I received another letter from the Property tax reassessment company for the same property that I had previously paid a service fee for a few months ago. I even called the 888 number and talked to a rep to verify that I would receive my money back if the property did not qualify for a reduction. That seemed suspicious so I decided to google their name and address. This website came up. I am so upset I fell for a scam like this! I should have known better! Please please beware of anything that you receive from:
Property Tax Reassessment
PO BOX 25519, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (888)879-4259.
AND
Homeowner proeprty tax review board
Tax reduction review division
PO Box 41558, Los Angeles, CA 90041.

The Company that was running the scam is RDI and is located in 4350 Glendale-Milford Road
Suite 250
Cincinnati, OH 45242
. I have all the information that you need in a way to prove they are resposable for this.

Another thanks for those who posted on this site.  This is a pretty legit looking letter, so I cannot even imagine how many people are being suckered into to sending payment for something that appears to be fraud.  Especially since it comes right on the heels of the tax bill (at least in my case), which by the way has anyone noticed came much later than normal this year?  I can't help but wonder a couple things - 1. how these people even received my assessor's id number, which I would hope and assume is private information.  And 2. Why doesn't the official website of the LA county tax collector post any kind of warning on their website?  Even if this is not an official "scam" they should at least post something saying they are not affiliated with this agency.

I had received a similar letter last year, but like all others it looked rather authentic so I sent in a check for $189.

After receiving another one this year, it seemed suspicious to me so I finally googled and also found this page amongst others about this being a scam. I just hope this scam alert will get around others that don't have the knowledge or access to get to this website.

Current letter from:

HOMEOWNER PROPERTY TAX REVIEW BOARD

Tax Reduction Review Division

P.O. Box 41558

Los Angeles, CA 90041-0558

-Has a bar code and all accurate ass# and name on the letter.

Sad that this type of scam is going around feeding on people when we are all already suffering from a financial crisis. No more than we want to save our hard earned money, but to have these scavengers pick at us; it is quite a tragidy.

the letter came the day after the assessment bill. it contained the exact assessed value and assessors id# as the bill. MANY PEOPLE will fall for this. there is no address, and no phone number, if there is any way an enforcement agency can prove they did nothing but sucker you into paying for a service not performed, they should be prosecuted, and proceeds confiscated.

I receieved another one the day after I received my REAL property tax bill. The scam artists made this one look like a real bill so be very careful! It has a bar code, my assessor's id no and all my assessment info. Also NO PHONE NUMBER so you may have a hard time getting your money back this time around. Here's all the new info:

Homeowner Property Tax Review Board

Tax Reduction Review Division

P.O. Box 41558

Los Angeles CA 90041-0558

And of course $189 is due now LOL!

After reading this and posting above about how I totally fell for this "SCAM"  I just spent half the day looking for my last tax bill (the reason I hired them to do this for me in the first place).  When I finally found my bill, I looked on line and in fact my property taxes have nearly been cut in half.  I didn't fill out any paperwork, so they must have done it for me.  WELL worth the $189.  We bought our nearly $700,000 home at the height of the market and are very upside down on our mortgage.  This is why, they DID in fact save me thousands.  THANK GOODNESS!  There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with hiring an ourside company to file paperwork for you. 

Not scammed after all

Why don't the police just go to their PO box?  I've been getting letters from this company for two years!  Further, why wouldn't they just complete the paperwork for you?  It would be an excellent business.

I'd been meaning to have my property reassessed for a couple of years and so after recieving this add X number of times I went ahead and paid them to do it for me.  It sounded like a fair price and a good idea for a business.  I just don't understand why they wouldn't have filed the paperwork...or how they can be scamming for THIS LONG!  UNBELIEVABLE!

I should have known, I'm just so busy, I'd hoped it was a legitimate third party.  I tried calling all those numbers, but have to listen to too many recordings just to ultimately file a complaint which obviously has been to no avail and worthless for others! 

Wow, this sucks.  Don't care as much about the $189...care much more about the paperwork not getting done on my property taxes!  AWFUL.

Succered.

I also just received the scam letter to reduce my property taxes and at first was definitely excited as my california taxes are outragious.  My father owned the home last year and paid 1200.00 for property taxes. This year after inheriting the home my taxes went to 5800.00.  This is the only home in the neighborhood that is taxed at that rate.  My home has been assessed at 499,000. by the assessors office and is assessed at 345,000. by all other agencies.   I wish there was a legitament office out there that could actually do something about these money grubbing ripoffs (county assessors). Just because arnold has totally broke the state of california doesnt give them the right to bleed the people of their money.  I think the assessor office is the real rip offs.................

I just received a letter to my father in laws estate for tax reduction review division

tthey call themselves Homeowner property tax review board  P.O. Box 41558 los angeles, ca

it apppears that these peopkle sure move around alot. It looked real to me.

Very greatful for this site.I was getting ready to pay the $189.00 to the scamers and them i saw this site.on mine it says:

Homeowners Property Tax Review BoardTax Reduction Review DivisionP.O. Box 41558Los Angeles, CA 90041-0558

Hi, I googled this topic, as I just received a notice

Homeowner Property Tax Review Board
Tax Reduction Review Division
P.O. Box 41558
Los Angeles, CA 90041-0558

It looks official and for $189.00 they process an application to the County Assessors office and can save you "thousands". Thanks for all your info. I am staying away from this SCAM! :)

Just got this in the mail today, from po box 600124, 619-288-3340. Thanks for having this site!

If you are interested in having your property taxes lowered via the informal and formal process, it's best to utilize a CPA or other tax professional. Of course, you could do it yourself. You can prepare income taxes, bankruptcy filings and dozens of other legal/financial related matters yourself, but you run the risk of investing a lot of time and headache only to find that out of ignorance or oversight you missed a big item when you filed and it cost you big money!
I'm not a CPA, but I provide a system used by CPA's, Tax Attorneys...etc, that prepares the property tax appeals.
If you need help, and are in the Southern California area, let me know and I can direct you to someone in your area.

