A humble opinion from a professional with 13 years of experience working for different law firms and last 3 years with a bank
It is really funny to read comments and threads of users reviewing corporate services providers, introducers and banks around the world. It is quite easy to spread false reviews (or super positive) reviews about banks/companies just because they were not able to open a bank account. People complain most of the times for no reason and dont want to accept their mistakes
Common statements: ''scammers'' ''they promised a bank account'' ''transfer take several days'' ''they rejected my application after weeks'' ''too many documents to provide'' ''expensive fees''
I have dealt with all type of clients, from small entrepreneurs to high net worth individuals, from rookies with zero knowledge to experienced business men
However, there are some common patterns
1. Company registration
COMMON COMPLAINT NUMBER 1 ''they promised a company in 3 days and it took 2 months''
I tend to agree with the fact that many providers ''might'' mislead clients with time frames in their websites, but is it really like this?? or clients do not take the time to carefully read the small letters?
Font size 40 COMPANY IN 2 DAYS
Font size12 requirements. click this link
if for example it is mentioned that the registration in Belize or BVI takes 2 days, DO YOU THINK THAT IT TAKES 48HS FROM THE MOMENT THAT YOU PLACED THE ORDER AND MADE THE PAYMENT? YOU DONT THINK THAT YOU NEED TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTS, EXPLANATION ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS, SOURCE OF FUNDS, ETC...?? REALLY???????
the company will be registered in X amount of days after due diligence checks. PERIOD
If you make a request when you have all documents ready, in order, you provide a clear explanation of the activity and this activity is not restricted...trust me, the company will be registered as it is mentioned in the website / as the sales consultant explained during a chat / meeting in the office
Why do you think that a company will be registered in two days without sending me ANY DOCUMENT, not even a SCAN.
Usual situation:
Client send the full set of required documents 10 days after they placed the order, and the company is registered after 2 days.
Client: they promised company in 2 days and took 2 weeks, they are liars
Services provider: The company was registered on time
Who is right? Seriously, who is the one delaying the process?
- 6/10 times the clients will not provide the required documents on time, even if it was CLEARLY explained during the sale process and also mentioned in the website (I work in 4 law firms and it was ALWAYS mentioned the list of documents, one of them had even guidelines for certifications in the website.....)
you ask for SCAN passport copy, they will send a picture with a finger in the corner of an ID and if you are lucky a passport / pictures hiding the MRZ lines, etc...
you ask for a recent proof of address, they send you one from the past year / one with a different name / blurred scan where you cant read anything, etc...
you ask for certification, you receive self certifications / certifications without stamp or signatures from certifier / certifications without date, even if you provide templates and you clearly explain how a certification should be done
lets not forget the clients that will send you documents in ANY language except English and they complain why it is not accepted. Sorry sir, your Swedish/Dutch/Spanish/Korean/Indian document NEEDS TO BE TRANSLATED. Is it so hard to CERTIFY A DOCUMENT AND THEN MAKE A SWORN TRANSLATION? oooh....there are no translators in my city, the notary cant certify a document, this is how they certify documents in my country (without any date, stamp or signature...SURE) and any other BS you can imagine
And this is the ''send me the scans'' phase. for some jurisdictions you need to receive the ORIGINALS (hard copies) before proceeding with the incorporation
you confirm to client to send 3 documents to your office or directly to the registered agent, they will send you two
you clearly asked to send ORIGINALS, they will send you color copies, bank reference letters with electronic signatures
it is VERY URGENT to create the company, but you decide that is a great idea to send the documents with mail instead of fedex/dhl/ups and the documents take 2 weeks to reach or more. and when they reach.....EXACTLY...they are older than 90 days
and the forgers....do i need to start with this? the PEP that appears in every article but claim that ''i am not that person, i only have same name and my passport picture is old, i dont look like that''
But of course, its all the fault of XXXX company, its never the clients fault. They are supposed to register the company without complying with the requirements of the jurisdiction
- company activity....another issue
''so, could you please tell me about the business? it is required for the registered agent and will be required for the bank account opening''
Answer: Consulting Services. Worldwide
'' could you please clarify services, products, in which countries you will operate? transact? etc?''
