This post is specifically for residents in Arizona but who knows if this scam is not going on elsewhere throughout the country. A company called “Property Tax Review Board” or PTRB for short is sending out letters promising homeowners that they can help homeowners reduce their property tax bills for the 2009 tax year for a fee of $189.
Don’t do it – it is a scam!
âThese letters are designed to look as if they are coming from a government agency, but are nothing more than an attempt at charging Arizona residents for something they can easily do on their own for free,â Matthew Fehling, BBB President/CEO said.
The letters state that due to the drop in property values, residents need to file again for a reassessment of their 2009 property taxes. However, according to the Maricopa County Assessorâs Office the deadline to file for an administrative review for a possible reduction for the 2009 tax year expired in April 2008.
What that simply means is that you will be throwing your money away. So best advice is to simply throw the letters away or if you want to throw your money away for a service you can do yourself for free, send it to me. đ
Postscript: If you look at the comments below, PTRB has defended their action and has indicated that the service they are offering would be for the 2010 tax year. While it is not a scam to offer a “pay-for” service to appeal a homeowner’s property tax assessment, even though the homeowner can do it on their own, I took issue with the fact that the letter PTRB mailed out was not clear on the tax year they’d appeal and suggested that future mailings should be more clear.
So, my original rant was based on the fact that the letter led me to believe they were offering a pay-for service to appeal my 2009 property tax assessment, of which the deadline to appeal has expired.
If in fact PTRB will file an appeal for 2010, then what they are offering is not a scam. However I still feel they should be more forthright in their advertising. Enough said.
@Mike Liville – What about the fact that the company is promising to do something for the homeowner that they cannot possibly complete (e.g., the deadline to file for an administrative review for a possible reduction for the 2009 tax year expired in April 2008)?
So in essence, all they are going to bank the $189.
Just received a letter from “property Tax Review Board” – It sounded like a scam. So I checked it out with a web search. Thanks for the tip.
@Mike Liville – The other thing that makes it a scam is the fact that the whole thing is masked in what looks like something “official” from the government.
Deadline or not, it is likened to those Yellow page bills you get if your a business or even domain renewals from companies that are not your registrar which are nothing more than solicitations. Because they look like bills and people are inundated with mail and the like, many get paid out of ignorance which is exactly why such schemes work.
Mr. Wallace,
While I do not agree with the companies like this that try to be deceive homeowners by making “official” looking documents – the concept of having somebody help you do what you don’t want to do is not a SCAM. This is the entire basis of “Jiffy Lube” right – I can change my own oil but I choose not to. This doesn’t mean that Jiffy Lube is a scam – it just means they provide a service that many people don’t understand or enjoy – landscapers, housecleaners, pool services, etc.
David,
I’m actually in California so I’m not aware of your deadlines in AZ so maybe I should have reviewed the facts before commenting – my point is that just because somedoy offers to do something that you can do for yourself doesn’t make it a scam.
No in California we actually have a two-tiered system where a person can request an informal appeal directly from the assessors office and if they get denied or if they are not happy with the new number that have the option of taking to an assessment appeals board.
Does AZ have a similar system?
David — You are correct. The fact that the company is masking it as something else is scandalous and thi company may indeed be doing something “not nice” … I was more referring to the type of service as a whole … It is a valid business and it looks like this company is just one of the “bad apples” so to speak. There was a comany here in CA that is getting sued by the state I believe for doing exactly the same thing. It never ceases to amaze me – there are always folks out there looking for the easier softer way.
Have a great weekend.
I live in California and have received several of these letters. I just did a search to see who this company is for the very reason that they do have a very official look.
I agree, it’s not a scam, but they do mislead the consumer by making themselves look official.
This is absolutely a service that one could do for themself, but it may very well be worth paying the $179 (in CA) or not.
More research to do, but thanks for starting the conversation for me!
Best to all,
N Hayward
It is a scam in Arizona because nobody can appeal 2009 values save one exception. That exception is for new owners (those who purchased AFTER December 15, 2008). New owners can appeal to Arizona Tax Court. It costs $142 to file an appeal with Arizona Tax Court because it is filing a small claims case against the County. I seriously doubt the PTRB is going to fork out all but $47 to file at Tax Court.
The saddest thing is the senior citizens who will think it’s a real bill and will pay these ripoff artists.
