HELLO!! to earthquakeja. I cancelled and still they charged my credit card then I called, I was promised an email confirming the cancellation and that they are going to give my money back. the first time I cancelled, the lady did not give me a cn, then the second time I called I demanded for one. I now wonder if they are just making up those numbers, I'm tempted to call again just to see, maybe I will. I cancelled my cc, I called the better business bureau, I reported them ti IRC. Oh and I recorded my second call just in case, such liars. KARMA KARMA KARMA KARMA KARMA KARMA.....

A few months ago I ordered some Acaiberry pills in a trial promotion and cancelled within the alotted time allowed. I got charged another three months and just happened to catch them in signing me up for three other services that simply sent email advise that I didn't want. DON'T order any kind of service online and give out you cc number! The crooks seemed to have taken the same classes on how to scam in this modern world. I'ts not a bad idea to get rid of all your credit cards too evn if it will initially lower your credit score because they too are fast learning how to take your money within giving you anything of value in return. It would be nice if we had an attorney general that could shut down crooked operations without undergoing long negotiations with them in trying to get them to be more consumer friendly.

Hello Co,

Also most all houses on the market in Phoenix are Foreclosures or Short Sales.

Click the link for my website and search all of Maricopa County Homes on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
from the Front Page. You don't have to sign in, you don't have to give your name, email, or phone #.

Have Fun And Stay As Long As You Want

Phyllis JC Anderson, GRI
Liberty One Realty
602-316-0115

Re Jeff Hudson's recommendation of http://www.finestexpert.com - I used the link to check some houses in the Bloomington, Indiana area where I have been looking for a home for the past year. I would take this site's evaluations with a grain of salt. Some examples -

1120 W 8th St Bloomington IN, 47404 Ask Price: $89,900 Est Value: $182,000
been on the mkt for a year, my agent says it is leaning and has structural problems, new roof and application of siding is substandard. not worth the asking price.

1304 S Lincoln St Bloomington IN, 47401 Ask Price: $169,500 Est Value: $234,500
we had a contract on this house, but backed out for personal reasons. It was appraised by the local bank at its listing price, not $234k. nice duplex for an investor, but I agree w the bank.

1402 S Woodlawn AV Bloomington IN, 47401 Ask Price: $109,000 Value: $210,000
this place has been sold. it was shown to us by our agent and I was embarrased that he took us there - it was a mess inside and out, and sits across the street from a large ugly commercial facility [closed? factory or warehouse]

225 N Hillsdale Dr Bloomington IN, 47408 Ask Price: $169,900 Est Value: $253,600
225 S Hillsdale Dr Bloomington IN, 47408 Ask Price: $169,900 Est Value: $199,900
why it is listed 2x and with different evaluations is anybody's guess. Student rentors and landlord disinterest is what I imagine led this one to its current messy state. central location is ok, but backing out of driveway... better remember your seat belt.

I TOO GOT RIPPED OFF NOW A DAYS THERE IS NO REASON TO USE THESE COMPANIES FIND A REAL ESTATE AGENT WITH LIST MY SISTER RECENTLY BOUGHT A HOUSE EXCELLENT PRICE EXCELLENT CONDITION USING A REAL ESTATE AGENT

I have been on Realty Trac and subscribed to their services, I am searching for listings in San Mateo, Ca. I have spend tons of hours and when I finally found a reasonable priced REO, the next thing I would is to get more information and the property Value from Zillow and Cyberhomes.
I found myself spending my days just like that, and barely finding anything or if I did found one, it was a week already too late.
So I just keep searching and searching the Internet for other websites until I came across http://www.finestexpert.com and found out that they have done all the searching and comparing that I usually do. And they also have an online tool that you could filter for example San Mateo by 35% minimum discount and instantly find the discounted deals that is not included in Realty Trac but also more sources.
That's a lot of information without spending too much time on researching

I used to work for E-Harbor Inc. They are located in orem, Utah and realty trac is just one of their sites that charge you 39.95 or more a month... After I got fired for bogus reasons I have found nothing but bad things about the company. And am actually glad I am no longer associated with them.

