Caution Urged When Signing Up For Prominent Foreclosure Listing Service

In Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Times reports:

• Maria Casanova, an assistant professor of economics at UCLA, toyed with the idea earlier this year of buying a foreclosed property near the Westwood campus. She signed up for a prominent listing service called RealtyTrac. Casanova, 31, canceled her subscription not long after. Yet a few days ago she discovered that some other real estate company she'd never heard of has been billing her almost $45 a month for the last eight months.

• Consumer advocates say it's an all-too-common problem: People signing up for one thing online and inadvertently signing up for something else that comes with recurring monthly charges. [...] In RealtyTrac's case, the enrollment process for access to the site's foreclosure listings includes a marketing pitch for another company, a Utah business called Real Estate Promoter.

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• Unless you read the fine print, which consists of gray letters on a gray background, you won't know that clicking continue will in fact sign you up for Real Estate Promoter's service at a recurring cost of $44.95 a month. [...] Casanova, for one, believes it's a deliberate attempt to deceive people. "I was completely unaware that I was signing up for this other company," she told me. "I thought the whole sign-up process was for RealtyTrac."

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• A Google search turns up numerous complaints [or try here for Ripoff Report] from people who were similarly surprised to find $44.95 charges for Real Estate Promoter on their credit card statements -- in virtually all cases, as a result of signing up for RealtyTrac.

For the story, see Real estate company's pitch leads to unexpected bill.