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Tax Reassessment Letter Scam Instructions

Posted May 1st, 2009 by ucansue



UCAN has some information to pass on to you about how to complain about the property tax reassessment letters many residents have been receiving recently.  If your letter came from a PO Box in Los Angeles, the L. A. Department of Consumer Affairs provided us with the letter they are sending to all applicable consumers.  This letter provides you with specific information, instrucitons and a contact phone number.  By filing complaints with our city and state agencies, we provide the documentation they need to investigate and prosecute, as needed:

 

Dear Homeowner:

 

PROPERTY TAX REASSESSMENT SERVICES

Thank you for contacting us about the solicitation you received from a property tax reassessment service. With the recent decline in property values, many companies are sending these kinds of solicitations to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers.

 

Be aware that you do not need to pay a company for these services. The Los Angeles County Assessor's office has reviewed over a half-million Los Angeles County properties bought between July 2003 and June 2008 to determine if they need to reduce the assessed value due to falling home prices. This was done free of charge.

 

The Assessor's office will send letters by the end of June to all 500,000 owners whose homes were reviewed to notify them of the results. If the home qualified for a reduction, the Assessor will reduce the value of the home and notify you by mail. Check the Assessor's website at assessor.lacounty.gov to see if your home was part of the review.

 

If your home was not part of the review, you can submit a Decline-In-Value Reassessment application to the Assessor's office free of charge. Contact the Assessor at (888) 807-2111 or assessor.lacounty.gov for the application and more information.

 

California law requires that mailings like the one you received must clearly state they are NOT from a government agency. These letters often look official and are written with deadline warnings that consumers mistake for a real government form. The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs is investigating these solicitations and will take appropriate action.

 

If you have already paid these fraudulent companies, call the Department of Consumer Affairs' Real Estate Fraud Program at (800) 973-3370 to file a complaint.

 

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

 

Sincerely,

 

Filed Under
Money & Privacy Consumer Scam -
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Watch out for these scams!!

On May 23rd, 2009 Pissed off (not verified) says:

I received my letter May 21st, 2009 that the previous writer mentioned. I have to admit, this letter looks very offical since they stamp the "Assessor's ID NO" and a Bar Code. They were even nice enough to send me an envelpe so I can send them the money! Be very careful with these companies. I get these at least once a week now.

Make sure you talk to your mortgage lender first before releasing personal information or money to ANY company.

Heads Up.

On May 7th, 2009 Anonymous (not verified) says:

I received a letter from Property Tax Department 2272 Colorado Blvd. Suite 1125 Los Angeles, CA 90041 at my North Hollywood home on May 4th 2009. It appears to be a similar sort of scam. Looks like they are required by law to note CA B&P Code Sec 17533.6. They are not associated with any government agency.

need some help

On June 1st, 2009 Anonymous (not verified) says:

i sent them the check and they deposited already.
do u know anything i can do about it?

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