I hope the California Attorney General socks it to them.
glad to have read the above comments. I WAS ALMOST READY TO SIGN UP WITH THESE GUYS.
They say the estimated savings are $884. That’s more than my whole tax bill.
They should not be allowed to get away with this.
Judy Fremerman
We just got our special notice from “The Property Tax Review Board.”
Thanks for the heads up – both online and on the news. I hope this fraudulent group gets busted and goes to jail! Some savings! đ
First of all…we did not try to mask this as bill or a government document and the best way we felt that we could accomplish that was by putting in an outlined box on the OUTSIDE of the envelope THIS IS NOT A GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT. So what the AG is saying is that anyone who received the letter can not read! What your government officials are most upset about is the fact that thier highly lucrative revenue stream (ie your property taxes) is now being highlighted as over taxed and could start dewindling as a result of our mailer. On another note, it also states in our mailer that the fee is not mandatory unless you want us to represent you. Stop drinking the kool aid that your government officials are peddling and open your eyes…
@PTRB – What about the fact that the timeline or deadline for right to appeal has past? Are you given special privileges so that you can still appeal even though the deadline has passed or are you just taking people’s hard earned cash?
@PTRB – In the letter I received, it states as follows:
It goes on to list in the center:
Finally on back where homeowner signs, it has the following statement:
In light of this, don’t you think that most people would assume that you are offering a service to appeal 2009 taxes and if in fact the deadline to appeal 2009 taxes has already passed, then are you surprised that people think you are trying to scam them?
Maybe in your next mailing you should be a bit more clear about which tax year you are going to appeal. If for 2010, then state that in your letter.
I respect the fact that you are defending yourself here and certainly do not see offering such a service in and of itself as a scam. However the sketchiness of the exact tax year is where I and I’m sure many others have a problem.
How about being a bit more clear on that in the future?
Point taken…
We are not looking to take anyone’s hard earned money…if the homeowners read our authorization it states that it is for the current tax year. Since the deadline of 04/2009 has past this would make your current tax appeal year 04/2010. If people want help and not try to fight the machine (government) on thier know then they can sign up with us for our service it is that simple but for everyone to blast that this is a scam is sadly mistaken. We have invested millions of dollars in our effort to reach out to the public through mail and TV and to build our technology to make this a more efficient, steamlined process for the homeowner…that’s a lot of money to invest in an scam, don’t you think? It’s funny we were all over the TV in Arizona in the month of July and we did not get one single complaint or news article stating that we are a scam but now that we have put something tangible in the homwowners hands that they can sit down with and review all of a sudden now we are a scam…how is that? If you want to read about what we do you can go to our website. And if you think your local and state government is looking out for your best interest you are sadly mistaken as they are just looking to close thier budget gap. Think what you may but we are here to provide a service to the homeowners that sign up with us.
I received my letter today from PTRB. While there are disclaimers in the letter I can see where people would be fooled. What I would like see past customers who where really helped by this group. They also state in their letter that the time frame for review can not be guaranteed. That seems to put them off the hook.
I received one of these letters
Facts
Tax bill approx $1200
PTRB
Charges $189
PRTB CLAIM
40% drop in property value
SAVINGS APPROX 991.12
Their claim is totally unrealistic!
Do the math…
That makes this a scam!
Sorry PRTB but could you please find an honest way to make a living
@ptrb it doesn’t seem like the state of California or Nevada would agree that your services are not a scam.
http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2009/Aug-12-Wed-2009/news/30550320.html
I really love all the anti-government talk you spout out. “If people want help and not try to fight the machine (government) on thier know then they can sign up with us for our service it is that simple but for everyone to blast that this is a scam is sadly mistaken.”
You make it sound as if buying is rebelling, sorry ptrb there be no shelter here……..
Of all the responses David’s quotes really brings it home. The only thing he left out is where it said “RETURN THE SIGNED AUTHORIZATION FORM NO LATER THAN 09/11/2009”
Yeah it does say to assure prompt processing before that but be honest now PTRB, your counting on all the people stressed out looking for anything to get relief. You are wrong and should stop defending. If your goal is to offer a legit service take a more direct honest approach. Integrity will speak for it’s self as the lack of integrity has here. I don’t trust you
I would be willing to give them a try and pay them once I saw something from the government here in Nevada. Any time somebody wants something up front I worry that it would be a scam. They have enough information on us in their letter that I think trust should be two way. Perform and I pay.
