Scam Alert?? Title Compliance Office, the Records Retrieval Division
Last week I received a phone call from a Los Angeles homeowner who received an official looking letter from the Title Compliance Office, the Records Retrieval Division.
Basically the letter informed her that she should have a certified copy of her grant deed. The Title compliance Office offered to provide this document for $157.00, if she filed by the deadline.
My friendly title representative provided me with a copy of the owner’s most recent grant deed, which I forwarded to her. Homeowners interested in obtaining a copy of their grant deed can also request a copy from the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder , Clerk’s Office; the cost is $6.00. You can request the copy by mail or in person. The phone number is (562) 462-2125.
It appears that the Title Compliance Office is operating on a very hefty profit margin.
As an update, thanks to commenter Mark, you can file a complaint here
Categories: All about Money, Homeowner's Benefits and Woes
Tags: records retrieval division title compliance office grant deed scam
Thank you for sharing. my 92 year old mom got the same letter and didn't know what to do.
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Thank you for your information. We just received one of these today but the price has now increased to $167.00!! It certainly does look like something you should have. thanks to the internet we found the correce answer. Thank You
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Thank you, It did help me a lot, I got the letter today 8/25/10 in the amount of $167.00 I hesitated in making check or not, but I had the great idea in checking in the internet. Thanks a lot
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Thank you for posting this! I almost fell for it and was glad to Google it first out of curiosity. Yes, ours was $167 too. What a sham theses people are doing to take advantage of others.
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I just received one of these today. I put in a search on the internet and found this website. I thought this might be a scam. I called my 85 year old mother right away and warned her about this. Senior citizens are always victims of these scams. Call your elderly relatives and warn them.
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Thank you for this information. I also just received this letter (charging $167.). I was looking to read the find print indicating this was an advertisement..but there was none. Thank god for the internet and people like you.
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Yes, totally helpful. Mom got this in the mail, and yes asking for $167, and it took one second of Google searching to come upon pages like this, making it clear this is a scam. Thank you.
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I received the letter and realized it is a scam from Title Compliace because it says they are just going to get a copy of the deed for me at a cost of $160. I laughed but still looked it up. what a scam
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Thank you for the heads up. Received the same letter today in the mail asking for $167 as well. Glad that I avoided a scam. Thanks again!
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We just received this yesterday but the fee has increased to $167! It's really sad that there are so many people out there, that aren't familiar with their options and would take this seriously. It's a shame there are so man scam artists out there....
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These come out regularly and ARE AIMED at the elderly or those who would "just read and comply"... this should be illegal! Our fee was $167 and I'm sure that somehow they've made sure they are beyond prosecution. But I'd like to take 'em out back!
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All I can say is...thank God for the Internet, and web sites like this one. My elderly father received one of these letters a couple days ago. Had I not been there for him to show it to, he probably would have mistakenly thought it was something to do with his property taxes or something he was obbligated to do, and sent them $167. Is any legal entity going after these low life scam artists? I hope so.
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Wow - I had a suspicion this was a sham and decided to google it - thanks for confirming this is a scam -
how does one catch these people to prevent others from falling into this trap?
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Thank you very much. This information saved my money. Love it.
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Thanks for this; I received such a notice last week - and was immediately skeptical, though I didn't research it on the net until today. I am so grateful for the internet and the immediate access to information it provides. And to contributors like you for performing this public service.
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My parents just received the same letter charging $167.00 that is why i research information before my parents mail out payment
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I received this a day after I received my property tax bill. This one has the same coloring, look and feel, as the property tax bill. I really took a double take. Be careful everyone out there. (Btw, they asked for $167 on my version)
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Every one fill out a formal complaint at the attorney generals office, the CA office link is here!!
http://ag.ca.gov/contact/complaint_form.php?cmplt=CL
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I received my form letter last week. Same MO. Looks official and plays on the fear / uncertainty of unsuspecting reader. What compliance oversite organization can this be reported to?
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Complain here
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Got one too, suspected it was a scam.
I work for the county, and first off their is NO county seal on the letterhead. No street address, no LIVE person on the phone. I looked in our countwide ph dir and their is NO such county office as Title Compliance Office Records Retrieval Division. It is clearly a scam to get 167 bucks from you. Have fun-stuff all your junk mail in the return envelope and send it back with no stamp and no return address.
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Received the same letter asking for $167.00 Fee. It's bad enough that many people are going through such hardship and this people have the audacity. BEWARE!!!
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Thank you for sharing this. Anyone knows this company?
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I received the same latter asking for $167.00. I realized this should be scam and I double check with searching on computer, and I am glad that I did. this should be illegal! I see many people having same issue but I just don't get it, why the government doesn't make any action about this. I hope some day.
To those people sending this letters. Make the money in a right way with working and use your brain to develop your country not diddling somebody!
Lets hope to have good people around us.
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Everytime I received the mail asking for check regardless amount payable to PO BOX address, I knew its a scam, this one no exception too.
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Why can't these people be put out of business? They have been doing this for years as my son got one when he purchased his first home eight years ago. They are still going strong.
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When I received the letter from those thugs, the first thing I did was to go to Better Business Bureau in the net. But they do not have record of them. So I went to the Internet and found your site which has been very helpful to us and for which we are thanking you.
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This scam has arrived in Las Vegas/Henderson! Today we received an almost identical "notice" from "Title Compliance Records Retrieval Division", at a post office box in Las Vegas. Yesterday, we received another almost identical "notice" from "Las Vegas Tax Appeals". I've already sent an email to the NV Secretary of State's office, and my next letter is to one of the local television investigative reporters. Lots of senior citizens here who will believe these "notices" are genuine. Thanks for publishing a copy of the "Title Compliance Office" "notice" - that is fairly good evidence that this same firm is now in the Las Vegas area.
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This scam is now being circulated in Phoenix, AZ and I too felt the need to google and verify how accurate this request was. Thanks to this site, I've submitted a formal complaint to our Attorney General in AZ. Thanks!
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Technically this is not a scam, remember I said technically, as they are offering a service and you pay for that service.
Anyone can charge what they want for their service. However, you can get the same document from your county recorder or whomever records deeds for a fee of about $6 to $15.
The letter is incorrect on one major point. Just because a deed is recorded does not ensure you actually own the property as there could be a problem with a legal description or the prior owner already sold to someone else. That is why you should always buy title insurance to ensure the paperwork is proper and the property records are all in order.
I agree this is a very poor way of doing business but technically it is not a scan. I would not use this company at all but contact your recording office.
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SCAM is now being circulated in Phoenix, AZ and I googled and verified how accurate this request was. Thanks to this site. I searched the BBB and found nothing though. I called the recorders office in Maricopa county and you can get a copy for a $1 per page and can do it over the internet. 1/11/11
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I recently received a letter like that. From RECORD RETRIEVAL DEPARTMENT in Harrisburg Pa. I think i'll take it to my local courthouse,see what they make of it. I'm quite sure it's a scam. My processing fee is $87 and I have 21 days to reply.
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