Does anyone know what mortgage broker John S works for? Where is this brokerage located?
Only a morgage broker sharing the same ethics as RealtyTrac could entertain such a position. They have no shame and clearly believe themselves to be without blame. They evolved from the same swill as Madoff and Perlman. It is from the actions of the likes of these and JOHN that we all pay a high cost today.

My advice to you is, cal there, make sure of what is really happen, and them hire a lawyer if the situation go really to bad. Credit cards are really dangerous. If you still can, take it away, dont have it. Good lucky with all.

I have to respond to Fredrick 7 answer..... Although this company may be unethical in their practices that gives you NO right to stereo type people. Because the CEO is Italian their associated with the mafia? Please! so I suppose if he were Japanese or Chinese they would be with the triads right? Its people like you who give absolutely no thought to what you say you open your mouth and sh--- just runs out. Think before you speak Italian's are proud people most our very good people and regardless of what you think we or our fathers are not all mob bosses or in the Mafia. Stick to the question no one wants to hear your assumptions.

Stay away....I've had the same problem and ended up having to cancel my credit card as they simply would not stop charging it. Sorry to hear this happened to you also.
http://www.azrentalhomes.com

Ok, I read quite a few "answers" to the question and I'm really quite surprised how clueless a lot of you are. Who goes onto a website and types in their credit card info without wondering what it's for? Then you somehow agree to pay $49.95 on top of that? They just don't charge you without your consent. You agreed to it, you just didn't pay attention to what you were doing. You should mad at yourself for your own carelessness, not Realytrac. People who say they cancelled their 7 day free trial and still got charged are obvious liars. When you cancel you get a confirmation number. No confirmation number means you didn't cancel.

When you sign up for the 7 day free trial there is usually some type of promotion on the screen. I've signed up for the 7 day trial 2 different times with 2 different credit cards without being charged for anything. How is this? Well I actually paid attention to what I was clicking and I took the time to read the terms and conditions because I just don't type my credit card information on any website I feel like. I cancelled on the 6th day or sooner too. So, I'm not an angry clueless dude typing away garbage about a company that makes things perfectly clear up front because I actually read about what I was getting myself into.

For those people that think a 7 day trial is garbage because you're required to give your credit card info, you should open your mind a bit and think about why it is they do that. It's pretty simple. Yet, if you're the guy or gal typing your credit card info in with little or no thought about why they require it then I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that you blindly agreed to pay $49.95 on top of that. Anyway, they ask for a credit card number so you can't continually abuse the 7 day free trial. Without the credit card people could make up random info to get the free trial. Most people I know also have more than one e-mail address too. So with the requirement of providing your credit card info it also limits the abuse of their 7 day free trial. I

'm sure many people like realtytrac and let the trial roll over into the montly membership. I can't believe that a company that I hear quoted all the time on the news for real estate info gets by on scamming people. There are so many bogus accusations of fraud made by people on this site and other sites it's not worth my time to address it more than I already have.

I have to finish this with a last parting shot.

"My book keeper pays the bills" and "they charged me for 6 months and I just figured it out" and the other balogne excuses on here are pretty funny to me. It's not realtytrac's fault that you don't pay attention to what you're doing and that you don't monitor your bank and credit accouints. It's not their fault that you agreed to their terms and conditions and provided your personal info including credit card number more than willingly. You want to make a fast buck off a foreclosure but you can't even read terms and conditions. You people should be ashamed of your lies and baseless accusations. I unchecked the box for receiving replies. I don't care what people like you think of me and what I said. It's all true, everything I said, all of it. If you don't believe me then you're dilusional. Shape up people!

I just noticed that I have been charged twice by realty trac when I didnt sign up fr nything but 4 days of free trial. I am taking legal action against them if I dont get the money refunded back to my account. The bank suggested that I should stop my current card and get a new card from them to stop the recurring charges.

