Bogus tax bill arrives in the mail
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Did any of you receive a “bill” in the mail to have your house reassessed? It looks remarkably like something endorsed by Butte County. The format looks like a tax bill, right down to the green payment envelope.
I received one in the mail yesterday, and scanned the back for the small print. It is a company trying to make a wind fall by offering to be your agent in contacting the county to request a reassessment.
$179, plus a late fee if you don’t respond right away! That is a lot of money for making one phone call. I called the county myself last year. I got a real person on the phone. A very nice person.
They set up my house for review, and the value was decreased. Not by as much as I wanted, but they promise to review it again this year.
When I read this notice yesterday, it made me mad. I could just see senior citizens writing that check with money needed for food or medication. I called Butte County to verify the scam, then called KHSL TV. I emailed them the scanned mail, and they ran a story with the warning on the morning news.
If you bought your house in 2005, or even from 2004 to 2007, call the county yourself first! Here are some phone numbers.