I just received a letter about a Property tax review board about a Property Tax Deduction Form with an address like this:

Regional Processing Center
P.O. Box 3966
Chatsworth CA 91313-3966
(800)581-0628

The letter tells me to send a check for $189.00 service fee before September 25.It looks like a government letter with a bar code and assessor id #.It is a totally a scam be aware and be careful.It is not from the government,they have no website,po box instead of their exact location,and they also have a (800) number.

New Name:

Annual Property Tax Review
Tax Reduction Review and Reassessment Department
P.O. Box 251649
Los Angeles California 90025
(800)832-9905

Same nonesense. Fee $167 , if not mailed by deadline $187. They want the check to be made out to Annual Property Tax Review . On the envelope it says Final Notice, has a bar code on the stub, and portions of the "bill" are highlighted to look official.

just received letter from "annual property tax review" - post office box, 800 number, no website, requests for check sent - same stuff. do NOT send a check - especially with account info, etc. printed on it. NEVER send check without more information than a blind letter sent to you unsolicited.

At first, the letter looked official and legit, but I was skeptical. I did not request such service, but I kept getting this letter from "Tax Reduction Review Division" The letter does not state its a private company offering this service. Upon googling "Homeowner Property Tax Review", search result showed "SCAM"

I would love to call and request to be removed from their mailing list, but of course, the phone number is not listed.

DO NOT SEND CHECK to these companies. You might be the victim of ID theft as well. Here's the address:

HOMEOWNER PROPERTY TAX REVIEW
Tax Reduction Review Division
P.O. Box 41558
Los Angeles, CA 90041-0558B

After ten calls and two copys of check,, and around 8-9 weeks ,,, I GOT A CHECK TODAY FOR 179.00,, OFF TO THE BANK FRIDAY,, LETS SEE IF ITS GOOD, I WILL UPDATE BY WEDNESDAY 9-23-09 My only tip is to be nice, and it was hard to do...

I've just received a letter from "Property Tax Review Board" containing a "Property Tax Reduction Form", with an address as follows:

PROPERTY TAX REVIEW BOARD
Not a Government Agency
REGIONAL PROCESSING CENTER
PO BOX 3966
CHATSWORTH, CA 91313-3966
(800) 581-0628

This letter urges me to send a check for $189 service fee before September 25. It looks like an official government letter with a bar code and an assessor ID #. It is certainly a scam; be forewarned and notify responsible authorities.

Red Flags: Los Angeles County mailing address for San Bernardino County property
Not a Government Agency
PO Box instead of actual physical location
(800) phone number
No computer website
No e-mail address

I looks realy official but it smellesd fishy they wanted $189.00 fee to save me $1300 not responding

I entered into an agreement with a firm that worked an a contingency fee. "No Savings. No Fee." However, the assessor's office in my county reassessed over 350,000 properties purchased between 2001 and 2008 and automatically reduced the assessed value of thousands of homes; including mine along with every house on my street. Now I have received a bill from the consulting firm demanding 50% of the savings. Should the consulting firm be billing me for savings that they had nothing to do with?

These services are exactly like any other professional services, such CPA, Tax preparer, Realtor, fisherman, lawn service man, builder of your home or your computer virus cleaning service company. Unless that individual or company actually takes your money and does not do anything for it, then it is a SCAM. If you knowingly accept the offer, you pay for it and you should do your best to contact the company and if they in fact do not do what they've promised, then I agree 100% that you have a valid claim. Just like my tax preparer, I pay her over $250 per year to do my income tax and yet no one call her a scam just because I could do the income tax myself. You know I could just go down to the IRS office and get the easy form 1040 and its handbook and their toll free number where IRS agents would be gladly help me with any question that I may have. The taxpreparer itself does not consider a scam. But if someone offers you to do similar thing like help you fill in forms, preparing documentation to appeal your real property tax appeal, gather the data required and shipped it off to the county assessor, you consider them a con artists? Please think again!!!!! For $179 to get my property tax appealed, I think it is a good price. Just because of something you can get it free and you pay for their times, experiences and inconveniences that you don't want to face, you think it is a scam? Why would you pay for fish at your grocery store? Would all the fishermen are scam artists because you know you can also go to the river or lake to catch your own fish for FREE! DUH! (oops, did I mispelled that duH or Hud?) Another thing, attorney general or government official will lose billions of dollars from the local county assessors because they have to reduce the taxing revenues because your asset dipped. Do you really think that they are looking out for your 'best interest'? Instead of wining, please go down to the assessor office and do the filing yourself and see if all the efforts and inconveniences are worth less than $179? Let me know. I am professional real estate investor and I am by far having more experience about these tax appeal processes than 99% of you out there, I still would gladly pay someone to do the paperwork and send in my property tax appeal for $179. I paid several thousands of dollars to have my property taxes reduced last year and I will continue paying someone else who has more experience than I. It is a service that I need. If you don't need the services, save your money and use it for movies or something. Oops, before I forget, you can cut your own hair; why you pay a barber? Is your barber a scam? My advice, check your county's deadline and go file your appeal if you don’t trust anyone but your tax collectors. READ other article that put out by the assessors. One, I remember reading, in Santa Clara, about 1/2 of those who filed last year got their property tax lowered. If your county assessor is working on your best interest, why would they 'mistakenly' or 'intentionally' over assessed those 1/2?