I too used realtrac for foreclosure info. Got scammed by realestatepromoter ad on realtrac site. I called Promoters and complained. Then I called my bank, closed acct. My bank called Promoters with me on the line in a conference call. Promoters to refund 66% of charges. I am taking legal action against Promoters to recoup balance. Also filed complaint with Utah Atty General and Atty in my home state. Filing criminal complaint in both states. They are thieves. What they do is no less criminal than if they broke into your home and robbed you.

Annette

Good link, good reminder and great suggestion...Thumbs up

Hey folks, make sure you post your experiences on http://www.RipOffReport.com
Let others know about your experience with RealtyTrac

I got scammed as well. This company is a fraud. I cancelled the free trial, then got charged by realestatepromoter.com. Now I have to deal with my credit card company, hopefully I get a refund. Clearly, RealtyTrac.com are thieves, and need to be prosecuted for purposely misleading their customers, and hiding behind bogus and unreadable agreements.

BTW, realestatepromoter.com never sent a bill or e-mail notification, but that's not surprising, considering they would get an angry call from the customer every time.

STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE it is a total scam, i enrolled in their 14 day free trail, yeah right, I cancelled a day too late, they go by Pacific time. They also enroll you in their sister sites, without your knowledge. When I found their $49.95 charge on my bank account, I called them, this is when I was told I was a day late. When I asked about these other sites listed on their websites, they were nice enough to inform me I would be billed seperately for these, I told them I wanted everything removed. Well they could remove one but not the other. They had no information on this site and no phone number to call to cancell. I went to my bank , and they searched all over for the website to enrolls you automatically. The bank then called realtytrac, and what a surprise they found the number. It has been cancelled I hope,

I too was Ripped off. Very brazen scam. Sign here for free trial. Then when you cancel the free trial they forget to cancel your monthly charge - they got me for $300 over 6 months before we sorted out what was happening. This is a criminal organization - the internet is crowded with complaints. My Visa customer service agent was weary from dealing with people disputing RealtyTrac charges. All I can sort out is that like ambulance chasing attorneys, they have found very sneaky ways to legally support what they are doing or the Attorney General would have shut them down by now. I also suspect that they are tied to the Mafia, the CEO is an Italian with the distinct look of a thug that beats up little kids for their lunch money. He's paid PR firms a lot of money to help him win "Businessman of the year" awards, which are an enormous joke b/c they can be bought. He is the master CON ARTIST, the slick Madoff of the internet world. WATCH OUT!!! I even saw a posting on one web site that was full of angry RealtyTrac complaints from one of the company customer sercice reps - it was written as if they are a credible operation. Very effective, until you actually call customer service and the only thing they can tell you is to fill out a form. Dont call us, we'll call you!!! For anyone interested in creating a SCAM business and ripping off people - have a close look at the steps that RealtyTrac takes. You can learn a lot and probably dupe thousands of people out of their money too! Kind of like the master lesson of rip-off artists. I'll bet the people in prison who have access to the internet are all holding classes in honor of the CEO, JAMES J. SACCACIO, thanking him for the rags-to-riches by running slick fraudulent operations!

I did drive-bys on 6 properties in PA that were listed on RealtyTrac's website. ALL were bogus addresses except for one, which had already sold. I have cancelled my membership and am disputing previous charges placed on my credit card, STAY AWAY FROM THIS SITE

I think it's as simple as this.

If any site says.... Absolutely Free...But first give us your Credit Card info, that is a pretty good clue they are Crap.

Any legit outfit is capable of giving you seven free days and then if you wish to continue get your info.

Should ask yourself why they do it the way they do...It's not for your convenience!

Any company that participates in Steering people (Like Trulia) to these types of sites should be ashamed and understand that the public is not stupid.

They are allowing and participating in allowing Realty Trac to Spam their site in exchange for what?

What does it mean about the quality of the information they provide?

