A new Scam in the Area... a different approach
 

Several people in the area have posted this letter on Next Door. Maybe a scam but wonder how many would fall for it. The common thread is the builder referenced on the letter is legit and built the houses in question within the last year. Not sure if the cabinet make is legit or just made up. Always a new scam in the works it seems.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1547813986.jpg

Why do we not have a law requiring phone numbers only be issued to folks who provide verified photo ID? For corps they should be required to provide a list of officers of the corp and verified photo id for same.

A national database of phone abuse reports would be kept and some manner of 3 strikes and you're out rule could be implemented.

Yeas ago when I worked at a business with a 5,000 sq foot very nice building, we had a guy in a uniform come in and start "inspecting" our fire extinguishers un-invited. He had a clip board and looked legit. However I knew we had ordered no such service so I confronted him, and told him to GTFO of the back of the building where it was for employees only. I called for a co-worker named Ron who is a big guy and a we drug the dude to the bosses office. He tried to had him a bill for services rendered. We took his picture, (we were a photolab and studio) and demanded an ID. He said he would sue us if we did not pay and we said we were calling the cops now. He started stammering and ran out the door.

I have little doubt that in many building he could go in, "inspect" the fire extinguisher by noting the tags, and hand some secretary a invoice and many businesses would just pay a $250 invoice for inspections of fire safety equipment.

In Oklahoma the fire department comes through a business and does that for free periodically.

He had a pretty good scam, in that he did preform a service, (sort of) so it was not outright fraud. It did not work on us.

Hah! If they are actually targetting folks that live in River Oaks, I wouldn't think many will fall for it. They have money (and therefore, access to good lawyers). And I would think, if they are making good money, they are probably smarter than the average bear and unlikely to want to piss away money.

If I bought a house, and then someone sent me a bill for something that was done during the building of the house, I would be pretty unconcerned. I bought the house, I didn't build the house, you're talking to the wrong person.

If "Widgets of China Co" built the electronics of the gauge cluster of the 2018 NatCarCo Really-cool-car, and I bought one, then Widgets of China wouldn't contact me to pay the bill for 50,000 gauge clusters, they'd be contacting NatCarCo.

Our fire department does this same thing to note locations, and condition of equipment, also to give the firefighters a mental picture of the floor layout should they have to rush into the building while smoke is rolling out.

Call them. Act scared and frail and not able to travel. You have the check errr paperwork.
File a small claims max. Also advertise in legal times.
Whatever is required.
Guy shows up and you serve him on camera.
Get default judgement.
Send it to collections.

I bought a house that had termite traps in the yard. The previous owner had a service that would bait the traps and do inspections every year. So they sent me a bill. I told them I'm the new owner and don't want the service any more. They told me I had to pay as the traps were already installed.

I told them to get their traps out my yard! Obviously not a scam, but I never signed up for that service.

This is common. I had the same thing on my house in Georgia.

Also had this happen with the lawn service. They showed up when I was out, mowed the lawn, and left a bill behind. It's really the previous owner's fault for not cancelling the services. I paid neither. I did, however, give them the previous owner's new address so that they could pursue him if they designed. I figured it was the least I could do.

It is a real company so not sure what the scam is unless they created a legitimate company just to scam people.

https://riveroaksco.com/

I had a lawn service place come out and mow the yard, and fertilize the yard. Left me a bill. The address was next door. I called them and told them they did the wrong house. I would not make them come suck up the fertilizer if they did not mind that I do not pay. They said sorry, and then sent the crew back to do my neighbors yard.

It was not a scam, just a nice mistake for my part. Expect my grass grew like mad and I had mow twice per week for a while.

Back to the letter. It may be legit, the contractor may have stiffed the cabinet subcontractor. The current homeowner has nothing to do with that.

I would think any mechanics lien would show up in the title search when you bought your home.

In which case the cabinet contractor is SOL.

And if they try to apply the lien after the title transfer, I'd think that would be easy to defeat.

I could see a skilled contractor able to give the appearance that the money was on its way before the cabinet sub could react...

I think the above describes the situation, exactly^^.

The company on the letterhead is one that specifically aides subs that have been "stiffed" by generals. I believe both the company sending the letter and the cabinet company are legitimate.

The key question is whether or not a mechanic's lien was filed before the houses were sold and titles transferred. Having dealt with contractors/subs on my own home, it was routine to have the liens filed prior to the completion of the project, with releases secured before the general was paid off. I cannot imagine a sub working on a housing tract not filing a mechanic's lien as soon as he begins supplying product to the development. If that's the case here, the homeowners may be on the hook, regardless of the title search.