For those who had paid $179 without reading the offerings, I feel for you. Please contact the company, making sure they actually have filed your tax appeal by now. If not, insist that they do. For the meantime, because the government filed complaint in the court does not automatically make all tax appeal services fraudulent. Because the government has right to collect taxes on the land it governs; this itself does NOT necessary grants them ground for its lawsuit. I am anxiously waiting for verdict of the court. :)

I fell for this scam also. I am going to call them tomorrow and demand my money back or drive down to that PO box and wait till someone collects. I will keep you all updated. I am pissed!

does anyone have information to demonstrate the reduction in home/land values that can be used to support the re-assessment

Thank you to everyone who has posted a comment. After reading everyone's comments, I am pretty sure I will never see the $179 again. But, I thought what the heck, I am going to call these jerks again. I got some guy of the phone that was really nervous to talk to me. I asked to talk to a manager and he would let me talk to anyone else and he kept saying they were just a call center. I told him, that there had to be someone who could help me and he better figure out who that was. So, anyway, he broke down and told me to Google the company name and gave me an email address. Maybe he was trying to let me know it was a scam, because when I Googled the name, this is the first website that came up. I am sure no one will respond to the email, but it is worth a try. The email address is info@propertytax.us.com I sent an email to see if it was legit and it went through. Good luck to everyone....Lesson learned.

These guys should be rooming with Bernie Madoff in jail for 150 years.

Your verbose diatribe of logorrhea (look it up, schmuck) doesn't hold water. Your premise is that you have to pay for a cup of cofee as Starbucks, etc. Well the difference between Starbucks and the reassessment scam is that Starbucks delivers the coffee. tYou pay hte maid, the house gets cleaned. These scam-bags take your money and give NOTHING. (Not even a cup of Strabuck's.) I fell for the ploy LAST DECEMBER and the apllication WAS NEVER FILED! So get off your wiseass high horse and stop belittling pepple who need to vent and seek recourse. Are you perhaps one of the sammers? Why else would even you be looking at this site, if you were not a victim or prospective victim? Just for the fun of dissing honest persons? or for more sinister reasons? Heh?

Whoever says it's not a scam is out of touch with reality! The first letter looked "official" - not by coincidence but by crafty design. I felt the idea sounded illogical, but what do I know about government workings? So I asked my accountant - who did not see the letter. He told me to pay the fee, unaware of the ploy, and said the tax assessor probably requires a fee. I paid $179, like all the other naifs. That was last December.
The scam is that no document was filed in my behalf as I was told by the tax assessor's office. When you pay your gardener, the grass get mowed; you pay your maid, the house gets cleaned, etc. These bums take the money AND RUN! PERIOD! end of disussion! I wrest my case! I'd like to wring some necks. But whose?

All I have to say is that these people will burn in hell. I really cannot stand that these low lifes are stealing money from people. Carma is a bitch and I really cannot wait unitl one of them opens up the letter from that guy that wiped it with his ass. haha. I'm so glad they are getting sued for 2.5mil. Seriously, may they burn in hell, if they want I can reassess the taxes their for them for $179...Bastards

I almost got suckered in..and For TWO properties.
Thanks Everyone for their postings...

I received a letter from this company based out of Los Angeles County and i live in Sacramento County. Why is a LA based company trying to do reassessment in Sacramento County. This company is a SCAM!!!!! KEEP YOUR MONEY AND GO THROUGH YOUR COUNTY ASSESSORS OFFICE.

I was taken in. Yes, I feel stupid and ripped off to the tune of $179. Before even finding this site, I received a follow-up letter thanking me for "choosing Property Tax Reassessment for your property tax reduction needs."

Too Late.

I called the letterhead phone number (888)879-4259, asked to be removed from their program. I was instructed to send a letter to their P.O. box with this request and a copy of my canceled check front/back; refund will appear in 8-10 weeks. I am hopeful but not optimistic.
Lesson learned.

I got the same notice regarding my property reassessment and with all these positive and negative comments I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW!!!! Can someone tell me what the best to do?????

Thanksssss

Even if they are a private company does it give them the right to scam people? I call this place and at first they said they had no records and then they said it was being appealed. These guys are lying through theie teeth, I checked the LA COUNTY Assesors website and they have a SCAM alert about these companies. It says on the website that reassessment is FREE!, by the way I checked my property records, NO reassessment paper work has been done. In my opinion, Dont trust anyone here that posts that these companies are legit or you will be out $179. Im so angry, never again, by the way my mother in law got the same notice, luckily we told her about it.

Check out the website it tells you everything you need to know about the scam, I wish I would of done my homework.

assessor.lacounty.gov/extranet/list/newsList.aspx?newsid=89

I was skeptical at first and I should of went with my fist instinct, I called today and gave them an earful. First I wasnt in there system, then my case was going to appeals. I asked for a Supervisor and I was told he was in a meeting, yeah sure. They told me to send a copy of the check to get a refund, Im not even going to bother after reading some of the posts. WHy are these people still in business, I guess all you need is a PO Box, 800 number and Adobe Photoshop to scam people. We are so pissed, we want to take them to small claims. Who are these F*ckers and why are they still in businees? Will filing a complaint to consumer Affairs get my money back? FYI here are is the address from these peopole who scammed me"

Property tax reassessment
PO BOX 25519
Los Angeles, ca 90023
Phone 888-8794259

Sadly, I thought only old people fall victim to these crimes / scams. I applied for home reassesment (legitimately) in Feb 2009, in April I recieved this scam and thought it was the city's response to my request. I paid the $186 thinking that was the fee owed and now my property assesment was complete. I sure was wrong, becuase of the fraudulent way they crafted thier scam letter, I paid for a service which I had already done myself. Has anyone got thier money back from these guys. Their San Diego number is listed at 619-288-3340...

First of all, this is not the first time an outfit has sent us "official" looking letters. AARP, insurance companies and others do it all the time. If you read the entire letter they fess up to not being a government agency in bold type. So they seemed legit enough to us.

However, we balked at the $179 fee, and googled property reassessment to see if they had any competition.
They do, and for a lot less. There are several firms that will send you a do it yourself package with forms and letters and tips for rproperly requesting a reassessment from your county.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We received the letter from the Property Tax Reassessment co and WOW at first it looked legit but lie many others who have commented, we Googled it and found your website which in turn confirmed our suspicions.
Thanks for your help

Hi -Just found your site. We were scammed by these guys years ago. Frankly, I don't understand how some of you are defending these people as legit (unless you work for them). They don't pay refunds, nor do a reassessment as they say they will. They have an F rating with the BBB., where it is also shown that the Attorney General is investigating as of May 12, '09. Check 'em out yourself!