I believe someday it will be discovered that someone made a serious error in allowing this Steering to occur, and IMO the sooner the better..

Dunes

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. I signed up for the free seven day trial yesterday and the first REO I found turned out to be bogus, so I went on a hunt for info about RealtyTrac and found this site. I cancelled today and verified with my credit card issuer that there had been no bogus charges made over the last day and then I changed the numbers on my credit card.

Trulia should be ashamed of itself!

I bought into Realtytrac for a while. Only one buyer lead was real. All the others were bogus. The REOs that were listed were bogus too. The lenders I contacted using their information had no information to give on the supposed properties or were not found. I would not advise anyone to use this service. Go directly to the banks.

J.Brock,
In additon to filing a complaint with Attn General and BBB be sure to copy and paste the incident you have reported into http://www.ripoffreport.com
Then use http://www.ripoffreport.com when you consider another provider of services. Way to many make way to much money by these methods. Way too many on this thread beleive it's ok. Those who have been stung need to stop yakking and expose these scrondrels.

8-4-09

This company commits out-and-out fraud.

The parent company of RealtyTrac is supposedly named E-Harbor, and I believe they are based in Irvine, CA but have a “customer service” office in Utah.

I signed up for RealtyTrac's 1 month promotion in Dec. 2008. I inadvertently allowed the 30 day promo period to lapse and called them to cancel on the 31st day, only to be told that I was too late and that I would be billed for the next month. However, they talked me into 3 more months of service for a reduced advance payment, so I took that option and prepaid the 3-month bill of $49.95 in Jan. My Jan. Visa bill listed RealtyTrac, Inc. as the billing company. Access to the site was cut off at the end of the 3-month period and I thought I was done with it.

However, unbeknownst to me, the company used the credit card I paid the RealtyTrac bill with to enroll me, without my knowledge, in yet another service, a “Real Estate Investor Website and URL Center”, http://www.repinvest.com at $44.95 per month which, I just recently found out, started in Feb. 2009 with the billing company being NOT RealtyTrac, but REPROM00. This was clearly a “service” I had not signed up for, nor had any knowledge about. I found out later that REPROM00 is Real Estate Promotions.

Since my bookkeeper gets the credit card bills and writes the checks, I don't see credit card billings unless she has a question. She assumed these billings from REPROM00 of $44.95 each month were legitimate and didn't mention them. I happened to see my July 2009 bill with the charge and called the company on July 6 asking what this was for. They claimed that "I" had set this up which, of course, I had not. The "service" was canceled finally, but only after my pressing of Josh, the representative I was talking to, to do so.

I had never even heard of http://www.repinvest.com, let alone enrolled. After going to this site on July 6 while on the phone to Josh, I discovered that the site is merely a website hosting template for real estate investors, which I would never need for a huge variety of reasons, the main one being that I have an IT person on my staff who implements any website content that I might need. However, I would never need a site like that anyway.

I recently went back through all my credit card bills and discovered that $44.95 had been billed by REPROM00 for http://www.repinvest.com from Feb. 2009 through July. I called the company yet again today and was told they would refund the last 60 days of http://www.repinvest.com which, of course, is not sufficient under the circumstances.

Those of us who have been so bilked need to band together and make sure the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureaus in Irvine, CA and Salt Lake City, UT know about this fraudulent company and puts them out of business. Maybe we should band together and consider a class-action lawsuit as well.

J. Brock

I just found out that Realty trac has been charging me for the last 6 months, I am not good with math or figuring out my charge card bills and found that my checking account was coming up short but could not figure out why. I just realized that it was REalty track taking money from my account when I cancelled within the first 7 days! I spoke with a person named Wichai who could not help me. He put me through to another person where I got voice mail. I asked Wichai if I would receive a call back from the other person today. He would not promise anything. Funny thing is, when I cancelled in December, they said I would not get further charges. But i did. I am not a rich person. That is why I thought these people would help me find a home I could afford. There is nothing you can trust these days. I just want my money back. I am sure they don't need it, but I do.

