CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Letters bearing an official-looking seal for a clerk’s property office are making the rounds in Montgomery County, alerting homeowners that the deed to their property has been transferred and they should pay to get a copy of the information. However, the letters trace back not to any local office but to a document company in Florida.
Julie Chadwick Runyon, Montgomery County Register of Deeds, said numerous homeowners have contacted her office about the letters from a “Clerks Property Office” with a Nashville address.
“The letter requests that consumers send a check or money order to a clerk’s office in St. Petersburg, Florida,” Chadwick Runyon said. “While the letter may or may not contain accurate information regarding an individual’s property, it is not from the Montgomery County Register of Deeds Office.”
‘Something just didn’t sound right’
Carol Smith, a Clarksville resident, received one these letters. She told Clarksville Now that at first glance, it looked official, but upon closer inspection, there were a couple of eyebrow-raising issues. “The more I read through this, the more it just didn’t sound right,” Smith said.
On the first page of the letter, in the upper left-hand corner, there is an address for 901 Broadway, Nashville, TN. A Google search shows that’s the location of a U.S. Postal Office.
In the first paragraph, the letter requests that Smith return a check or money order for $89 to “Clerks Property Office” in St. Petersburg. On the return envelope, the same Florida address is listed again. This address also belongs to a U.S. Postal Office, but it is also associated with a business: FL Document Services LLC.
What alarmed Smith was the amount of personal information they had about her and her home, although there were some discrepancies. Smith said she had purchased her home in Clarksville many years ago, but the purchase/transfer date on the letter listed Aug. 19, 2022.
In the middle of the letter, the “Clerks Property Office” has a statement that says:
“The documents offered by this advertisement are available to Tennessee consumers free of charge or for a lesser price from your local county office. You are NOT required to purchase anything from this company and the company is NOT affiliated, endorsed, or approved by any governmental entity. The item offered in this advertisement has NOT been approved or endorsed by any governmental agency, and this offer is NOT being made by an agency of the government.”
BBB and Davidson County warnings
FL Document Services, which shares an address with “Clerks Property Office,” has a current F rating from the Better Business Bureau and is not accredited.
The BBB says it has have identified a pattern of consumer Scam Tracker activity filed against FL Document Services LLC. regarding solicitations sent to businesses in the mail. “A series of complaints allege the solicitations are designed to look like government notices, requiring payments to be sent to in order to obtain current federal labor law posters,” BBB states.
FL Document Services LLC currently has 35 customer complaints on the BBB website.
The letters also made the rounds in Nashville, and Davidson County Register of Deeds Karen Johnson issued a news release in May 2022 saying the letters contain “false and misleading information.”
“We have heard from homeowners who are alarmed by these mailings,” Johnson said in the news release. “The letter they have received falsely states that the recipient’s property has a new owner Even the official-looking ‘Clerks Property Office’ seal on the mailing is bogus.”
Suffering a shared name
In trying to contact FL Document Services for comment, Clarksville Now reached FL Document Services in Florida and uncovered an additional matter: Two companies that share the same name.
In August 2022, a paralegal on the Florida-Georgia border opened her own business: FL Document Services. Owner and proprietor Theresa Wheeler said the said her company helps customers complete paperwork to represent themselves in court and avoid attorney fees.
She later found out about FL Document Services LLC. Despite sharing a nearly identical name, Wheeler is not associated with the LLC. But she has been dealing with the backlash.
“The last year has been a nightmare,” Wheeler told Clarksville Now. “I have had every demographic call me. This has been a year for me, I’ve had 500 calls about this, I kid you not.”
She said she has tried to separate herself from the LLC, but little can be done. “I have to explain to them (callers) that I am not associated with them (LLC),” Wheeler said. “All I can say is, ‘That’s not my company. Check the Better Business Bureau before moving forward.”
Clarksville Now has left messages with FL Document Services LLC seeking comment.
Property fraud alerts
Chadwick Runyon said her office has tools available to help keep residents safe. The Register of Deeds office has a free Fraud Alert service at www.mylandalert.com, to assist with the early detection of property and mortgage fraud. Residents are encouraged to sign up since fraud can come in many forms.
“For example, identification impersonation can happen when someone steals your identity and uses it to transfer the property title to themselves or the impersonation is used to borrow money against a property. We want you to be protected. Signing up for the service is one way to help protect yourself and your property,” said Chadwick Runyon.
The Property Fraud Alert notification service alerts subscribers via email or text each time a document is recorded with their name on it.
“It is important to know that if a document meets the state’s recording requirements, my office is legally mandated to record it. That is why I am making every effort to educate Montgomery County residents of the potential threats and encourage Montgomery County residents to sign up for the free Fraud Alert service. While I cannot prevent fraud, I can work to help protect our people by deterring it,” added Chadwick Runyon.
For questions or a copy of your deed, contact the Register of Deeds Office at 931-648-5713 or regdeeds@mcgtn.net.