I was about to write my check and then thought, hey, can't I just do this on my own? When I Googled property tax reassessment, your blog and notice came up. Thanks for saving me thet $179~~~

WE FELL FOR IT..N PAID THE AMOUNT N SEND IT.. WE DIDNT KNOW THIS WAS A SCAM UNTIL NOW THAT IM READING THIS.. WAT DO WE DO KNOW..IS THERE SOMETHING WE COULD DO?

Okay, for the sake of being objective lets just say they do provide you with a service. Then why haven't I heard from them?
Yes, I fell for it too. It looked very official and I didn't spend the time to read through it. I just thought the county was going to reduce my property tax and mailed it off.
I'm usually pretty darn good at not falling for this BS but I did and I except my mistake as a $179 learning experience.
I hope it helps to put food on the table for one of their employees.
I did call them to cancel and followed their instructions for a refund but that was 3 months ago. the money is gone and I'll never see it again.
Don't fall for this crap.
The idiot who keeps giving you the line about how state and county doesn't want to lower your property taxes is probably right but this bullshit company sure won't get it done for you.

I received such a letter from Property Tax Reassessment, P.O. BOX 25519, Los Angeles, CA 90025 .. Phone 888-879-4259 . It does state that this is not a government agency in bold print on the bottom.

First of all did you understand what you were paying for? If so then what is the problem, is the problem that a stupid website like this says its a scam and you are worried the company won't perform the services? If you did not understand the services, why don't you simply just ask for a refund?

The problem is the government is blasting companies like this because they don't want to lose money, so they call it a scam. Yes some companies have had a very aggressive marketing campaign while others have informed the homeowner they can do it themselves if they wish to. However, regardless of the marketing campaign, the end goal seems to be the same across the board and that is to save homeowners money. Now I keep reading how the Assessor's office is doing this for free right? Well of coarse they are, it's their job to make sure your home is properly assessed. What these companies are offering is a service to appeal your taxes, they are saying that your taxes are not assessed properly and that they will help you reduce them. One question I have always had for the people argueing "this can be done for free" is the following;

If you simply fill out a form and send it in to the Assessor for review, do you think they are really going to review their work and say oh yeah we were wrong? Why would the same agency that placed the assessment on your house in the first place think for one second they are wrong?

Now I know people are going to blast me, saying I work for one of these companies and in fact I kind of do, I am currently an employee of the Los Angeles Assessor's office. Here's some inside information for you guys out there, the Assessor only put out these press releases because its an election year for him and he did not tell any of his constituents that a service like this even existed, these private companies did. In fact if you don't believe me go to the Los Angeles Assessor's website and read the press release's. There is not one press release stating this service can be done without mentioning something along the lines "homeowner's have been receiving solicitations...".

My advice to any of you is pay attention to who benifits the most from the appeals service, the private company charging a couple hundred dollars or the state who is broke and does not want homeowners paying less?

I will be checking this board for any questions you may have on this process or any questions you may have on some of these companies, so please ask away. The reason why I can try to answer questions on some of these companies is our office is flooded with their clients appeals so I do know a little about them, however my answers will be limited to what they send us, not who runs them or where they are located, etc.

Oh and one more thing for the board, the Los Angeles Assessor has been saying for months now to just wait to see if your home has been choosen for review, right. Well again a little insider knowledge, every home has been listed for review that was purchased in the last couple of years. However we are not reviewing anything, we are performing our normal duties to get the next tax roll out in time. There is no one over here double checking / reviewing anything, like I said above, why do you think we would change our own work?

How is it that they can continue to operate??! Who Is PTR?

Got a letter from an Los Angeles Post Office. However, the return envelope has a San Diego address. A SCAMMER within a SCAMMER???

I didn't have the time to waste to read all of the posts here. I didn't find one post that stated whether or not they were actually cheated out of cash. After carefully reading the letter I received I could very easily see that it was a non governmental service being offered, to use or not to use. It mentions a service fee at a discounted rate before a certain date and higher fee if you use their services after that date. I also could easily see that I could ignore it and throw it in the trash like any other junk mail. I didn't see anything that shows the company is fraudulent. If someone here sent money in and didn't receive any services, then rail on! Otherwise I just see a lot of mean spirited gossip going on here. This may not be a legitimate company but I can see how some ones innocent reputation can be destroyed by gossip, just like in our media

I also want to Thank You for the postings.
I live in Orange County and received a Property Tax Reassessment letter. The letter looks official. It is not dated, but does state a response is due by 5/26/09. If I do not repond by this date the fee goes from $179.00 to $209.00. The address on the letter is P.O. Box 25519, Los Angeles, CA 90025.
Phone #888-879-4259. Again, thank you for keeping us all aware!
Terri

I live in Orange county. My Property Tax Assessment letter was from P.O. Box 25519, Los Angeles CA, 90025. I have not paid because my wife, who runs our checkbook, asked me if it was a valid request. I have a GREAT wife!

I received the letter last week

I moved from California over a year ago (04/01/08) and now I live in Arkansas. I did not own any property in Ca and these people are asking for $189.00 and it says that if I don't pay the amount by 05/15/09 I will have to pay $219.00
The address is:
ANNUAL TAX REASSESSMENT
P.O. Box 341755
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(800) 652-3123

I received a letter as well. Thank you for your postings. Something about the letter did not look right. I hope that the Attorney General's office for the State of California is involved in this!

Thank you again for taking the time to set this up and keep us informed.

I've received today, May 8th 09, their SCAM letter. Does anybody know which agency in Silicon Valley should I contact to report this SCAM,

TIA

Grey Geek

I sent them a check for $179 in February, which they cashed. In April they mailed me an authorization form for them to proceed, which I signed & returned. Meanwhile, a second solicitation arrived asking for $189 for a possible reassessment that was lower than the first. I phoned them 3 times about this, leaving a message, but they did not return my call. This scam is sophisticated, not only in the format and wording, but in the research on homes that they do.