Foreclosures that are bank owned, HUD or VA owned can be found through a local real estate agent. You can also find info at Hud.gov

If you are looking to buy homes at the courthouse, during the foreclosure process, try contacting your county sheriff. In my area you can find a list on the sheriff's webpage in the civil real estate sales section. They are also posted in a local newspaper.

I am constantly asked about pie in the sky priced homes on Realtytrac. Maybe you can have a new debit/credit card number issued? I had to do that once for an internet service that I had cancelled, but the provider kept charging my card every month.

Hi Co,

Try calling a local title company like Stewart Title in your area and asking for the NOD list. This is the Notice of Default List and you will get all the homeowners in your area that are in default of the mortgage. These homeowners are pre-foreclosure. If you are looking for homes that were previously foreclosured then there is about a 20-60 day lapse from the time the banks take the property back and get them out on the mls listed as a REO. Therefore, you can keep track of properties that are pre-foreclosure as mentioned above and then monitor them all along the process. Good luck!

I am a member of realtytrac, and find it helpful. HOwever, I got 4 months free when I called them and said that I wanted to cancel. I used to subscribe to all of the foreclosure sites ... for comparison shopping ... after all $50 a month is a small price to pay if you find a 'screaming' good foreclosure deal isn't it? But, in the end, I thought that RealtyTrac was the best. Some of the other sites are easier to use, but I found the information on RealtyTrac to be the most up to date. Good luck!

Hi peggy, I must say your luck was in having a good realtor who knew how to get by the red tape and get her clients what they need. I'm afraid seeing something on realtrac is not what got the home of your dreams.
Web sites are great for scanning the horizon just to see whats out ther but the information is not regulalry update. The lucky part or the great part is the agent you pick.. Put the credit where the credit is due.
And I do wish you well in the future, Melody

These guys scammed me bad. Their system stated that my small geographical area was not covered by their service, so I could not use or access anything. They took upon themselves to charge me for the next 4 months. Their computer techs can log right on and tell that I have never used the system. Since my visa bill goes to my bookeeper I was unaware of the charges. They think it is fair to charge me over $200 for nothing. This ought to go over well with the spouse. Thanks a__holes at realty trac.

Please when you encounter businesses like this, those who make 'ignoring your cancelation' a part of there profit concept, you must alert other consumers.

Post your accurate experience on 'RipOffReport.com' and use it yourself before you sign up.
Bank failed to get you home purchase through underwriting within a week of the agreed upon closing date. Let folks know!

Sign up for a CRM trial period and can't cancel! Let folks know!
Buy a program that is so flawed with fatal errors as to make it unuseable! Let folks know.
RipOffReport.com

And, really, I don't understand why anyone uses RealtyTrac. You can get the information for free from a Realtor.

~~

Like FSBOs, it’s another case of penny wise and pound foolish. People think they’re saving a few bucks by cutting the agents out. They think we serve no use and do nothing. Until they have to come on here and ask us questions.

Glad that this question is still getting looked at, even after 2 years. RealtyTrac dillutes this site with poor information. A local real estate agent will give you real foreclosure information - homes you can actually buy. Trulia obviously has a financial tie-in with RealtyTrac, but it is detrimental to the site's credibility.

If it's a scam, report it to your state attorney general. But read the fine print on the web site; I suspect that the continuing charges are stated somewhere on it. Oh, and filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau does absolutely nothing. The BBB is funded by businesses. Not that I'm anti-business, but I wouldn't expect much policing to be done. And even then, the BBB has no--absolutely no--enforcement powers.

Also, notify your credit card company.

And, really, I don't understand why anyone uses RealtyTrac. You can get the information for free from a Realtor. I gladly provide listings of foreclosures in my geographic area to anyone who asks and I know most other Realtors do the same thing.

Hope that helps.

One solution to the trial period SCAM, that is offered so often is to purchase a prepaid credit card, sign up using it to all the "free trial's" that u want, and then immediately spend the balance on the card........they cannot get money from a empty prepaid card.

