ComplaintsforHomestead Recording Service

• Initial Complaint

  03/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  This is basically a scam. They send official looking documents, pretending to be from a government agency. Then they take $35 from you for a wholly unnecessary service--a designation of homestead. For the twice, unwary they'll send the documents over, so they can milk you for as many $35 payments as you're willing to give, again, for a wholly unnecessary service. There is likely some wrinkle in the law that allows them to get away with this, but they really should be put out of business.

  Business response

  03/20/2023

  We spoke to **************** this morning after we reached out to him because he had called our automated system and hung up on the it several times.  We discussed the Designation of Homestead and what we filed for him in 2022.  We explained it is a real service and the Designation of Homestead is a real homestead a homeowner can file for in *****.  After we disconnected our call we refund ******************** credit card immediately even though he did not request.  We felt he wasn't happy with our service and our refund policy is 100% satisfaction guarantee. Thanks

  Customer response

  03/21/2023

  Complaint: 19624049

   

  While I'm happy to take my refund, they're distorting the facts around my calls. This isn't surprising, however, given my course of dealing with them thus far.
  

  No one actually picks up the phone when a customer calls--ever! The call goes to an automated system. I called a 3-4 times just to make sure I listened to the options correctly before picking a single option--and then, I think it unlikely I would have gotten a call as quickly as I did if I hadn't filed a complaint with you. Further, what isn't noted in their response to you is that they couldn't explain why I received multiple offers for a service they had presumably already completed--the representative I spoke to was clueless as to why.

  I'm happy to take my refund and put this one to bed, I just wanted you to have a more accurate set of facts.

  Best regards,
  

  *******

  Business response

  03/21/2023

  Homestead Recording called *** well before we received the inquiry from the BBB to resolve his issue. He was called because he repeatedly called the phone system and hung up.  The phone system offers several self-serve options on the automated system.  The self serve options address 99% of customer's inquiries.  *** called wanting a refund and option 3 has an automated system that would have done that within 30 minutes of him disconnecting.  This would have taken care of his inquiry immediately. 

  The multiple forms *** received were sent to different addresses *** has had.   When I reviewed our records with him, he acknowledged the 2nd address.  Like thousands of mail marketing companies, we purchase data from vendors based on specific criteria and we use address as that main criteria.  That means if you have multiple addresses you can possibly receive multiple mailings.

  We are sorry we did not immediately pick up the phone for ***, but we offer an automated system that is available 24/7 in helping customers instead of M-F 9 to 4.  This gives us better coverage and makes contacting us easier.  As mentioned prior his refund was processed (well in advance of BBB inquiry). 

  Thanks

  Customer response

  03/23/2023

  Not much to say here further, except that this representative is being deliberately deceptive.

  He keeps on leaving out key bits of information. BOTH MAILERS I RECEIVED FROM THIS COMPANY WERE MAILED TO THE SAME ADDRESS--NOT SOME OTHER ADDRESS THAT ANYONE CAN FIGURE OUT I LIVED AT BASED ON PUBLIC RECORDS. The representative now wants to claim that it's because I have two addresses on record. Note, however, that the other address he mentioned is an apartment rental, for which a designation of homestead would be wholly unnecessary--it would be utterly ridiculous to suppose that I can now expect to receive as many solicitations for designation of homestead from this company as the number of apartment rentals I've lived in over the years. I explained all this to this representative, and he was basically stomped, SAYING THAT HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY BOTH SOLICITATIONS WERE SENT TO THE SAME ADDRESS.
  

  Also, and more importantly: CONTRARY TO THEIR FIRST EMAIL, IN WHICH THEY CLAIM TO HAVE REFUNDING MY CREDIT CARD IMMEDIATELY, THEY DIDN'T REFUND MY CREDIT CARD ANYTHING! It's stands to reason that I would, given that I PAID USING A CHECK FOR $49, AND THEY DON'T HAVE MY CREDIT CARD INFORMATION. This all goes to show, again, that these guys are crooks, who will say anything to avoid responsibility for their very shady business practices.
  