Answer: Financial consulting. Europe and America
''sir, we need more details''
Answer: It is confidential, why should I answer this questions? Is the bank account opened already?
Why do you think that they will register your company without providing a BASIC description. WHY???????????????????????????????
You are HIRING the services of a law firm to assist you because you trust them. If you dont feel safe sharing documents or explaining what you will do, better take an airplane directly to the company registrar in X country and do it by yourself
- Source of funds
''PLease describe source of funds''
Answer: Savings
''But sir, in the business plan you are mentioning that you are planning to inject 1 500 000 USD, the bank will require this information''
Answer: Business activity as a freelancer / consultant but i cant provide any proof
And then, they expect to appoint a nominee that will be happy and eager to be the director/shareholder of a company without providing ANY of the above
SERIOUSLY?
COMMON COMPLAINT NUMBER 2
''they are not registered agents, they are lying''
''their fees are higher than in XXX country, i paid 300 USD extra for no reason, they are cheating''
If you want to register a company in Bahamas or Belize or Cayman Islands or Seychelles or.... WHY ARE YOU HIRING A COMPANY BASED IN NETHERLANDS, HONG KONG, SWITZERLAND, UK, SINGAPORE, RUSSIA that DOESNT CLAIM TO BE A REGISTERED AGENT, BUT A SERVICE PROVIDER?
Did you take the time to check that the company is operating from ONE or TWO offices but they can assist you in 15-20 jurisdictions worldwide?
Did you take the time to read the terms and conditions? The small letter on the bottom?? DID YOU?
Why you didnt hire directly a registered agent in the country where you want to register the company? Obviously it will be cheaper
The list of the registered agents for every tax haven is easy to find online, but why would you take the time to make a 30min review before placing an order and wiring money to this website that popped in google?
But of course, its all the fault of XXXX company, its never the clients fault. They should charge you the same that a registered agent does and work for free
COMMON COMPLAINT NUMBER 3
''service is terrible, they dont answer my emails''
'' they always hide, i ordered a company and after 1 day i received email that my consultant is on leave''
I agree that customer service is the key factor here, but
if you send me 16 emails in a row like whatsapp, do you expect that I will answer ALL of them the same day?
if you dont send any document and you ask me ''what is the update?? when can we expect the bank account to be opened. we started this process 3 months ago'' well....the update is that i am still waiting to receive what i asked you 6 weeks ago.....i already sent you 3 reminders, i am not going to chase you everyday. you want the process fast, then be responsive. you dont follow my instructions? dont expect any progress
If you send me an email friday at 9pm and you get an answer monday 12pm, i didnt ''ignored you for 3 days''. I have a weekend same like you and dont have access to emails outside the office, like you.
if you hire a service provider in a country with 7hs delay, is this my fault that when you call me its 8pm and I already left the office? When you send an email saying ''please call me right now, its urgent'' at 1 am (my local time), are you joking, right?
if I was having a meeting with a client in the office/bank and i cant take your call, maybe i am not ignoring your (7 consecutive calls in 30 minutes), maybe i am BUSY and will get back to you asap? How do you feel if you are in a meeting with me and every 5 minutes i leave you in the room alone to take my calls. would you like that?
if you receive an out of office, maybe now you came to know that business consultants, lawyers and bankers ALSO GO ON HOLIDAY!!! Surprised? Is it so hard to contact the email of my colleague which appear in the out of office message and continue the process with him/her? do you need to start your first email with ''I cant believe that XXX went on holiday and my company is not registered yet, 'how dare him !!!!'' Maybe I have the right to take a leave every year and it was booked months before you started the process? Is this IMPOSSIBLE???