Each home owner likely has a title insurance policy if the home was purchased with a mortgage. If I had received such a letter, I would be in contact with the title insurer as it was their obligation to research and clear the title before transfer. Yes, they are there to protect the bank's financial interests, unless the owner also purchased an owner's policy as well, but they will have the records for any encumbrances on the title, including liens. The point being, if the sub did file an lien and it was missed in the title transfer, the insurance company should take care of it.

I'd suggest that anyone who received the letter should take it seriously and, at the very least, contact their bank, title insurance company, or a real estate attorney to seek advice.

For several reasons related to diction, I doubt the legitimacy of that letter.

But beyond that, ROC would either have to be a law office or a licensed collection agency to engage in the actions portrayed by that letter without violating the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

No legitimate company would attempt to enforce a lien in this way.

Cannot disagree with this^^.

Could very well be a commandeering of both the River Oaks and the cabinet maker's legitimacy. Regardless, I would not ignore it. A simple call to the real River Oaks company, through their website, not the number on the letter, or the title insurer should put any question of a scam to rest.

casting my vote with MikeSid as well.

The last paragraph about how there will be no other chance to settle it in a monetary fashion leads me to think it is a scam- what, if you don’t pay off of that first letter you’ve ever seen, you’ll be sent to jail?

You'll have a hard time selling/buying anything in this area that doesn't have the traps in the yard..

This is to scare you into paying even though you really don't owe anything. The paragraph about there being no chance to settle is to discourage legal action, similar to the signs on the backs of dump trucks that say "not responsible for items thrown from vehicle". This is absolutely untrue and designed to fool you into not pressing the matter.

Even if it was legit, the Title Company is liable. Check your title insurance provisions.

I purchased my first house when I was 20. A couple weeks after settlement I got a letter from the US attorney generals office notifying me they had placed a $250k lien against my house due to previous owner mortgage fraud. I panicked a bit and drove over to the closing by attorney (DE is an attorney state). Attorney said a lien filed after settlement isn’t valid but even if it was, that’s what title insurance is for and that’s why as a buyer you purchase it for you and the bank (the bank makes you but it’s optional for the buyer). I had placed a 20% down payment on the house so buyer title insurance was a good move. Attorney general’s office eventually sent another letter telling me the lien had been removed.

Previous owner / slumloard went to jail because to buy his houses, he said they would be owner occupied. Mortgage fraud caught up with him.

I’d like to see a copy of the “current judgment.” That language sounds like there was some legal action against you that you were (apparently) not made aware of at the time.
The whole thing sounds phony to me. I’d contact the company and feel them out. L,

Update Re: OP

They closed on the house almost 2 years ago. The house was a spec house, built by a custom home builder and already completed when they bought it, they had nothing to do with the actual building of the house. 2 others using the same builder have received this letter.

As someone pointed out the business on the letterhead is legit and specializes in this type work. Lady who posted the letter says they have contacted the builder who profess no knowledge this. The title is company is researching the issue. Next step will be attorney if necessary.

The wording in the letter is somewhat strange not to mention threatening so I would think this would not have been the first notification of an unpaid bill but who knows.

The homes in the development this house is in are all custom built and start at $400K or so and up to $1M... not the demographics of the usual scam target for something like I wouldn't think ?

The whole thing is kind of strange. Hopefully the lady will post the results of what happened with this ?

Happened to me when I bought my house back in early 2000...

Moved in, a few months later there is a Home Depot work group in my yard. Apparently the door I had the PO replace (it was rusted through, etc) before closing the PO cancelled teh check used to pay for both the door and installer. Home Depot actually sent a group to repossess a utility room door.

19 years later to almost the day, I still have the door and haven't heard crap from the HD folks.

With the above information^^, a clearer picture seems to be emerging.

Rereading the letter in the context of this new information makes me believe the letter is a cut-and-paste of a letter sent to the original builder as that is the one who would have contracted with the cabinet company and would have been aware of failure to pay notices and a judgement, if actually litigated. This is, possibly, an attempt to by-pass the builder who is not responding/paying and collecting a judgement from later purchasers who, through ignorance/fear, think they are liable. Naturally, the builder would deny any knowledge so I wouldn't trust his word on this matter.

The owners response, having the title insurance investigate and, if needed, an attorney, is the appropriate action, IMO.

River Oaks mission statement: "Our firm also specializes in construction litigation and lien acquisition, helping contractors settle disputes on projects that have not been paid out on."

Appears to be alleged non-payment by construction contractor and that should not be liability of purchaser. Title insurance/searches are supposed to prevent, or cover, this type of issue. If not a total scam of course.

The only problem I foresee is that the owner may not have an owner's title insurance policy. The typical policy is only for the lender's money should a problem arise. Any errors on the deed, improper search, or, in this case, claims against the house from a previous owner would only be covered by an owner's policy.