The arizona attorney general has filed a lawsuit with this company. And the post office box in Arizona isn’t even owned by the owner of the company. If you are legitimate, why have a “friend” open the post office box. Plus, the deadline for the 2010 tax appeal has passed also.
In my mother’s letter, it states the estimated savings are $660.40. Her tax bill was less than $500.00! So, if you are legitimate (and my mother dealt with a legitimate service in NY), you would get all your facts straight and you would not charge that much for this service.
I am a resident of Clark County NV and today 8/17/2009 recived one of these letters claiming that they can reduce my property tax by $926.10 for “property tax year 2009”. Al I had to do was pay $189.00 to them. So baised on the fact that the date for 2009 tax appeals has pased makes this a fraudulent document/letter. I am passing this letter on to my attony and Congress man to see if this Company and practice can not be closed down forth with. If any one else has these letters please contact your Congress man.
PTRB, Your business service may not be a scam but I think even you will admit that “Property Tax Review Board” sounds like an official government agency even if you disclose on your form its not. I think you will admit that companies that resort to this kind of trickery (face it, that is what you’re doing), is tied to sleeze.
BUSTED!!!!!! Looks like Mike Liville above says he doesn’t agree with this business. Funny, because Mike above is the owner. Read this link. The owner says the exact thing said above. Apparently, the owner doesn’t even agree with this type of business. Busted Mike!! http://www.kpho.com/houseandhome/20321829/detail.html
You guys, I researched these threads, the topics and the names online and those advocating this service above are the owners of the company. Just google the company and you’ll see the same quotes by “Jon Smith” above as you do the owners on official news stories.
Looks like Mike Liville is using the old “give up a little to gain credibility” tactic. He says he doesn’t agree with what the business is doing but then goes on to finish by blessing it and saying they are a legit business and its not a scam. He asks questions about Arizona and says he doesn’t agree with this business. Its an old tactic used to gain credibility among strangers online as well as disguise himself.
I and my wife got the letter in our mail box. My wife was insistant that we sign up. But as a Nigerian Attorney, I was uncomfortable with the letter, and asked my wife to allow me do a due dilligence on the company. I called the PTRB on their toll fee # 800-581-0628, and one carolyn answered the phone. I asked if they have a physical address, and she gave me their office in california, with due respect to californians, the memtioning of california, made all my ears to stand out, and I then asked, where is their office in Arizona. she said they do not have office in Arizona, I then asked, if I have serious problems and would want to attend the court proceedings in Arizona, where can I meet their official to discuss these issues. Carolyn, stated they will take care of the problem.
My next move will be calling the Arizona AG’s office, to get more information on this company and the Arizona corporate affairs commission, to see if they are registered company in Arizona.
For now, I will reserve my judgement until my final investigation. The PTRB address given to me is-11856 Balboa Blvd, ste. 230, Grandab, California 91344
Thanks for this information and website.
I received a notice from these guys today as well. When I saw the name of the sender, my first thought was what’s this about. On opening up the letter what first caught my eye is that the amount they listed as my 2009 assessment amount was not right, not even close – they listed my 2006 purchase price! I immediately looked closer at the sender block and only on that closer examination did I see the “not a government agency” notice beneath the company name.
In Maricopa County, assessor records are available online – there’s no reason that they should be this far off (in my case approx. 100,000) on my 2009 assessed value if they were a company that were offering a service they intended to deliver to the customers they are targeting.
just a plain thank you
The link below, is from PHX Channel 15 ABC. The story is interesting in that the post office is holding mail to a company called “Property Tax Review Board”. They say there are 3,200 envelopes with checks for approximately $600,000.
The Postal Inspector is calling it a scam. If you sent money you are in luck.
http://www.abc15.com/content/news/investigators/consumeralerts/story/Victims-may-get-money-back-in-property-tax-scheme/ZMThjLrsPEGj-5LQhgXQew.cspx
I got one here in CA today offering to save me 636 bucks on my tax bill, but the assessment reduction it proposes is way off from the notice I already received from my local Tax Assessor. The county just reduced the valuation on my property from 127k to 55k, this company proposed the reduction would go down to 77k, I do better sticking with the county’s proposal yes? Thanks for the heads up I was researching this company and I do believe the CA state attorney general just proscuted a similar company that was taking in fees and not doing what they said they would do regarding reducing a homeowners property taxes by reassessment.