I had thousands of cases where i was in daily contact with clients (calls and emails), and the client still didnt want to provide documents....and then you need to see him posting comments about you or the company you work/ed in social media, google reviews, forums, review sites with false claims. Maybe is time to take OWNERSHIP for your mistakes and not blame the person who is assisting you to register the company/trust/foundation/bank account opening etc....
COMPLAINT NUMBER 4
''they have hidden fees''
Most of the providers have a full list of fees mentioned in the website (setup, renewal, nominee services, bank account introducer service), but the clients consider as hidden fees when they ask for a Certificate of Good Standing, Incumbency, KYCs of a nominee, delivery of document
-yes, when the company is more than 6 months, most probably the bank will ask for a CGS or CI, and it will not be issued for free
There is a cost from the registered agent and obviously the law firm will add a reasonable margin on that. should they issue the certificate for free? just because you think 300USD is ''a lot'' for an apostilled certificate that is delivered from an island in central america to your office
- you have nominee directors or shareholders and you ask for certified kycs...DOES THE NOTARY IN YOUR COUNTRY WORK FOR FREE? YOUR BANK ISSUES BANK REFERENCE LETTERS FOR FREE? why you are surprised that you will have to pay for certification of documents of the nominee? the nominee fees you are paying every year its only for the nominee to be appointed. why should he/she provide you every time you ask with a certified passport copy, proof of address and bank reference letter FOR FREE. WHY??
- does DHL, UPS, FEDEX deliver documents for free? well, unfortunately not. if you ask for a document, on top of the fees to issue, you will have to pay courier fees otherwise you will receive only the scan
Most of the clients think (god knows why) that the registered agent or the law firm will notarize and translate all documents for free and this is included in the package
NO!
you are paying for company registration and you are supposed to provide the documents as per the list in the website. you will have to provide the certifications, not the agent. you will have to pay to your notary. if you notarised a document that is more than 90 days old, we rejected the document and then you had to go to notary again, YOU will pay for it. it is YOUR mistake. do not blame other people for your mistakes
The clients end up paying extra money in notarisation and translations? yes, most of the times
why? they dont follow instructions. this are not hidden fees
It is really funny to read comments and threads of users reviewing corporate services providers, introducers and banks around the world. It is quite easy to spread false reviews (or super positive) reviews about banks/companies just because they were not able to open a bank account. People complain most of the times for no reason and dont want to accept their mistakes
Common statements: ''scammers'' ''they promised a bank account'' ''transfer take several days'' ''they rejected my application after weeks'' ''too many documents to provide'' ''expensive fees''
I have dealt with all type of clients, from small entrepreneurs to high net worth individuals, from rookies with zero knowledge to experienced business men
However, there are some common patterns
1. Company registration
COMMON COMPLAINT NUMBER 1 ''they promised a company in 3 days and it took 2 months''
I tend to agree with the fact that many providers ''might'' mislead clients with time frames in their websites, but is it really like this?? or clients do not take the time to carefully read the small letters?
Font size 40 COMPANY IN 2 DAYS
Font size12 requirements. click this link
if for example it is mentioned that the registration in Belize or BVI takes 2 days, DO YOU THINK THAT IT TAKES 48HS FROM THE MOMENT THAT YOU PLACED THE ORDER AND MADE THE PAYMENT? YOU DONT THINK THAT YOU NEED TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTS, EXPLANATION ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS, SOURCE OF FUNDS, ETC...?? REALLY???????
the company will be registered in X amount of days after due diligence checks. PERIOD
If you make a request when you have all documents ready, in order, you provide a clear explanation of the activity and this activity is not restricted...trust me, the company will be registered as it is mentioned in the website / as the sales consultant explained during a chat / meeting in the office
Why do you think that a company will be registered in two days without sending me ANY DOCUMENT, not even a SCAN.
Usual situation:
Client send the full set of required documents 10 days after they placed the order, and the company is registered after 2 days.
Client: they promised company in 2 days and took 2 weeks, they are liars
Services provider: The company was registered on time
Who is right? Seriously, who is the one delaying the process?
