Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  04/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I few days after burying my sister, House Purchase Direct LLC sent me a letter asking if I wanted to sale her home. There is no way to contact these folks so I ignored the first letter. Here it is 8 months later and they are sending out more request letters. The letters are sent by Paul ******* at XXX-XXX-XXXX. While I am not sure how this person obtained my address I find this LLC to be insensitive and irresponsible and wish their campaign of letter writing to me to stop.

  Business response

  05/24/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/05/09) */ Dear BBB, Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. It is our utmost goal to have 100% customer satisfaction. Our company strives for a delicate approach on sensitive matters. We understand that the consumer may have been surprised to receive our letters asking if they would like to sell their house. This consumer received our letters because they became the owner of a home through inheritance. The owner's information is a matter of public record and is recorded in Circuit Court Land Records. The ownership is displayed to anyone who subscribes to the real estate ownership data. Our company is a court-approved paid subscriber and obtained this consumer's information through legal common means. We specialize in purchasing real estate that has been inherited. We usually contact the family members who are the heirs of the deceased owner. The List of Heirs is published by the Circuit Court ******* ******** Office and is displayed in Land Records. The records include detailed contact information about the heirs. We do not know if the property is for sale unless we reach out to the individuals listed on that document. We sent our first letter for this property to this consumer, who is one of the property owners on record. The letter was mailed fifty-eight (58) days after the passing of their relative. This timeline coincides with when the List of Heirs was officially filed by the ******* Clerk. In any letter we send to a consumer, we write that we understand that the sale of the property may not be a priority at this time, and we always express our condolences to the family. We always have our contact information at the top or the bottom of the letter so the recipients can contact us and ask to be removed from the mailing list. We provide every consumer, including this one, with five (5) ways to contact us: mailing address, telephone number, fax number, website address, and email address. Our business and contact name is included in every letter as well. Additionally, our business card is enclosed with each letter. Our company policy is that we cease contacting a consumer who has replied back to us with a request to be removed from our mailing list. This consumer did not contact us through any of the five (5) means of contact we presented them with. Would we have heard back from this consumer after the first letter was mailed that they would like to be removed from our mailing list, we would have promptly removed them from the list and they would have never received our communication about their property ever again. There were twenty-one (21) months in between our first letter and our follow-up letter. Our letters are very polite, informative, professional, sincere, and put absolutely no pressure on the owners to sell. We simply reach out to those who may be sellers in the future. We provide a valuable service to those who may need it at very hard times in their lives. Our Direct Purchase of real estate saves the sellers any trouble and cost of fixing and cleaning the property while also saving them ********* of dollars in realtor commission and closing costs. We have been in business for nine (9) years and are in good legal standing with all local and state authorities. We apologize for any inconvenience this consumer may have experienced. We have removed this consumer and all other owners of this property from our mailing list. This consumer can be confident that they will never again receive any more communication from us about their inherited property. Respectfully, Paul ******* President Consumer Response /* (3000, 10, 2022/05/11) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) There are privacy laws that apply here. My family was devastated by this thoughtless act and to do it a second time shows no concern or respect for the deceased my sister. Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2022/05/17) */ Dear BBB, We would like to use this response as an opportunity to issue our second apology to the consumer for any inconvenience our mailings may have caused. Per their desired resolution, the consumer can have our assurance that we have removed them and their family from our mailing list, and they will not receive any more letters from our company. It is important to note that real estate ownership data is not private. All real estate transfers, including transfers to the legal heirs, are recorded in Circuit Court. The detailed contact information of the new owners is listed and made available to the general public among the Land Records. Furthermore, their contact information is listed on the City Real Estate Assessor's website. It is also usually available on the City ************ website where the real estate tax payment history is displayed. In addition to that, the City's *** parcel data website frequently lists the ownership details as well. All of this information can be accessed not only by real estate investment companies like ours but also by the general public. Since this information is public, homeowners tend to receive mailings from multiple real estate companies. Our company provides valuable real estate services by offering one of the fastest ways to sell inherited real property. We mail letters to individuals who become the new owners of real estate through inheritance and inform them about our easy and hassle-free direct purchase process. Heirs and executors of the estates contact us back when they are ready to sell. They are also able to reach out to us through the provided means of contact to ask to be removed from our mailing list. We are very thoughtful about how we conduct our marketing, and we strictly follow our mailing policy. If this consumer had contacted us after they received our first letter and asked to be removed from our mailing list, they would have not received the second letter from us twenty-one months later. We have used the original correspondence from BBB as this consumer's official removal request. After we learned that the consumer had no interest in our services, we immediately removed them from our mailing list. We hope that this prompt removal of the consumer from our mailing list, the detailed explanation we have provided about how we legally obtained this consumer's contact information, and our two sincere apologies to the consumer will allow us to resolve this issue in a mutually satisfactory manner. Respectfully, Paul ******* President Consumer Response /* (4200, 14, 2022/05/19) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I would like any and all siblings and family members listed to be removed from your mailing listing. I have communicated with my family and we are in agreement that at the time this was started it was just extremely hurtful and found it to be insulting. While public record viewing maybe the law it's intent is not to make money off of the death of someone. Maybe the State Attorney can address this further. Business Response /* (4000, 16, 2022/05/20) */ Dear BBB, As stated in our two previous responses, and in accordance with consumer's desired resolution, we have removed the consumer as well as any and all siblings and family members from our mailing list.

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