Ethical Fraud

We have seen some recent stories pertaining to mail from the National Deed Service, Inc. This is a company promoting the fact that property owners should have an official or certified copy of the deed to properties you own. They quote from the U.S. Government Federal Citizen Information Center web site and look very official, almost like a government agency. They don't say that they are, and they are not.

Research indicates that law enforcement agencies and the Better Business Bureau have received inquiries about this. Our heartburn is that this company offers for approximately $60 what you can do for a fraction of the price.

The company's web site explains that " It is not an easy process to obtain public records from a governmental agency. It often requires people to travel to the recorder’s office, lose time from work and pay, locate the proper office, deal with the people at the office, and locate their document and wait for the document to be produced." But your County Clerk may offer your deed via a web site request and for as little as $3. Even if your records are not yet on the Internet, they may be soon and even a hard copy obtained at the courthouse would be less expensive.

As a consumer, if you receive such a letter you should ask yourself, will you need this, have you needed one before, is a certified copy necessary at all, is it really something you should have and should you pay ten times the cost for the convenience?

You will decide what you need, where you'd store it and what price you'll pay. We just don't want readers thinking they must have something and at a high cost, that may not be necessary.