- 6/10 times the clients will not provide the required documents on time, even if it was CLEARLY explained during the sale process and also mentioned in the website (I work in 4 law firms and it was ALWAYS mentioned the list of documents, one of them had even guidelines for certifications in the website.....)
you ask for SCAN passport copy, they will send a picture with a finger in the corner of an ID and if you are lucky a passport / pictures hiding the MRZ lines, etc...
you ask for a recent proof of address, they send you one from the past year / one with a different name / blurred scan where you cant read anything, etc...
you ask for certification, you receive self certifications / certifications without stamp or signatures from certifier / certifications without date, even if you provide templates and you clearly explain how a certification should be done
lets not forget the clients that will send you documents in ANY language except English and they complain why it is not accepted. Sorry sir, your Swedish/Dutch/Spanish/Korean/Indian document NEEDS TO BE TRANSLATED. Is it so hard to CERTIFY A DOCUMENT AND THEN MAKE A SWORN TRANSLATION? oooh....there are no translators in my city, the notary cant certify a document, this is how they certify documents in my country (without any date, stamp or signature...SURE) and any other BS you can imagine
And this is the ''send me the scans'' phase. for some jurisdictions you need to receive the ORIGINALS (hard copies) before proceeding with the incorporation
you confirm to client to send 3 documents to your office or directly to the registered agent, they will send you two
you clearly asked to send ORIGINALS, they will send you color copies, bank reference letters with electronic signatures
it is VERY URGENT to create the company, but you decide that is a great idea to send the documents with mail instead of fedex/dhl/ups and the documents take 2 weeks to reach or more. and when they reach.....EXACTLY...they are older than 90 days
and the forgers....do i need to start with this? the PEP that appears in every article but claim that ''i am not that person, i only have same name and my passport picture is old, i dont look like that''
But of course, its all the fault of XXXX company, its never the clients fault. They are supposed to register the company without complying with the requirements of the jurisdiction
- company activity....another issue
''so, could you please tell me about the business? it is required for the registered agent and will be required for the bank account opening''
Answer: Consulting Services. Worldwide
'' could you please clarify services, products, in which countries you will operate? transact? etc?''
Answer: Financial consulting. Europe and America
''sir, we need more details''
Answer: It is confidential, why should I answer this questions? Is the bank account opened already?
Why do you think that they will register your company without providing a BASIC description. WHY???????????????????????????????
You are HIRING the services of a law firm to assist you because you trust them. If you dont feel safe sharing documents or explaining what you will do, better take an airplane directly to the company registrar in X country and do it by yourself
- Source of funds
''PLease describe source of funds''
Answer: Savings
''But sir, in the business plan you are mentioning that you are planning to inject 1 500 000 USD, the bank will require this information''
Answer: Business activity as a freelancer / consultant but i cant provide any proof
And then, they expect to appoint a nominee that will be happy and eager to be the director/shareholder of a company without providing ANY of the above
SERIOUSLY?
COMMON COMPLAINT NUMBER 2
''they are not registered agents, they are lying''
''their fees are higher than in XXX country, i paid 300 USD extra for no reason, they are cheating''
If you want to register a company in Bahamas or Belize or Cayman Islands or Seychelles or.... WHY ARE YOU HIRING A COMPANY BASED IN NETHERLANDS, HONG KONG, SWITZERLAND, UK, SINGAPORE, RUSSIA that DOESNT CLAIM TO BE A REGISTERED AGENT, BUT A SERVICE PROVIDER?
Did you take the time to check that the company is operating from ONE or TWO offices but they can assist you in 15-20 jurisdictions worldwide?
Did you take the time to read the terms and conditions? The small letter on the bottom?? DID YOU?
Why you didnt hire directly a registered agent in the country where you want to register the company? Obviously it will be cheaper
The list of the registered agents for every tax haven is easy to find online, but why would you take the time to make a 30min review before placing an order and wiring money to this website that popped in google?
