Delaware company offers expensive deed copies, called scam by some

People in north-central Montana are getting a special offer from a company in Delaware: For a charge of $83, Record Transfer Services of Wilmington, Del., will send a copy of a property owner’s current grant deed, which the solicitation letter says “provides a wealth of information useful to understanding a subject property’s makeup,” including address, the name of the owner, comparable values and the legal description.

Hill County Clerk and Recorder Darla Dahl said her office also can provide the information, generally for 50 cents to about $2.75 or $3, depending on how many pages the deed includes and whether the owner wants a certified copy.

Dahl said people have been bringing in copies of the letters and asking if it is a good deal.

“No, it’s not a good deal,” she said.

Copies of deeds are available in the clerk and recorder’s offices in Montana, which Dahl said at her office cost 50 cents for the first page and 25 cents for subsequent pages. For a certified copy, an additional $2 is charged.

She added that, generally, people would rarely need a copy of the deed — when deeds are registered with the Clerk and Recorder, the owner keeps the original.

About the only time a property owner would need a copy is if they needed the legal description of the property and did not have that available, Dahl said.

When the Havre Daily News called Record Transfer Services, the woman who answered the phone, Bree — she declined to give her last name — said the company offers the service as another option to people who cannot get to their local clerk and recorder to request a copy.

Dahl said the clerk and recorders also can mail a copy to property owners, at the lower cost.

“They can mail us the document number or book and page along with the appropriate fees, and we will gladly mail the document to them,” she said. “If they do not know the number we are able to look it up by using their legal description.”

Even if the owner does not have that information, her office usually can find it, Dahl added.

She said she contacted law enforcement and was told that, as long as the company provides the information it offers, Record Transfer Services is not breaking any laws.

Anastacia Burton, spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Justice, said that office has received about five calls asking about the letter, but no formal complaints have been filed.

“We don't know much about this ‘company’ at this time, only that they are trying to charge consumers outrageous amounts for services that they can basically get for almost free,” Burton said in an email. “Our advice to consumers is pretty simple, to call their local clerk and recorder's office and get the paperwork for a fraction of the cost.”

The company is careful to note that the offer is a solicitation for services.

At the bottom of the letter, Record Transfer Services writes that it is not affiliated with the county in which the deed is filed or affiliated with any government agencies, and the product or service is not approved or endorsed by any any government agency and the letter is not a bill, but a solicitation. It also notes at the top that people can obtain copies of their deed from their county recorder “for up to $83.00.”

Copies in Hill County are a little cheaper.

“If people are getting those in the mail, if they would check with our office first, if they need those documents, we can provide them to them at a very small fraction of the cost that they’re asking to be charged,” Dahl said.

Many people are not happy with the service. A Google search of the company name brings up its website — and dozens of news articles and other Internet locations calling the offer a scam.

The search also brings up the Better Business Bureau rating of the company — an “F.”

Dahl said she is concerned that people might think the letter is some kind of legal notice or required document and panic.

“I would just like them to beware and check with us first, so they’re not having to put that money out,” she said.

For more information, contact the Hill County Clerk and Recorder at 265-5481, ext. 221.