My mom also received a letter in Las Vegas N.V. she was getting ready to mail it out with a check, until i told her to let me check it out on the website first.IM GLAD I DID!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INFORMATION!!! They were about to get one more check!
If you got suckered into this like I did you can call HPTRB at 1(800)581-0628 and they will give you a refund.
It’s in California too, I rec’d one for 2009 clearly printed in bold black numbers on the outside & inside of the envelope. I did my for free. This should be splashed all over the news 24/7 because property taxes will be done very soon.
I rec’d three letters.(2 in 10/10/09)
I check “CA 90041-0558” from Google. this Zip Code is
Southwest Museum
P.O. Box 41558
Los Angeles, CA 90041-0558
323-221-2164
Show in “la county arts commision.”
I checked Southwest Museum , the add inf is different.
It need to be verified.
I called the 800 number printed on the letter today, and the number is no longer in sevice.
I live in Los Angeles. I received a letter from the so-called “HOMEOWNER PROPERTY TAX REVIEW BOARD” as well.
Even though the deadline for reassessment Dec. 31 in LA has not yet passed and it is not illegal for them to design the name of the company and the letter in a format similar to property tax notice to make people think the letter is from the government, I still consider it a scam because it says the Processing fee of $189 is “Now Due”.
The fact is that the home owners do not owe them any money until they sign up to be scammed.
I do not owe them any payment as I have not signed up to be scammed, therefore the expression of Now Due under the $189 is a lie.
However, if it had said “Due On Signing” then it would not be a lie but then people would be less likely to be scammed.
Is there any government agency to crack down on scammers like these?
easytaxfix.com recommended on this site is very good.
I typed in the property address and it told me that I would NOT be able to save significant amount of money by applying for reassessment.
I believe it is an honest business website because it won’t charge you for the information if it is worthwhile for you to apply for reassessment of that property and it tells you honestly if you cannot save enough money in the reassessment.
A crooked company may charge you lots of money to apply and give you false hope even though it knows that your saving is too little to worth applying for reassessment.
I got one of their letters too. I am in California. I paid $189 understanding that PTRB would help me reassess my property so I wouldn’t have to pay my taxes or at least lower my property taxes. They didn’t do sh**. They just took my money! False hope….exactly.
I reside in TN, and have received this letter for my home in TN, as it states in accordance with California Law. How can this company assess my property tax in TN as a California organization, NOT POSSIBLE. This has all the makings of a SCAM. There are no telephone numbers to cantact anyone for confirmation if they were ligetimate ther would be a service number. Don’t be fooled!
Thank you for posting! My husband thought it was legit but I was more skeptical and your blog was the first site when I searched the PTRB.
I’m in CA and the letter is very deceiving since it even looks like real property tax letter – font, has the assessor’s ID number, etc.
So sad that they would try to take advantage of people who might take the bait due to difficult financial situations.
Thanks again for confirming my skepticism about this. If it’s too good to be true, it is.
I work for an attorney in the Los Angeles Area and was getting ready to forward our client’s property tax bill to him along with Homeowner Property Tax Review Board letter telling of the savings to be had if we pay $189. I went online because I thought it was fishy and found your website which confirmed my thoughts. Thank you for putting this information out there so people can be informed.
Thanks All!
I went to easytaxfix.com like Simon suggested and though the letter from the HOMEOWNER PROPERTY TAX REVIEW BOARD said my propose assessed value would go down 60,000 I found out it would go UP 277,000!!! If that isn’t a scam, I don’t know what is! Thanks to all of you for your smart posts.
I am in LA County and have received probably 4 of these letters. It is a scam in that the letter is laid out, colored to look official like it has come from the county assessor’s office. Deceiving to say the least.
I two just received a letter from PTRB also happen to get my property tax bill the same day I’m from California. At first I thought it was good. Then I saw the P.O box and only my husband’s name’ and no phone #.. so went on line and find you.. I well not send any money. I’ll send the letter to my congress men. Thank you M. Serrano
I did this last year and got screwed. I’m not saying i thought they were an offical agency or anything i read the letter and knew it was a pay for service company, but i did think they would file on my behalf. also they said if i did not qualify i would get my money back.
well…no reduction and no refund! DONT DO IT.
