business filing is submitted, it cannot be "undone". It is a matter of public record. We are a service, and advertise our service. The only way, other than directly typing in our URL, to access our site, is by clicking on a Google ad clearly marked "sponsored". We do charge a fee for our service.

  We are happy to work with our customers in any way we can. The only request we received from this customer was a BBB complaint, to which we responded directly, and was left with a tirade of expletives. Our representatives have been instructed not to engage with abusive customers.

• Initial Complaint

  10/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Sept. 18,2023 I went on line to pay the Arizona Corp. Commission the $45.00 for my license as I do every year. When I went to pay I put my debt. card information in and after placing the payment it said $175.00. I noticed that somehow another business had somehow switched my payment to them? After the event I call the company and spoke with a representative of the company called ******** *********. She said she filed the license with the Corp Comm. for me and that is what the fee is for. I said I always for 25 years do it myself and it's always $45.00. She said since they filed it for me that is the fee. I do not know how they got on the web site but I said don't file please I will do it myself. She said it's too late. I complained about the way they got on the Corp. Comm. web site. After going going back and forth she said she would return half the funds. I told her I was going to back charge the whole amount with my bank(which I did). It is or should be illegal for a business such as this sneak in on a web site because they need the business. I feel other persons that file there licenses for themselves should be aloud to do so without being intercepted by a terrible business like this..

  Business response

  10/19/2023

  We thank you for your feedback. We pride ourselves on giving the best service possible, and certainly do not wish for people to unintentionally do business with us. 

  Once a business filing is submitted, it cannot be "undone". It is a matter of public record. We are a service, and advertise our service. The only way, other than directly typing in our URL, to access our site, is by clicking on a Google ad clearly marked "sponsored". We do charge a fee for our service, and would expect that if you did not intend to do business with us, you would not have clicked on a sponsored ad, filled out the application, seen the fee we charge, entered your credit card information, actively marked that you read and agreed to our terms of service and that you were authorized to make the purchase, signed your name, and submitted the application. 

  As all of those things happened, we have no way of knowing that you did not intend to use our service, and as a gesture of good faith, offered a 50% refund, which apparently was refused. 

  We are sorry you feel slighted, but we have made every effort to be as transparent as possible, including a disclaimer on every page of our site that says we are not endorsed by, nor affiliated with any government office or agency. 

  We wish you the best of luck in your future business, and again, thank you for your feedback.

  Customer response

  10/20/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I do not agree with the explanation of there assessment of the website. They somehow when you are on the Corp. Comm. website  redirect the sight. Other companies also do that but they make it more obvious.

     It is sad that this business(?)has to do this to receive funds.

  I will only accept full refund to resolve this issue because of the way they received the funds. If they were out in the open about this service they provide , I would have went on there website directly. I was somehow directed to this sight unknowingly.

   

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** *******

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