We received the annual tax reassessment last weekend and laughed our heads off. We live in an apartment and do not "OWN" any property. We haven't owned any property since 1994. Besides that, the 800-652-3123 number on the letter always has a full mailbox so you can't talk to anyone. The PO box number is different than the other listings I have seen on line at this site. It's po box 341755 Los Angeles, California 90034. These people need to be stopped.

I got the letter this weekend as well. Appears to be the same company:

Property Tax Reassessment
PO Box 25519
Los Angeles, CA 92005

I got that letter this weekend... I live at Imperial Valley CA, the letter that i recieved is from LA Po box 25519

Thanks for the heads up... on the scam...

Well I to Live in San Clemente and received this letter from this Scam company....Right after I read this I knew right away that a red flag jumped out at me that this might be a scam, and went to the computer and Googled this in the search slot and your site came up warning me that this is a scam....Thank You ! I to saw many flaws in the letter that were way wrong...such as the various values they stated were way off to begin with...and Why would a LA CA address appear when we have our taxes go to the Orange County tax assesser..In Orange county??? Also the lack of the property Lot, Parcel,and page that I am on in Orange counties records...
Anyway I cought this for what it is and will report it to the authorities..

Rod

Resident of Coto de Caza, I received the letter yesterday and it did catch my eye at first. Upon closer examination, realized the company wasn't affiliated in any way with the County Assessor's office and thought that if I was due a refund, I probably wouldn't have to pay money first to get it. Call me crazy. So I carefully filed this in the repository for further review never.

You know what is the funny thing bout this letter, there are so many flaws i could easily point out. One of it was the refund policy. If you read along the line, they stated that you will get your money back if for any reason they cant get you a lower tax on your property. Ask yourself a question, why do they tell you that you qualify but at the same time you might not be qualify. If that the case, why send in the money in the first place when its the same as you never send in the money to get a assessment review. The only good part about not sending in money is, they dont have control over your money, plus you dont have to go through all the hassle to get your money back, just by one reason alone that they cant get you lower tax. My conclusion is they take us for a fool when they are stupid in many ways. it is sad that some people did fall for it. yea and sometime it make you wonder why is this happening, and no authority is looking into it.

This whole summary is summarized to that we all got common sense, by readin what they wrote, we could already catch the problem. Go with your sense.

i received this scam letter on saturday. i hope the cops can trace who owns that po box and put them to jail as soon as possible!

I've just received a letter from "Property Tax Reassessment" whose address is PO BOX 25519, LOS ANGELES, CA 90025. This letter urges me to send a check $179 before May 26 or $209 after May 26. It really looks like an official government letter with a bar code, an assessor ID. As I suspect it, I googled "Property Tax Reassessment" and found this web page. Now, I am sure it is a scam. Be careful. Thank you.

I live in San Clemente and received this document yesterday - Googled the phone number and got to this site! Thanks for the heads up, I hope no one gets stung by these crooks!!! Hope they get caught at their game.

Thank you for the heads up! Live in Huntington Beach and received one yesterday.. googled it and found your site. How many elderly people have been scammed! I hope someone does something to nail them!

I also received their letter today!

I say... flood these bastards with lots of mail! You will get a big bang out of a single stamp by enclosing their letter and sending it back to them in their own envelope. I wiped my ass with their letter and stuck it in their return envelope! I felt it was worth the stamp for satisfaction! I wish I was their to see their face when they open it... and oooooooooooooooooooh that smell! I'll bet they can't wait to open all of those green envelopes with all of out ass-wipes waiting for them inside.

I say... if you can't beat them... join them! Stick it up their asses! They will go broke hiring people to open up all of the empty, ass-wiped document envelopes!!! lolololololol!

~Sebastian

Nowhere on these "documents" is any official seal or stamp or logo ...or???

"Regional Processsing Center " .....for what ? and whom?

Am i to believe that "Property Tax Assessment" is a company ?

These clowns are obviously taking advantage of thier own stupidity and others...

The LAPD or LA County needs to investigate the PO Box 25519 Los Angeles location and
Contact the Building Manager and start from there...

This is the second or third time we have received this. WHAT CAN BE DONE to scavengers preying on people?? What about those who are elderly or gullable and fall for this scam.

It is obvious to both myself and my wife that this is a scam based on 2 things.

(1) I called the 888 number and the voice mail says it is a "PRIVATE COMPANY"
and
(2) which is hilarious as hell when and I quote "REQUEST FOR PROPERTY TAX REASSESSMENT available to you as a result of Proposition 8"
Prop 8 is the GAY RIGHTS INITIATIVE how stupid do they think we are??

Again, there will be those that fall for this unless something is done. I intend on contacting the Attorney Generals Office!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, got same letter today in Laguna Niguel. First thing I did was google it and found your website.

Thanks
Leen

Just received one from the P.O. Box 25519 in LA as well today. This is a joke! I live in Rancho Santa Margarita, Ca, looks like they are hitting up Orange County as well now! Beware!

I live in the Imperial Valley and I received one yesterday. I was lucky enough that my sister was at my house and later on call me to tell me that my brother in law had heard in the radio about the scam. They also received one.

Is anything being done about this? Unbelievable! I just got my letter and googled the company. Right away saw all the scam notices/websites. I called the 888 number on the letter and asked for their website and physical address. They couldn't/wouldn't give any of that to me.

How can we stop the madness?

I've just received a letter from "Property Tax Reassessment" whose address is PO BOX 25519, LOS ANGELES, CA 90025. This letter urges me to send a check $179 before May 26 or $209 after May 26. It really looks like an official government letter with a bar code, an assessor ID. As I suspect it, I google "Property Tax Reassessment" and found this web page. Now, I am sure it is a scam. Be careful. Thank you.