I just received the letter.
Thank’s for the heads up everybody.
I’m in Los Angeles, and I just got one of these solicitations – coincidentally, on the same day as my new property tax bill. The envelope looks almost identical to the County Tax Assessor’s – even the same postage machine and blue ink. The enclosed form looks so much like my property tax bill that it took a few minutes for me to realize that this is a phony solicitation purposely made to look like my tax bill so that I’ll send them $189.00. The saddest part of this is that the people who will be fooled are senior citizens who either have trouble reading the small print or are not mentally acute enough to understand that this is not an official mailing from the tax assessor. That it arrived on the same day, in the same mail as the actual tax bill is an obvious ploy on the part of these crooks. Shame on these people. This is certainly unethical, but I’m guessing it’s not actually illegal. How do we get them shut down?
Hey PTRB!
If this is not a scam, why is it that the website you refer us to has an 800 number but when called it states “the number you called is not in service.” Boiler-room operation anyone? No one needs this service! It is easily done by oneself with no hassel. The Jiffylube argument is totally bogus- they are giving you a service and product. This scam outfit is only taking your money for absolutely nothing!
Yours has an 800 number? Mine has no number at all. This is the most blatant scam I’ve seen in years.
@PTRB: There is NO DISCLAIMER on the outside of the envelope I received. Nor is there any indication on the enclosed form that this is NOT an official document. It all looks just too damn real. You guys have a lot of nerve. Sending to my atty genl. now.
OK, folks. Here’s the thing. The Arizona Atty Genl. is suing. Here’s the link, dated August of this year. http://www.kpho.com/houseandhome/20321829/detail.html
This says that the President/CEO of PTRB is one Michael McConville, of Simi Valley, Calif.
If you go to http://www.zabasearch.com, you can see his address in Simi Valley and the names of his family members.
Then if you go to http://www.zillow.com, you can see a pic of his house, which is surprisingly middle class, especially since he seems to be raking in the bucks.
Maybe we should all start writing to him and to his family at home and letting him know how displeased we are with his company.
It’s a more legal action than his scam.
PTRB CONTACT PHONE AND ADDRESS ARE SCAM TOO
CALL THEIR NO. AND LISTEN IT!
THIS IS TOTALLY SCAM!
Hi Good Folks,
I will be sending this “mailer” to a local radio
channel who will pursue if it’s legitimate or not.
This may have an out of country origin..real scam
like set up. Or it’s erally X-MAS or there is a tooth
fairy. Let’s let Ken and John get em.
Lou
p.s.this is my SECOND notice…ha
Damn, I should’ve went to this site first before I sent my money to them. Is there any way to press charges to get our money back?
Are there any attorneys out there looking for a nice class action lawsuit?
If only we can find where their office is and the name of their owner, we can go get em, right?
beubank@msn.com
Michael McConville also has a profile set up on LinkedIn – here’s the link:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-mcconville/9/152/9
If he is truly the owner of PTRB, we need the FBI involved in this Interstate scam case. Anyone with me?
Well here’s another person from California that just got this. The only thing that’s different in its appearance from the regular tax bill is there’s no two payment option. There’s nothing on the outside of the envelope that says ‘this is not a government document’ so I guess they only did that in Arizona after you found them out. There’s also no telephone number to contact them. In print in the section that you must send back with your money it clearly states that ‘This authorization is for property tax year 2009’ Sorry guys our filing date has past too, and we can file for a review for free as far as I’m aware. The only good thing is it does have the assessors ID number and I need to contact them because I haven’t received the actual bill, so thanks for that anyway, but even that is not worth the 189.
I am also in Los Angeles and every year since I purchased my home, I’ve been receiving the same type of letters. Per an article i read in the Los Angeles Times with Los Angeles County Assessor Rick Auerbach stated, “It’s a scam. They’re trying to make you think the letter comes from my office so you’ll pay them to do something you could do yourself for free.” It is also noted in the Los Angeles County Tax Assessor’s website: “There is no reason to pay for a review that will be done for free.”
@PTRB & Mike Liville – Call it what you want, most of everyone posting here will still call it a scam.
scam n. – A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle.
LA Co has them listed as a scam. I e-mail the state AG office to see if they are taking action, as Arizona is, but haven’t heard back from them.