But of course, its all the fault of XXXX company, its never the clients fault. They should charge you the same that a registered agent does and work for free
COMMON COMPLAINT NUMBER 3
''service is terrible, they dont answer my emails''
'' they always hide, i ordered a company and after 1 day i received email that my consultant is on leave''
I agree that customer service is the key factor here, but
if you send me 16 emails in a row like whatsapp, do you expect that I will answer ALL of them the same day?
if you dont send any document and you ask me ''what is the update?? when can we expect the bank account to be opened. we started this process 3 months ago'' well....the update is that i am still waiting to receive what i asked you 6 weeks ago.....i already sent you 3 reminders, i am not going to chase you everyday. you want the process fast, then be responsive. you dont follow my instructions? dont expect any progress
If you send me an email friday at 9pm and you get an answer monday 12pm, i didnt ''ignored you for 3 days''. I have a weekend same like you and dont have access to emails outside the office, like you.
if you hire a service provider in a country with 7hs delay, is this my fault that when you call me its 8pm and I already left the office? When you send an email saying ''please call me right now, its urgent'' at 1 am (my local time), are you joking, right?
if I was having a meeting with a client in the office/bank and i cant take your call, maybe i am not ignoring your (7 consecutive calls in 30 minutes), maybe i am BUSY and will get back to you asap? How do you feel if you are in a meeting with me and every 5 minutes i leave you in the room alone to take my calls. would you like that?
if you receive an out of office, maybe now you came to know that business consultants, lawyers and bankers ALSO GO ON HOLIDAY!!! Surprised? Is it so hard to contact the email of my colleague which appear in the out of office message and continue the process with him/her? do you need to start your first email with ''I cant believe that XXX went on holiday and my company is not registered yet, 'how dare him !!!!'' Maybe I have the right to take a leave every year and it was booked months before you started the process? Is this IMPOSSIBLE???
I had thousands of cases where i was in daily contact with clients (calls and emails), and the client still didnt want to provide documents....and then you need to see him posting comments about you or the company you work/ed in social media, google reviews, forums, review sites with false claims. Maybe is time to take OWNERSHIP for your mistakes and not blame the person who is assisting you to register the company/trust/foundation/bank account opening etc....
COMPLAINT NUMBER 4
''they have hidden fees''
Most of the providers have a full list of fees mentioned in the website (setup, renewal, nominee services, bank account introducer service), but the clients consider as hidden fees when they ask for a Certificate of Good Standing, Incumbency, KYCs of a nominee, delivery of document
-yes, when the company is more than 6 months, most probably the bank will ask for a CGS or CI, and it will not be issued for free
There is a cost from the registered agent and obviously the law firm will add a reasonable margin on that. should they issue the certificate for free? just because you think 300USD is ''a lot'' for an apostilled certificate that is delivered from an island in central america to your office
- you have nominee directors or shareholders and you ask for certified kycs...DOES THE NOTARY IN YOUR COUNTRY WORK FOR FREE? YOUR BANK ISSUES BANK REFERENCE LETTERS FOR FREE? why you are surprised that you will have to pay for certification of documents of the nominee? the nominee fees you are paying every year its only for the nominee to be appointed. why should he/she provide you every time you ask with a certified passport copy, proof of address and bank reference letter FOR FREE. WHY??
- does DHL, UPS, FEDEX deliver documents for free? well, unfortunately not. if you ask for a document, on top of the fees to issue, you will have to pay courier fees otherwise you will receive only the scan
Most of the clients think (god knows why) that the registered agent or the law firm will notarize and translate all documents for free and this is included in the package
NO!
you are paying for company registration and you are supposed to provide the documents as per the list in the website. you will have to provide the certifications, not the agent. you will have to pay to your notary. if you notarised a document that is more than 90 days old, we rejected the document and then you had to go to notary again, YOU will pay for it. it is YOUR mistake. do not blame other people for your mistakes
The clients end up paying extra money in notarisation and translations? yes, most of the times
why? they dont follow instructions. this are not hidden fees
