After surviving the ills of predatory lending and predatory foreclosure, Florida homeowners have been complaining about a new type of predator.
A company named “Florida Certified Record Retrieval” has been attempting to dupe Floridians into paying $50 or more to receive a "certified" copy of their housing deed, which is otherwise an easily and inexpensively obtainable document.
"Florida Certified Record Retrieval" contacts homeowners by sending an official-looking letter. The letter contains the homeowner’s address and specific details of the homeowner’s home purchase to make the letter seem legitimate. Don't be alarmed- all the information within the letter is actually freely available as part of public record.
As is actually stated in the fine print of the predatory letter, “Florida Certified Record Retrieval” is not in any way affiliated with the state of Florida or any local government. They are simply a private company that makes money from intimidating people into requesting freely obtainable government records.
Amerihope Alliance Legal Services would like to warn homeowners to not fall victim to this scheme or any other similar scheme. If you need a copy of your deed for loan modification, foreclosure defense or any other purpose, simply visit your local county clerk’s website and request it. Since your deed is part of public record, it will be free or inexpensive to obtain.
See an example of a letter from “Florida Certified Document Retrieval” below: