SFM tries to blackmail me!

[karishi]

in 2017 I wanted to open my company and looked on the internet for options and in the end I choose SFM Corporate Services
The opening process was ok and they advised me to use San Vincent and the Grenadines which was a good choice. I also opened a bank account with them which was witk....Loyal Bank. After receiving one payment I closed the account, but the bank collapsed before I could get out the 2K EUR I had received.
Then started the weirdeness, because at a certain point SFM basically disappeared, and stopped answering me, as I needed document to show the good standing of the company, wanted to remove nominees and so on. After a year and a half I switched to BBCIncorp | Online Company Formation and Corporate Service and they were able to change the agent and change the nominees ( which means, SFM had done things correctly with the company setup ) and change the the company from IBC to LLC.
Then, in february of this year, SFM re-appeared with this letter, emphasis mine:

Dear Sir,

I hope this email finds you well.
I am contacting you regarding the above company as we have been approached by the authorities in St Vincent. who are asking about the status of this company.
Whether you wish to renew it or not, we need to inform them.
To the extent that the appointed directors' fees have not been paid, the directors will resign and appoint you as director (according to the signed Nominee Directors contract), with all underlying consequences attached to this action.
Should you wish to renew the company, we can offer a discount on renewal fees, same applies to dissolution of the company.
In either case, kindly let us know of your decision, thank you.

I told them that the company had been changed to LLC, that iI had paid everything and that I was working with another agent since they disappeared. They tried with another mail and then I told them to f**k off. Stay away from them.

 

[Gediminas]

Yeh its a s**t company.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Yeh its a s**t company.

Not more or less than other companies, they are just trying to retain a client.

 

[mnschwarz]

I'd be a little concerned the registry in San Vincent & Grenadines isn't aware of the status of the company. Are you sure the new agent has done things correctly?

 

[Martin Everson]

I would double check everything is ok with company status and new agent assigned properly.

P.S If SFM are referring to terms of a signed nominee agreement you signed then I wouldn't describe their actions as blackmail.

 

[Gediminas]

Not more or less than other companies, they are just trying to retain a client.

I would not be lying to say they get too many negative feedback/complaints about their services. So I can't say if they can compare to the whole industry. They are focusing on quantity rather than quality.

 

[karishi]

Not more or less than other companies, they are just trying to retain a client.

yeah after disappearing for two years leaving me with a company where I could do nothing and had to change agent. They knew perfectl well that I was not their client anymore as they tried to get money from me previously and I told them already I was working with another agent.

I would double check everything is ok with company status and new agent assigned properly.

P.S If SFM are referring to terms of a signed nominee agreement you signed then I wouldn't describe their actions as blackmail.

I of course double checked, how could I transform it into LLC in 2020 if it wasn't in good standing?And all the documentation passed the KYC by wise last year as during KYC I sent them all the documentation. What should I do to double check?
When I first wrote to BBCincorop they stated:
Firstly, we need to do a Company Search (130 USD) to figure out if there are any pending Government fees.
And then
1. Annual fee in SVG (2019-2020): 999 USD
2. Nominee Director: 450 USD
3. Nominee Director: 450 USD
4. Converting IBC to LLC: 225 USD
So I paid out that fee. Clearly SFM was trying to scam me into paying it again because they disappeared during those two years. I have all the documentation and resolutions which look correct and stamped by SVG governement. I mean I am 99.9% sure that things are correct.

I would not be lying to say they get too many negative feedback/complaints about their services. So I can't say if they can compare to the whole industry. They are focusing on quantity rather than quality.

my experience was good for the company formation and terrible afterwards. I suppose the collapse of Loyal Bank affected them. In any case getting an answer from them was nearly impossible and took months. With the current provider I never had any kind of issue, they answer to mails, send me reminders and stuff like that. My company is a legit business and I was left for more than a year with no one to contact, if Wise had asked me for documents in that period they would have frozen my account. As I noted in the post some things were done correctly by them, I was able to take back the company from their fake nominees, but my experience in general has been bad

 

[Martin Everson]

What should I do to double check?
When I first wrote to BBCincorop they stated:
Firstly, we need to do a Company Search (130 USD) to figure out if there are any pending Government fees.
And then
1. Annual fee in SVG (2019-2020): 999 USD
2. Nominee Director: 450 USD
3. Nominee Director: 450 USD
4. Converting IBC to LLC: 225 USD
So I paid out that fee. Clearly SFM was trying to scam me into paying it again because they disappeared during those two years. I have all the documentation and resolutions which look correct and stamped by SVG governement. I mean I am 99.9% sure that things are correct.

In that case ignore them.

 

[bonox]

They have a big fat thread inside mentor group gold with lot's of warnings going!

 

[cyprusbanker]

P.S If SFM are referring to terms of a signed nominee agreement you signed then I wouldn't describe their actions as blackmail.

best way of doing it, they will stop the raping.

They have a big fat thread inside mentor group gold with lot's of warnings going!

good thread btw

 

[EliasIT]

What's the outcome to this story, any update please?

 

[karishi]

What's the outcome to this story, any update please?

the outcome is that I told SFM to f**k off, as I had paid those expenses when converting the company from IBC to LLC. There were charges which were not paid ( because SFM had disappeared in that year ) and I paid them when I did the switch. as otherwise I would not have been able to convert. So i simply think that SFM knew that I had not paid those taxes and tried to suck some money out of me using that language just to scare me off.
At a certain point I tried to find information about the nominee director and all I found online was that it was probably non existent, which would be very SFMesque...in any case they had done the right things and so with the documentation I had, when they disappeared, I was able to take the company back from the nominee and convert to LLC.
If you are with them, consider switching to another provider, if you are not with them, just avoid them

 

[joe82ad]

SFM is the worst provider in the industry

 

[CitizenKane]

Sfm also sends me invoices even I have not been their customer in a long time and they know it. SFM is a dishonest scamming company, has been like that for years. I guess in Dubai you can do any kind of crimes you want and you wont have legal problems? Because that is where they claim to operate in.

 

[JohnLocke]

Can't you just ignore them and set your spam filter to not receive these emails from them anymore? They can't do anything about the claims they send anyway.

 

[bubbledouble]

the outcome is that I told SFM to f**k off, as I had paid those expenses when converting the company from IBC to LLC. There were charges which were not paid ( because SFM had disappeared in that year ) and I paid them when I did the switch. as otherwise I would not have been able to convert. So i simply think that SFM knew that I had not paid those taxes and tried to suck some money out of me using that language just to scare me off.
At a certain point I tried to find information about the nominee director and all I found online was that it was probably non existent, which would be very SFMesque...in any case they had done the right things and so with the documentation I had, when they disappeared, I was able to take the company back from the nominee and convert to LLC.
If you are with them, consider switching to another provider, if you are not with them, just avoid them

I see that you’re still here, and thanks for your posts, they’re really insightful. I was actually in talks with SFM Offshore when I suddenly thought of Googling them just to be safe, and that’s when OCT came up. Huge help, thanks for that.

I assume you’ve completely gotten out of it and haven’t heard anything more, right?

 

[cyprusbanker]

SFM is the worst provider in the industry

Do you have personal experience with them as well ?

 

[karishi]

I see that you’re still here, and thanks for your posts, they’re really insightful. I was actually in talks with SFM Offshore when I suddenly thought of Googling them just to be safe, and that’s when OCT came up. Huge help, thanks for that.

I assume you’ve completely gotten out of it and haven’t heard anything more, right?

Yes, I got out and never received anything from them anymore.