Brought about by too much frustration to get a decent job which could sustain him and his family, some are no longer afraid to be involved in illegal activities. So beware! The U.S. government is making a lot of program cuts. So are the states themselves; many are facing huge budget shortfalls as well. Obama is leading the charge as he takes a hatchet to the federal budget. (He did promise to.) The nation's finances were a key issue in the last presidential campaign. A period of restructure was destined to happen in this recession. First to go is a facelift for Homeland Security, which will no longer be getting $3 million to design a new logo. More changes to federal spending are to follow, so we may save ourselves further installment loans through program cuts.

THIS WAS FEATURED IN THE NEWS FEW MONTHS AGO AND I KNEW IT WAS A SCAM. - RESIDENT FROM SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

'GOT ONE TOO FROM THE MAIL. IT CAME FROM THIS ADDRESS: P.O. BOX 25519 LOS ANGELES CA 90025 WITH PHONE NUMBER 888.879.4259. - RESIDENT FROM SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

And of course new name, address and phone number: Property Tax Reassessment
PO Box 25519
Los Angeles,CA 90025 Phone# (888)879-4259

They are using better language. Now it's "Service Fee" and "Discounted Amount". However they are still using the fake official looking letter with the bar code.

Not only is this a scam, but the company is a bogus company.

I called the number given on the form (888-879-4259) they sent me and asked whether "Property Tax Reassessment" was the actual name of the company or a DBA of some other company or person. The person answering the phone said that it was the real name of the company. The following is from the California Secretary of State's website (http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/list.html):

Property Tax Reassessment, LLC
Corporation No. 200801710055 filed 1/15/2008
36891 Pictor Avenue
Murietta, CA 92563
Agent for service of process: (agent resigned on 10/16/08)

So what is the 36891 Pictor Avenue address? According to zillow.com (http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/36891-Pictor-Ave-Murrieta-CA-92563/214...), it's a "Beautifully appointed Bank Owned Former Model Home!"

Plus, every company should have a registered agent for service of process. The company is in violation by not having one.

So the company was formed in 2008 using a bogus address (or an address that has since become bogus when its owner defaulted on his home mortgage), and it has no agent for serving lawsuits on the company as required by law. My guess is that they originally used a corporation service for their agent (which is legal), but then the corporate agent resigned rather than being associated with this scam.

THEY ARE CROOKS. Do not send them any money.

How can they claim to be lowering assessed values when the assessed values for 2009 are not even calculated yet?

County assessors throughout California are already working on the value reductions. These companies want you to send your money in fast before you find out that the assessor already lowered your value. That way they can take credit for it.

If for some reason the assessor does not lower your value to your satisfaction, you still have until November 30th in most counties to appeal it.

Tony Ansolabehere
Assistant Assessor - Kern County Assessor-Recorder

I already paid the $179 to Property Tax Reassessment.
Does anyone know how I can get this back?

So how do I get my property reassessed?????

Daniel

PTAA (Property Tax Assessment Adjusters, LLC ) is a company that sent me a letter. Their letter says that they are accredited by the BBB and actually has the BBB logo on the letter. If you go to the BBB website you see this business is not a BBB Accredited Business.

http://www.bbb.org/central-california/business-reviews/not-elsewhere-cla...

I also received a letter that looks like it might be a good thing. I was very wary though and thought I'd check this out before sending a check for $179.00 before the deadline and then going up to $209.00. Something made me feel that this is too good to be true. I Googled "Property Tax Reassessment" and was directed to UCAN.
After reading the information posted at this site, I am glad I decided to research this. The problem is that the letter looks like a legitimate document and would be a good thing. I an not sending these scam artists anything and recommend that if you receive a letter, check them out and advise your friends and neighbors not to send them any money.

If you are really thinking of asking for a tax appeal to lower your property tax - don't do it - of course - with this scam company - but if you plan to appeal your tax directly to YOUR local county assessor, be forewarned - if you've owned the home for quite some time - it will be foolish to have them make any alteration, as you will lose the protection of freezing your taxes around the value you purchased the property. You will be subject to possible reassessment every year or two years - and not be protected by the Proposition that has kept property taxes at the purchase price all this time. So make sure it will be worth your while - or as soon as the values start rising again, you'll be seeing genuine tax bills rising. Under the Proposition, you are protected from heavy rising taxes due to reassessment while you own the house. The Next buyer will pay taxes based on his or her purchase price. Only if you purchased a house within the last three years, and there has been a drastic drop in the value since then, should you even consider asking for any tax appeal/change. Hope this helps.

I am a real estate residential appraiser and received one of the so called property tax reassessment bills for $179.00 as if it was mandatory to send it in. The values given to my so called old assessment and the current market value assessment are totally ludicrous and ridiculous and I hope there aren't many people out there that get caught by this fraudulant scam. Send it in to the Post Master of youir local post office or to the FBI. This is pure fraud.

My mom received a letter from this company. Same M.O. She had to send 179.00 to Property Tax Reassessment P.O Box 25519, Los Angeles, Ca. by May 26th to have the property reassessed. The price went up to 209.00 if she did not respond prior to that date. Fortunately, my mom saved the letter until I could look at it. I knew right away that it had to be a scam, and sure enough, I googled the company name, and here I am. Thank you for your information. I absolutely detest scammers. Apparently, getting a real job and working like the rest of us is just too much for them.

Victorville, Ca.

We received the same letter today, April 27, 2009. I knew something wasn't right when the return address is L.A. and we live in S.B. County, also why they wanted the money in the next 30 days.

We did submit directly to the S.B. Assessors office last year for "free" to have our property reassessed and they did. It did however take 6 mos for an acknowledgment. I understand that there are legitimate companies out there that will do this for you, but I don't know who they are. Anyone who wants money upfront is a danger, beware. Besides it doesn't cost a dime if you do it yourself. Just submit the form they request with 2-3 comparables in your area and your done. Always read very carefully!

They want me to write a check and send it to them in the amount of $210.00. Letter looks very official.

Just got a notice that the my property has been over assessed. The "Proposed Assessed Value" is 25% less than the "Assessed Value". To complete the property tax reassessment, they want a $179 service fee and to mail it to Property Tax Reassessment, PO Box 25519, Los Angeles, CA 90025-0519.