I’ve retained the paperwork it that would do anyone any good but I think the only thing they could go down for would be ‘intent to defraud’. But my fields medicine, not law.
Anyone who has dealt with them should probably keep all their paperwork in one place just in case!
dale
Thanks for the 411 đ Shame on them! Times are tough as it is .. and these crooks want to hurt the honest.
@Mel R – > We all ought to send the $189 to you for helping us all out and exposing this problem. <
Now there’s a novel idea! đ
Thanks for the info – I just received letter from PTRB and went on line to check it out and found this site.
We all ought to send the $189 to you for helping us all out and exposing this problem.
Thanks for putting out sites like this – and who says the internet is not being used for good purposes!!
MRH
My 84-year-old grandmother just received this. With her bad eye sight she thought it was legit bc it looked just like her tax bill. I googled the company name and found this site. I’m glad she waited for me to look into this. She barely has any money left after paying her property taxes. This scam makes my blood boil to think of all those people out there who actually fall for this. The elderly, people where English isn’t their first language, and those who just don’t know any better… What made me laugh is that they valued her house at 70k. Its been appraised at over 500k. And, their “estimated savings” was almost the same as their fee.
I just received my official property tax bill and a very official looking letter from Homeowners Property Tax Review Board asking fo $189.00 processing fee to help reduce property tax as Prop 8 & 13 1978. I was uneasy of course because of fee being requested to process the application. I checked internet and found you. What do I do to help close these thiefs down. Hopefully before they fool elderly and unsuspecting individuals.
it is a scam! if they can do it for $189 to save your property tax and time, it may still worth to do it even you can do by yourself, the problem is I don’t think they can do it, I am in Los Angeles, I brought my house 16 years ago, my house worth about 1 million now even it is down last couple of years, I am paying the property tax for about half million of the value, yet their letter claim they can propose assessment to $32,4000, below the value I brough in 1993,are you kidding, if it is not a scam, what is the scam.
Thanks for the info. I just got one of these. I’m in the Los Angeles area.
Is there anything we can do about this or is there anything in the works at this time being done about it?
To whom it may concern at HOMEOWNER PROPERTY TAX REVIEW BOARD
Tax Reduction Review Division P.O. Box 41558 Los Angeles, CA. 90041-0558
Iâm writing this letter in response to a letter that I’ve received from you last week.
I’d like to express my anger towards you and your likes.
Though you are not, I see you as nothing more then a common thief and see you as one of the reasons why we have 400 new laws written each and every year.
Laws are written because of people like you who go through their lives taking advantage of people. The laws are to stop your kind. The cost and cumbersome that comes with lawmaking would be greatly reduced if you just didn’t exist in our world.
My Son and Daughter in-law fell for your “snare trap” tactics and I’ve taken it very personally. Not only do I expect you not to get away with this, but I intend to seek out a way of stopping you from the continuation of this thievery from the unknowing. Even if it means that ANOTHER law’s to be written.
In all fairness I will say that you’ve sent a legal letter. However, you’ve disguised the letter to appear as if the letter’s a formal document from the Assessor’s office and that is trickery. This is what I base my claim on, trickery.
As if life’s not hard enough for everyone in this world. You come along and pull a fast-one on my kids. My kids who are barely making it from pay check to pay check and you bilk-um out of the better part of two hundred dollars.
You sicken me. GET OUT-A TOWN!
Yes, It is in California too the envelope looks like the one you get for property taxes. I already sent my tax adjustment but I opened it anyway and realize it was a phony one, that is when I research in the internet. Be careful you don’t need to pay anything to adjust your taxes I did it for free. I hope someone catches this people.
I’m in CA and those thieves stole my $179 in 2008.I’m so pissed! I’m trying to get a refund but at this point, I don’t care about my refund as much but I would enjoy seeing them cought and put to jail!!! This is disguisting!!! DO NOT SEND YOUR MONEY!!!
Visit the following website to see how big of a scam they are:
http://www.ucan.org/blog/money_privacy/consumer_scam/property_tax_reassessment_scam?page=2
This is happening in California! And contrary to what PTRB posted on this blog, there is NO BOX ON EITHER THE ENVELOPE OR THE DOCUMENT THAT STATES THAT THIS IS NOT A GOVERNMENT AGENCY.