Well people, if it says free and credit card in the same paragragh it becomes an oxymoron.
There are so many sites free to the public and if you are not getting them from google then it might be time to talk to an agent. So many people think that agent is a bad word or catch phrase. Do yourself a favor, call an agent or two or three and interview them. Get the real up to date answers for free!!! Find an agent who you are comfortable with and sign them on to work with you to find exactly what you are looking for. It is very rare to have a buyer pay an agent, almost always the seller pays (yes even your buyer agent). Do yourself a favor GET THE AGENT, let them do the work and supply you with homes, addresses, and web sites to visit and do your own searches. Remember many of the sites are not updated regularly. But your agent is, and if not can make a couple calls while you go fix a cup of tea, and have not only the basic info about the house you are looking at ,but they can also look up the history of the house to see how long it's been on the market and how often they have done a price drop. they can also look for special words that give a hint as to the motivation and time line the seller might be looking at. There are so many benifets to having an agent with the experience and the tools to help you get the home that meets your needs and will work with your price range
Remember one bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch.....some of us love having the ability to help people reach that american dream...Even though times are tough(including for realtors) there is something out there that will more then reach your needs but will also make you confident in your decision and give you many,many happy years to grow your memories. All you have to do is start with a good (great) agent. you will know when you meet. If at any point in the procecess you feel your agent is not doing their best for you fire them and you owe NOTHING!!!
Good luck to you, give me a call and I'll give you some ideas to help you with your search and possibly how to get your money back
Melody

It is a sucker-scam without a doubt. When I signed up for the "free trial" I read the terms and agreements, opted out of their multi-level company partnership which charges for several different services ($89.00/mo website charge, $20/mo for a useless news service which printed a lot of colorful graphs but little useful information) and other additional fees.. These charges were all billed to my CC even though I had canceled their service after only three days. I could find all the same info from either a real estate agent or from the internet with just a wee bit of effort. They continued to bill me for several months even though I contacted them by telephone and e-mail several times. I finally had to contact by bank card issuer and send them all e-mails and details of phone conversations with dates and times to have it stopped and the charges removed. My advice is don't bite on this bait.

This is just stupid. The old saying that a fool and his money are soon parted is definitely true with these responses. I have tried the realtytrac site. Although I felt that their data was outdated, it was in no way a scam. During the registration, it clearly offers the user with additional services and states that you will be charged after the trial period by these services. Just don't accept these additional services. It's pretty simple if you bother to read what you are agreeing to. People just don't want to take responsibility for their own stupidity.

The question may be old (2007), but the answer never changes.

Do NOT give your Credit Card Number for any "Free Trial" Service.

Because as you have learned, the odds are 100 to 1 that you WILL continue to be charged after you thought you had cancelled the service.

Your recourse at that point is to contact your Credit Card Issuer, and ask for a chargeback or dispute or reversal.

(Years ago I made your mistake - I gave my CC Number to a certain Internet Company that rhymes with "Hey, Oh Hell". I had to cancel the card to stop the billing.)

Wow, the original question was posed in 2007 and it still gets attention today. How interesting is that?

Alright, dont hate me... I have been a local RealtyTrac representative for 3 years. I literally have been contacted by hundreds of people in my area for help with home purchasing so I have a different perspective than many.

Typically, I am contacted by people interested in purchasing a home. Many of these people sign up for the trial period, some sign up for the member service. When a consumer inputs their information into RealtyTracs database, it not only creates a record for RealtyTrac to resource for other "sales opportunities" they want to make to that consumer but it also creates a record that goes out to a local person, like me.

I contact by email ALL of the enrolled people, trial or membership, within 48 hours or less - it is part of my agreement with RealtyTrac and I have exclusive geographical area with RealtyTrac so, I know that it's up to me to get in touch with these people.