I just received the letter today. same scam, $179.00 up front to get your prop taxes reassessed. i live in Desert Hot Springs, CA and would love to know who i can contact to REALLY have my property reassessed??? Thanks,

got the letter too and it looked fishy to me - so I googled "Property Tax Reassessment" and got the scam cofirmation right away. This looked official but I'm always suspicious. Damn scammers..they're getting sneakier...

I was suspicious. But your easy find via Google convinced me to shred it and email everyone to BEWARE!

Has anyone scanned the bar code on the scam letter? I'd like to know what it contains

Many scammers use, what looks lke, legitimate mortgage information in order to make their scam letter look real.

Yes, property values are down....and it would be great to decrease the assessed value.

But it was easy to see that a PO Box in LA wasn't part of the official State of California's property tax system.

I'm sending them back the envelope with white powder and a letter saying "jokes on you a**holes!"

Got my letter today, 4/24/09. I thought it was a scam so did some investigation. Thank you, you all for posting this information. I have sent your info to family and friends.

Thank you for your postings. We live in Pinole, CA and we received this exact letter from "Property Tax Reassessment" also witha P.O. Box return address. I'm so glad I researched this on the web and found your comments. I will now shred my copy.

Thank you for posting this. I recieved my letter yesterday and shred it after reading all your information. I emailed everyone I know about this as well.

Thank you again!

I thought the same as many "why would LA be the place to sent this versus SD county where I live ???

Also, why do I have less than 30 days to pay and then the price goes up? A definite squeee scam to get you to part with $$ quickly.

They even include some written FAQs in the letter, and this excerpt should seal your decision on why this is fake:
"...however there is no guarantee as to how long the County Assessor's office will take to review your property reassignment request."

Does anyone actually have a physical address for the California Tax Reassessment people in San Diego?

Thanks to your website I saved the discounted fee of $179.00 and a lot of embarrassment. Can we trust anyone these days?

How can some organization do such a scam. I started to write the check and thought I better double check it.

Yes, I too did receive a copy of this notice in the mail on April 21, 2009. It appeared to look very official and sparked my interest. However, the fact that they requested a fee upfront prior to doing anything began to cast doubt. Luckily, I Googled the subject of the notice and found out that I am not the only one using their head. In this economy, BE WARE of what sounds just too good.....

I received this letter April 21, 2009. It does appear to be an official letter but what got me suspicious is that my name is addressed incorrectly on the letter. Also, a fee of $179 is being asked for which was a red flag for me. This company needs to be shut down immediately before any other victims turn over their hard earned money to these scammers.

It has hit northern California now. I too got a letter on April 17th. I had applied with our county assessor for a reduction on my taxes and truly thought it was ligit for an outside company to get involved. This morning I had my check in the mail when I read a front page article in our local paper about this. I called our tax collector and she told me the whole story. I pulled that check out of the mail soooooooooooo fast! So if they (the government) knows it is a scam why are thay able to do it for so long in so many areas of the state?

My husband and I received the letter yesterday, I knew it was a scam just by the urgency that they wanted our money. Plus we own a home in Hanford CA, and I know that a Los Angeles based business' has nothing to do with our property tax.
Just for fun I Googled the name and confirmed my therory.
Thank You,
Pamela

This company is sending out official looking letters to innocent folks asking for $179 (one hundred seventy nine dollar payment) by a due date to reassess and get the property taxes reduced due to downturn in housing pricing. They only have a PO Box address and their number is 1-888-879-4259. THEY HAVE NO COMPANY WEBSITE, NO ADDRESS AND EVEN IF YOU CALL THIS NUMBER THEY REFUSE TO GIVE IT OUT... PLEASE DO NOT GET CAUGHT IN THIS SCAM. I am in any case getting an attorney to get my money back but this is a WARNING TO ALL INNOCENT VICTIMS LIKE ME...

I received a letter from Property Tax Reassessment indicating that I should mail in the enclosed stub and a check for $179 or $209, if sent after May 17th, 2009. This letter is made to look as official as possible and uses the public records to get parcel numbers and current assessment values. Then, they apply a factor of 75 % (sort of arbitrary) to set an expectation of the reassessed value.

In my small and simple mind, this is a fraud. I don't care about the details of what makes this a legal business, they are doing a gross disservice to our community. While I was in the real assessor’s office - about 10 minutes - 3 other people came in to pay the reassessment fee and left upset about how this business can exist.

I think this is a criminal activity and should be handled as such. Our public prosecutors seem to be experts in how the legal nuances have been adhered to, but are not very keen on pursuing the intent of our laws.

The crooks get better and better. I too received this scam letter, asking me for $179 by May 26, and suggesting that I would have to pay a penalty ($209) if I didn't get the money in the mail by then!

What nerve!

I hate to think how many people might send a check to these thieves!

I have just received a letter from Property Tax Reassessment asking for a discounted fee of $179.00 to prepare and submit all necessary documentation to the County Assessor's Office. I can't believe it is a scam.

On April 21,09. I received a letter that looks official from the "Property Tax Reassessment" asking me to send $179.00 to file a reassessment with the County Tax Assessment. It states to send money before May 26, 09.

I'm glad I checked to see if this an official letter.

So PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY !

We live in Bakersfield and recently received the scam letter others have posted about. They asked for a fee of $179 which supposedly will be "immediately refunded" if our application is denied. What a joke.... when I noticed several other things about the letter I immediately googled 'tax reassessement fraud'.
I sent the coupon back to the 'PO' address with a photo copy of a voided check in the amount of $179.

Hi; We have received the same letter to all homeowners in our neighborhood in San Ramon, CA. The scam letter looks very legitimate and asks homeowners to pay $179 and deadline is May 26th 2009. They have PO Box address and no name for the company. Please be aware and don't send them money because you can do it yourself free.

Most practitioners and property tax managers share a common bond: they feel that rather than being a system of adjudicating legitimate disputes, the property tax appeals process has become a system of rubber-stamping assessor values, even when those values are arbitrarily determined.