  Best regards,
  

  ***.

• Initial Complaint

  03/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Please be aware - these people are scammers and are not associated or affiliated with any government agency or government branch of *****. These people are simply grifting by attempting to send out correspondence that mimics government forms in an attempt to solicit money from you. If you receive a mailing from this company DO NOT send them any money. They are using fear based marketing tactics to elicit responses. Again these people are scammers targeting new homeowners with "official looking" correspondence.

  Business response

  03/02/2023

  Thanks for your inquiry from *********************  Our company provides a very helpful service for the Designation of Homestead.  The Designation of Homestead is a protection on a persons property from creditors offered by the ************** (medical bills, credit cards, civil judgments, etc.).  This protection is real and a law in *****.  Our company helps homeowner's to file the appropriate paperwork with their ************************ to benefit from this protection.  I would highly recommend ******************** research the Designation and all its benefits and what we do before stating we are a scam. Thanks 

• Initial Complaint

  02/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This business mails official-looking documents that appear to be from the ***** government upon first inspection. The letter requests $35 to submit homestead status. As it turns out, and in very small print on the letter, the company is not affiliated with the state government. Im a lawyer of 7 years, and even I was nearly fooled by this company. Why hasnt this business been closed yet?

  Business response

  02/20/2023

  Thanks for the inquiry from ***************  We offer a service  for completing the Designation of Homestead by mailing out a "professionally" designed solicitation that in large, bold font states "This document is an advertisement of services. It is not an official document of the **************."  This is in an area separated from the other text and has the largest font of all text on the document so it is easily seen by potential customers. If ************** has any questions she can direct them to *************** Thanks

• Initial Complaint

  12/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Received a letter in the *********** $35 online for my homestead exemption. I paid $35 on 15 November 2022 and was scammed. This is not legitimate. Requesting a full refund.

  Business response

  12/01/2022

  Unfortunately ****************** is confusing the Designation of Homestead with the Homestead Tax Exemption.  We do not assist homeowner's with the tax exemption just the Designation.  Had ****************** contact our toll free number he could have listened to a detailed description of what our service is and who we are.  At that same time he could have also requested a refund through our automated system and his credit card would have been credited within a few hours.  We will go ahead and refund as he requested and hope that ****************** will take the time to research the Designation of Homestead and see the benefits it offers to homeowner's.

• Initial Complaint

  11/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This business sent me several letters advising that I needed to file a homestead recording, with one letter requiring a notary. Spoke with my homestead office in my county and they advise that they did not send this letter and that homestead recording and anything involving homestead services can be filed for FREE. I spent money on notary services as well as mailed two separate checks in the amounts of Check # *** ($35) dated September-10,2022 , processed on 9/27/22 and check # *** ( $49 ) dated on 10/14/22 processed on 10/31/22. I am requesting a refund as this service was not required for me to file homestead.

  Business response

  11/14/2022

  We are sorry Mr. ****** does not want to continue with our service.  Our company is Homestead Recording SERVICE, which service means we perform a task for somebody for a fee.  This fee Mr. ****** paid was for our service of preparing the Designation of Homestead documentation needed to be filed at his county recorder's office.  We have already issued Mr. ****** a refund.

• Initial Complaint

  09/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  This business sent me several letters advising that I needed to file a homestead recording, with one letter requiring a notary. Spoke with my homestead office in my county and they advise that they did not send this letter and that homestead recording and anything involving homestead services can be filed for FREE. I spent ***** on notary services as well as mailed two separate checks in the amounts of Check #*** (*****) processed on 7/12/22 and check # *** (*****) processed on 9/7/22.I am requesting a refund as this service was not required for me to file homestead.

  Business response

  09/14/2022

  Thanks for your inquiry from Ms. *************** Our company provides a service to help homeowner's file for the Designation of Homestead with their County ************** (what county office did Ms. **** speak with?).  This service is not required, but it helps a homeowner who may not have time or the ability to file for the Designation, that is why our company name is Homestead Recording "SERVICE".  We have completed the preparation of ********************** and just last week sent to the County ************** for recording.  The service we offered has been completed as we solicited, but if Ms. **** is not happy or not understanding what a "service" is we will be glad to refund her money.  A check will be mailed out in the coming week. Thanks

  Customer response

  09/14/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  05/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received a letter from this company in the mail *after* I submitted a Homestead Exemption through the county online. I completed 2 forms they sent me as "next steps" to finalize my exemption and paid them twice -- one for filling and the other for recording, $35 and $49 respectfully. They even required the second document get notarized. I later learned from friends that payment is not necessary when filing the Homestead Exemption. Upon a ****** search, I see that hundreds of others were scammed by this company. The documents that they send are misleading and I wouldn't recommend anyone send money to them.