FYI
I e-mailed good ‘ol Jerry Brown (AG State of CA) re this and got a letter in the mail today 11.12.09. Of course they say all such companies are scam because you can get the service free through the assessors office. On the end of the letter, however, is this infor which might be useful to others.
IF YOU ARE A VICTIM OF THIS SCAM, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Public Inquiry Unit at http://www.ag.ca.gov/consumers or by writing to POB 944255 Sacramento, CA94244
dale
RE: PTRB A red flag goes up when you cannot spell a simple word as Their or There. You spell it Thier!You should proof read your spelling when requesting homeowners hard earned money! Are you from another country? or are you just too lazy and greedy to proof read first?
I was ready to sign a check and send it because it completely looked official. I thought this letter came from the Los Angeles County, but I am glad curiosity got the best of me and searched it online. What bothers me is that it looks very official.
Teresa, Los Angeles
Thanks for bringing this issue to everyone’s attention. This so-called “service” is indeed, a scam. This company has been heavily active in the Southwest but thanks to a number of government warnings from offices such as the Nevada Attorney General and the California Attorney General, hopefully homeowners are being armed with the right information.
This type of fraud can be particularly dangerous because worries about scams may prevent people from using legitimate appeal services, which means that millions of people remain overassessed and paying too much in taxes. Here at ValueAppeal (www.valueappeal.com), we get calls and emails from consumers that are concerned – we’re glad they contact us so that we can help them, but it’s still worrisome that so many people are confused.
Here are a few things to look for in a non-scam service:
1) Make sure they have a money-back guarantee, but not a success guarantee. No company can guarantee you a successful appeal. If they aren’t prepared to refund your money if your appeal isn’t successful, you shouldn’t work with them. At ValueAppeal, for example, we simply refund our fee if the appeal isn’t successful.
2) Know your chances up front. Any legitimate service should tell you, before you pay a single dollar, whether appealing is right for you each year. At ValueAppeal, you simply enter your address and we indicate whether appealing might make sense and why; any service that doesn’t allow you to find out this information beforehand doesn’t deserve your money. Depending on which county youâre in, if you type ten different addresses into our homepage more than half will return a result of âYouâre Not Overassessedâ. We wonât tell you to appeal if you donât have a strong chance of winning.
3) No obligation. After you’ve been told whether or not an appeal is in your best interest, legitimate services should contain no obligation to use the service. That is, once an appeal recommendation has been made, you should be able to choose between creating an appeal using the service or to try to gather the information on your own. We know from our customers that a ValueAppeal appeal has a better chance of succeeding, but once you find out that you’re eligible, there is no obligation to work with us – you can gather the comparable sales information on your own and file on your own.
Those three rules are a good way to determine whether a service is a scam or not, but if you’re concerned, feel free to give us a call here at ValueAppeal – we try to keep-an-update list of scams and good services around the office, and we’re happy to help you understand your options.
I lived in Los Angeles County, I received a letter from “Homeowner Property Tax Review Board”, Tax Reduction Review Division, last October 2009. I responded and I paid $189 understanding that PTRB would help me reassess my property so I wouldnât have to pay my taxes or at least lower my property taxes. This Review Board did not do anything I want my money back. Actually, on the back of the form it state, “If, after our review, it is determined you do not qualify for a reduction, your service fee will be immediately refunded”. For past 3 months I have not heard from them. But, I received another letter from PTRB asking for another fee for $167.00 payable to Annual Property Tax Review that this evil person did not do anything or no action at all. It is a shame how you earn a living, “FRAUD and SCAM”.
Please, help me how can I get my money back. I am not rich person I work very hard to bring food on my table. I am a victim for this scam. PLEASE HELP…..
Here is what we got in respond to a complaint with County of LA Dept. of Consumer affairs.
“We are happy to announce that The District Attorney’s Consumer Protection Division filed criminal charges against the suspect, Sean McConville. In addition, he also faces a civil lawsuit filed by the State of California Attorney General’s Office.”
If you haven’t filed a complaint yet please do it asap, the letter also states that we will be notified if our money is available for refund.
I can’t believe how these people sleep at night, knowing they have taken money from hard working people. How far can a person go to steal money, if anyone files a lawsuit I’m in, unfortunately I too sent them money in good faith. But I do believe in carma.
Yep: IT IS A SCAM.
ken,
I just recieved my check back froom a comapany called Walkoutplan Inc
Andre