Capital Recovery sends unsolicited letters to people who are owed refunds from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.in these letters, Lisa Madsen claims to be a professional tracer in the business of finding lost monies. She claims her research shows you are owed money from the 'government.' She offers to assist in recovering this money for a 25% fee. She makes a very strong statement about being very good at solving problems and reclaiming these funds. She leads you to believe there is no risk in engaging in her services, claiming there is no fee if she's unsuccessful. At the end of the letter, she asks that you sign the enclosed agreement and a tracer found case form.
These letters are illegal! She intentionally fails to mention which division or branch of the government is holding money in your name. She also intentionally fails to mention that her services are not required in order to receive these refunds. She misrepresents herself as somebody who is very good at solving problems. On the contrary, if you need to speak to her about a dispute, she simply refuses to take your call or fails to show in court. Her claim in regards to 'no-charge' if she's not successful is also false. I suspect there are many cases where refunds were issued where she did nothing by way of assistance, but she still demands payment.
The services offered by Lisa Madsen and Capital Recovery are of absolutely no value to consumers. Recently, HUD issued a consumer alert warning the public to be aware of people (known as 'tracers') offering to help you collect your refund for a fee. You do not need to hire someone to collect your money. HUD has stepped up efforts to locate homeowner's owed FHA premium refunds, awarding Walker and Company LLP a contract to assist the FHA in finding homeowners who are owed money. This new contract basically categorizes companies like Capital Recovery as unnecessary and irrelevant. Lisa Madsen knows this, so in order to stay in business, she has to use trickery and fraud in order to get signatures on her agreements.
In my case, I received one of Capital Recovery's letters from Lisa Madsen. She made claims about the 'government' holding money in my name and that she would assist me in recovering the funds. She stated that if she wasn't successful, I would owe her nothing. Based on Lisa's statements - not knowing which branch of the government she was referring to and believing I needed to hire somebody such as her to receive a refund - I signed the agreement.
Almost two years passed before I heard again from Capital Recovery. During this two year wait, my wife was speaking to somebody at work who mentioned he was receiving a refund from HUD for the premium mortgage insurance he had on his HUD house before he sold it. Knowing we had a HUD home at one time, my wife made a phone call to HUD. After taking my wife's call, HUD sent us a FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium Refund request form. We completed this form and mailed it in. HUD followed up with an Application for Premium Refund, which we completed, had notarized, and then sent back in. An agent from FHA responded to our application with a letter requesting a copy of legal documentation that we had owned the home. He needed the Warranty Deed on the house.
It was at this time Capital Recovery sent a letter threatening me to pay the fee ($215) for their assistance, otherwise they were going to seize my property, garnish my wages and destroy my credit rating. I called Capital Recovery and asked to speak to Lisa Madsen, but she wouldn't take my call. I was able to speak to somebody in their customer service department. I explained to this person that I had not yet received a refund from HUD. I informed him that I needed to provide the warranty deed before a refund could be issued. I said to this that if Capital Recovery would get a copy of the warranty deed and send it into HUD, we would be happy to pay their fee. After out telephone conversation, I faxed all my documentation to Capital Recovery. However, before the call ended, I requested an apology from Lisa Madsen, but I was denied.
Six months passed after providing Capital Recovery with all the necessary documentation, but no word yet from HUD or Capital Recovery. So, one day on my lunch break, I went to the County Recorders office and purchased a copy of the warranty deed. After my wife faxed it into HUD, we received the refund less than a month later.
Six months after receiving the refund, Capital Recovery sent a bill for their services. I called Capital Recovery after receiving the bill and asked to speak to Lisa Madsen, but again she would not take my call. I was transferred to somebody in their collections department. I indicated to this person that they did absolutely nothing to assist me in receiving this refund, so I wasn't going to pay. He responded that they would then turn the file over to a collection agency.
Once I received the collection letter, I responded that the debt was invalid and to leave me alone. I waited for Capital Recovery to sue me, but they never did.instead, they put a collection debt write-off on my credit report. I discovered what they had done when applying for a home loan.in order to get the loan, the lender required me to pay Capital Recovery off. I paid them then filed a small claims case against them in an attempt to get my money back and to clear up my credit report.
On our court date, Lisa Madsen failed to appear, so I was awarded judgment against Capital Recovery. She has since appealed the judgment, but a new court date is months away.in the meantime, I have a late payment collection debt write-off on my credit report and I'm out over $1,000 in direct costs due to Capital Recovery's fraudulent and mean-spirited business practices.
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