In the 3 years that I have represented RealtyTrac locally I have had, and I know some of you are goimg to find this hard to believe, only 1-2 requests per year from the people who sign up to get assistance with getting their cancellations processed. This is based on recieving about 300 enrollments in my area per year.

So, the people who called RealtyTrac directly, did you ever respond to the local representatives attempt to contact and assist you further? If you had, you would have had a powerful ally in your cancellation and hopefully have found a great local Realtor who really understands the local foreclosure market and RealtyTrac.

Many people ask me after they contact me if they need to pay for the RealtyTrac service since I already pay, I am happy to access and share with them the information they are curious about as part of "showing my worth and high level of service" up front. However, some people choose to keep it for extended periods of time.

RealtyTrac is the only aggregator of this type of data on this large of a proportion that I am aware of. I has vendor relationships with some of the biggest companies that serve the internet in the business, Trulia being one of them. While I understand that many people dont find it to be what will serve them well, RealtyTrac does give the consumer what they offer, unlimited access to the data. I just think that the data is not valuable for the average consumer because of the type of data it provides and the usefullness of the data to the average person looking to purchase a single home.

As a consumer myself I really feel for anyone who has tried to get a refund from a big internet company. Overall I find that internet companies are good at taking funds but seem like a deer caught in headlights when it is time to issue a refund. But dont loose hope. In the case of RealtyTrac, ask that local person for assistance. And in the case of my own experience with getting a refund form a big 800 company that sells flowers on a BIG internet web site... after over an hour on the phone and several emails, the company emailed me and said that they were happy to credit my card for $60 and change. That was fun because I only spent about $45 bucks. So, sometimes it ends in a feeling of reward. I took my family to our favorite cheap dinner spot, on them.

Be responsible and cancel in the allowed time. When I signed up it was pretty clear that if I did not cancel they would bill me on a monthly basis until I canceled. How is that a scam? There is so many people ready to call something a scam because they don't follow instructions and get billed. If you can't keep track of a calender you should probably not use it since it automatically bills you.

Read how I dealt with it, a few posts down. I did get a refund. I was just as mean, mad, persistent, and ornery as i have ever been on the phone, and when I got tired of yelling at one guy, asked for different guy. Please file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, as I did. Its really easy to do over the phone.
Good luck, USArmywife

Well Rick, why don't you just do that for everyone instead of being fraudulent in your practices. I'm going on every site I know, to the BBB and FTC, the State Dept of Commerce, whatever and whomever else I can find to warn against your company. I tried in earnest to cancel my account over several months and your company has even disputed the one month my bank credited back to me because I had at that point put it in dispute with them. Your company is obviously sleezy or you wouldn't have this number of complaints and the Gina Johnson ((650) 412-0662 hotline. You're a theif. Need to be in prison. Even if you think it's "just"...you're stealing. Maybe we should send you to the middle east and they can cut your hands off for you...Seems appropriate to me. Your company has stolen hundreds of dollars from me...You're a thief. Credit back money when people ask and maybe people will start doing legitimate business with you. Cancellation of an account doesn't go through arbitration dumb behind...but it's going to go through every legal entity I can find to cut down your fraudulent machine!

Good Luck! Cancel your account and put the charge in dispute with your bank. Realty Trac won't begin to cancel you until then. Check out their phone line for all the victims, you won't get the # until you do the dispute! It's 650-412-0662. They will send you a bunch of crap about arbitration and stuff that supposedly was on their site when you signed up (it wasn't when I signed up....and I tried to search through EVERY link. At least yours was just $39.95...I was ripped at a higher rate!)