  Business response

  05/17/2022

  Our company sent ******************** a notice for the Designation of Homestead because she is a new homeowner and that is who our service benefits most.  Our mailing has nothing to do with her filing for her Homestead Tax Exemption which is different than the Designation which we helped her with.  The form which she notarized is 1 step in completing the Designation.  This is a requirement of the state not our company.  If ******************** contacts us at our toll free number *************) Monday - Friday 9am to 2pm we can issue her a refund for our service.  We have noted her account as to this communication.

• Initial Complaint

  05/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  As a new property owner, I knew we needed to file designation of homestead documentation. We received an official looking letter in the mail and submitted a payment plus filing fees with a check via postal mail. The document "required" a notary signature and a check. We received a letter that says our records were filed for our designation of homestead. It has some sort of ****** County seal with a copy of ************************************* signature. We found out this was a scam when we looked online and saw that our designation had not been updated. We contacted **** and they explained that a request for homestead in December of last year would have been denied as we would have been covered by the previous owners designation since we didn't live there all of 2021. In addition, we noticed this should have been done online and does not cost anything for designation. in addition, the address appears to be a post office box. The envelope that the documents came in had a pre-labeled envelope so I did not notice this until we realized we had been scammed.

  Business response

  05/09/2022

  We noticed that **************** contacted the **** which is the ******************.  The Designation of Homestead is recorded at the ****** ************************ which is the document she received with the date and signature of the county recorder recording her Designation.  **************** is confusing our service with the tax exemption if she contacted the appraisal district.  We do not help homeowner's with the tax exemption only the Designation.  Based on her inquiry we will go ahead and mail her a refund for the Designation.

• Initial Complaint

  02/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We were scammed by HRSTX.com, sent a letter in the mail that we thought was to file for homestead. Paid $35 for nothing.

  Business response

  02/14/2022

  Thanks for your inquiry from ***************.  Unfortunately our company provides a very helpful service for the Designation of Homestead.  The Designation of Homestead is a protection on a persons property from creditors offered by the **************.  This protection is real and a law in *****.  Our company helps homeowner's to file the appropriate paperwork with their ************************ to benefit from this protection.  I would highly recommend *************** research the Designation and all it's benefits and what we do before stating she was scammed.  We mailed *************** the documentation along with instructions on how to complete her Designation.  If we were a scam we would have not provided her with a service or physical document.  We went ahead and refunded ******************* credit card.

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid them two checks, one for filling and the other for recording, $35 and $49 respectfully. This is the first year my homestead tax exemption should take effect and it hasn't. I called my local tax appraiser and they advised they didn't have a form on record. I checked my bank statement to see who cashed the checks, and it was this business. As I've read over others complaints it is apparent to me that this business is set up in a way to take advantage of new homeowners by suggesting they are helping with a Homestead Tax Exemption when in fact they are providing a Homestead Designation. What is the difference? I don't know -- perhaps I should've done more research, however it now clear that this is there style of business. Furthermore, the company and its less than honest solicitation has caused me to lose out on a ****** exemption that would of saved me close to $1000 in owed property taxes. I wish to seek out actual damages for a that loss.

  Business response

  01/24/2022

  Thanks for your inquiry.  We would like to point out that no where on our mailing does it suggest that our company helps homeowner's file for the Homestead Tax Exemption.  In fact it states several times that we specifically do not help file the Tax Exemption.  Besides our mailing stating this our voice recording which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week explains exactly who we are and what we do for homeowner's.  We agree with ************** and want people to research the Designation of Homestead to learn the benefits that are offered to homeowner's by the **************.  We will go ahead and mail ************** a refund check for her $84.  If ************** just purchased her house in 2021 which is when she signed up for our service (**** 2021) she just became eligible this month for the Homestead Tax Exemption so she can still file.  If she purchased prior to 2021 then filing with us in **** would have been past the tax exemption deadline with the state so our filing timing would not be the reason for her missing out on her tax exemption. Thanks

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