How could practitioners and property tax managers come to this conclusion? Simply stated, because it is the correct one. The property tax appeals system is inherently unfair, and is designed to provide maximum revenue collection and de minimus due process for taxpayers.

——————————

Third, once an application for reduction in assessment is filed, the counties have taken the position that no amendments to that application can be made. Considering that at the time applications are due, tax bills have not even been sent out, it seems pointless to preclude taxpayers from amending their applications; that is, of course, unless it is to ensure that many people do not receive a fair hearing on their applications.

—————————–

If one recognizes that most taxpayers don’t understand the distinction between an application to reduce base-year value and a reduction in fair market value under Proposition 8, the prohibition on amending applications seems both punitive and inconsistent with due process. By contrast, administrative proceedings in the sales and income tax areas allow such petitions to be amended or augmented up to the hearing.

—————————–

Next, once the county has received an application, the law provides that it can wait up to two years before granting an appeals board hearing. State tax agencies, under direction from the Legislature, are moving to shorten and accelerate the administrative appeals process. With modest exceptions, the counties have gone in the other direction with the property tax. During the 1990s, counties have repeatedly sought to extend the two-year limitation on property tax appeals hearings to three years.

As the old saying goes, “Justice delayed is an opportunity for the taxpayer to give up.”

——————————

When a hearing is finally scheduled, the taxpayer is often surprised to find that the same “law firm” (county counsel) that is advising the assessor is also advising the supposedly impartial assessment appeals board. Especially in small counties, this could be a one- or two-person office where lawyer contact is inevitable. If not an outright conflict of interest, such a system certainly has the appearance of impropriety and weakens the confidence of taxpayers that they are, in fact, getting a fair hearing.

—————————–

Most of the Property Tax Rules and Assessor Handbooks, which provide the backbone of California’s property tax appeals system, have not been substantially revised in over 20 years. Some are so obsolete that they are simply not used, while others reflect assessment practices based on a regulatory and business environment that has not existed for over a decade. The continued use of these documents has confounded taxpayers and has directly benefitted assessors who are able to avoid an objective body of authority to challenge their subjective assessments.

—————————–

But maybe updated materials are unnecessary, given that “local rules” may virtually preclude anything but the property tax equivalent of a “show trial.” The state Constitution allows counties to adopt local procedural rules for assessment appeals (it is controversial where the dividing line is between a “procedural” and “substantive” rule). This also has been abused at the expense of taxpayers’ rights. Riverside County’s infamous “Rule 10? allows the county to completely dismiss any application where the taxpayer does not supply all information requested by the assessor, even where the assessor bears the burden of proof in the appeal. Given that the assessor may not even provide the rationale for an assessment to the taxpayer for years to come, this “procedural” rule seems a convenient way to limit appeals. To its credit, the State Board of Equalization has sued Riverside County over this rule.

————————-

Los Angeles County had a different approach. When the county’s legislative efforts to extend the two-year statute of limitations for property tax appeal hearings to three years were rejected by the Legislature, the county responded by passing a local rule limiting property tax appeals to 30 minutes, unless the taxpayer were willing to sign a waiver of the two-year statute of limitations, whereupon the time limit on the taxpayer’s hearing was removed. In other words, because the Legislature refused to limit taxpayers’ rights in one way, Los Angeles County found a better way to accomplish it locally.

————————

And what of that fair and impartial fact-finding body, the Assessment Appeals Board (AAB)? At the very least, taxpayers may find themselves before a panel of three individuals who know little, if anything, about California property tax law, procedure or valuation….Worse, in smaller counties, the AAB may actually be the same county Board of Supervisors that is relying on disputed property taxes to balance its budget…Next, AABs have discovered that they can save themselves a lot of time and money by asking taxpayers to prepare proposed findings of fact. Taxpayers end up paying an attorney or agent substantial sums of money to draft proposed findings.

—————————-

This system of justice is not in a Third World dictatorship, but in California, a state that proudly touts its taxpayer-friendly, pro-business environment. That any taxpayer could ever prevail under this system is the best objective proof we have of the existence of a Supreme Being.

—————————

Incredibly, the response of the assessors and the counties has been to sponsor legislation to stack the deck even further against taxpayers…Assessors need to understand that their effort to pass AB 1027, using taxpayer dollars to deprive taxpayers of their rights, infuriated taxpayers and confounded legislators. Maybe it is not so amazing that assessors cannot understand why taxpayers feel so cheated by the property tax system.

————————

The property tax appeals system, as well as the overall system of property tax administration, is sick. Its illness stems from years of systematic neglect by the counties, the State Board of Equalization and the Legislature. Far from benign neglect, however, the descent of the property tax appeal system into obsolescence has benefitted counties and assessors disproportionately. The unfairness that angry taxpayers feel translates into disrespect for the system.

————————–

But no matter what the political timing, there should be no mystery whatsoever on the part of the assessors and the counties as to why the property tax system has engendered such ill will amongst California’s taxpayers.

Our first red flag was the use of a standard first class Postage Stamp rather than a govenment indetia. Second red flag was there wasn't any heading anywhere that actually related the letter to the County Assessor's Office. Third red flag was the return address was a P.O. box instead of the County Assessor's office. Fourth (and foremost) red flag was the "billing" of a filing "fee".

Got a letter from these guys a month ago. Was stupid to fall for this. We send a check to some PO BOX. How stupid is that? Tell me about it. Then a month later, I do some research. I google and I put PO BOX 49997, Los Angeles CA 90049 and I stumble on this site. As I kept reading, I realized I will never see my money again. If I only researched sooner. Funny thing is. I check online to see who cashed it. It states Union Bank PSTA and some #. How can Union Bank cash this? I cant even trace this. How in the world did they get these personal information? Must of been an insider government/bank job deal. There is no way something like this can be done by an individual and send it out to so many people in LA. This is an insider job that I am assuming. I can't believe we live in a screwed up government.