In Orange County, Florida, I can go to the Property Appraiser's web site, and click on "Property Searches," then click "Record Search," and fill in the name of the street, and see who are the owners of all the homes. If they are owned by a bank, mortgage company, or some similar business, then I can figure that the property is in foreclosure. I can also pull up all the properties that have been sold in that neighborhood by clicking on "Display Similar Sales in Subdivision" while looking at one property listing, which is a little faster. When I see properties that were sold recently for $100, then I can go to that property , and usually that property is owned by a financial institution, as the lender usually buys back the property at an auction for $100. Good luck.

thanks for the info i signed up for the 7 day trial and then cancelled after just 1 day now i have seen charges on my bank account for 39.95 twice. how do i take care of this problem any phone numbers or info you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Again P. Adams

signed up for a free trial but at a site of another name. I used it for a few hours and found it useless. About 3 days later I sent an email to cancel it.
WELL! I found charges of $49.95 for the last two months on my bank statement for RealtyTrac. I started surfing to find if anyone else had complaints and I found a whole world of them, particularly since Jan 2009. One site said not to hesitate to file a complaint with the Fed. Trade Comission and gave the phone #.
I called RealtyTrac, tried to remain calm and use textbook customer conflict resolution language, but I ended up losing it with the first man, then requested to speak to his supervisor. I did also end up swearing quite profusely at him in the end. You see, they try to trip you up, asking, "Well, what email address did you send the cancellation to? Do you have a confirmation number?" Yes, I did, but it was under a site called ForeClosureStore and they simply said they did not have any idea what I was talking about.
Thankfully I had read up enough to learn that for the past few months, someone has been operating in the 'Foreclosure listings" business, gathering information under several business or website names, and sharing the info. Then of course, when people complained, they simply denied any knowledge of it.
Cool as I usually can be in conflict resolution, I just knew that these two guys were sitting somewhere in a boiler-room or apartment, practicing doublespeak, and showing up with sites for a few days and then disappearing with the info. A lot of folks posted that they have filed cases with several states' Atty Generals, and then of course the FTC. I told the men this, that I knew they were phishing or trading info, that it was a scam, that it was OBVIOUS that I didn't use the site they were billing me for, had never heard of it. Of course they said they had never heard of the site on which I had received a cancellation number. It was meaningless to them.
I was losing it, which of course puts someone in the position of weakness. But I finally begged them, Look, guys, I am a military wife, I am seriously ill, and I have to move my family cross-country in a few weeks. Please, Please do not phish me!."
After 30 or 40 minutes on the phone, with me refusing to back down, refusing to concede that I had in any way shown a desire to have their business services for $49.95 (!!!) per month, insisting on a full refund (I believe the exact final words were, "I want my G...d...money back immediately from you scammers and I am calling the FTC immediately") suddenly...the guys says he will refer my case for review to their refund department and I would receive notification in about 3-5 days.
As soon as I hung up from them, I called the Fed. Trade Commission, where a very nice lady took my complaint and took it very seriously. She said there is a huge rash of scamming like this due to the bad economy. It was as easy as pie to file a complaint over the phone, and I hope everyone who has a problem like this will do so.
Today, on the 3rd day, I received an email saying that I would be getting a full refund. ~whew~
And NEVER will I EVER sign up for anything again under a 'free trial and then we will bill you" kind of deal. Not for anything!! If I can't get it at Wal-Mart ot Sears, I just don't need it.
Good luck to everyone.

We just noticed that we had been charged by RTI Publishing on 5/14/09 for $39.95 and had no clue what it was for until I did a Google search and found this board.. We had signed up for Realty Tracs 7 day free trial, and cancelled within the free trial period, but unknowingly agreed to some sort of subscription. Got a phone number to RTI Publishing 1 800 306 9886 today to cancel. Spoke to Isreal. He said he would refund the $39.95. Also got a phone number to realestatereporter.com 1 800 665-7495 because although we hadn't been charged by them (yet) we saw on this board that there might be charges in the future. Sure enough there was an account set up with them as well so we cancelled that account too.. We definitely feel these are deceptive practices, feels.like we were "had" . Grateful we caught right away to take care of. Will never do business with Realty Trac.

Realtytrac really helped me get a great deal on my first home!!!It actually helped me save a lot more than I expected and my family and I are sooo happy. That's the only reason I'm actually on here to let u know that it worked for me and I hope it can work for you. Definitly money well spent.