Greene County Clerk David Thompson said late Thursday that his office had "probably gotten about a dozen calls today" from local people who received a letter asking them to pay $59.50 to obtain a certified copy that they can easily get for about $2.

Thompson said the letters come from "National Record Service, Inc.," in Northbrook, Ill.

The letters reference a "Greene County Clerk document," and say that the deed to property that the recipient owns "was recorded by the Greene County Clerk."

In the first place, Thompson said, the county clerk's office does not record property deeds. In Tennessee, that is the function of the Register of Deeds office.

But Thompson also said that the letter includes several statements that are true. It notes that National Record Service is not affiliated with any government agency, and notes that "many government records are available free or at a nominal cost from government agencies."

However, he said, the obvious intent is to mislead people into spending much more than they should, even if they actually need a certified copy of their deed.

Thompson said the letters had nothing to do with his office, and he did not authorize them. Any official correspondence from the County Clerk's office would be on letterhead stationery, Thompson said, and would also have his name on the outside of the envelope. None of those things were true about this mailing.

Thompson said he drove to the home of one woman who lives in Greeneville to see her letter, after receiving several calls. He later showed the letter to Register of Deeds Joy Rader.

Rader said the letter, and others she had seen, had the correct deed book and document number for deeds that actually are registered in her office, even though the letter states that deeds are recorded in the clerk's office.

Rader, as did Thompson, stressed that the letters were not sent out by either local office.

"The register's office would never send out letters asking people to purchase a copy of their deed," Rader said.

"This started about a year ago," Rader said, "but this is a little different," since the letters sent last year did not include deed book or document numbers.

She said deeds are available online for companies that pay a fee for the service to BIS, a computer company that works with a number of register of deeds offices in Tennessee.

Apparently the company has paid $19.95 to subscribe to the service, Rader said. Usually real estate brokers use the service, she said.

However, anyone who comes to the Register of Deeds office in the county courthouse office annex on Cutler Street can get a certified copy of a deed for $1 per page, Rader said. Typically, the total cost for a certified copy of a deed would be $2.

Rader predicted that letters like the ones that began arriving on Thursday will continue for about a month, then will not come to Greene County for a month or so. "It's a cycle," she said.

Rader said the company is "fishing for people" who may mistakenly believe that they need a certified copy. "They're taking advantage," Rader said of the Illinois company.

Rader said many people have their actual deed in their possession, and don't need to keep a certified copy on hand unless they just want to have one.

In addition, "The deed is on record here," in the register of deeds office, Rader said. "They can get a copy any time they want it," she said. Greene County has deeds recorded "from back in the 1700s," she added.

Rader said of the letters, "They're preying on people, hoping that people don't realize that the deeds are on record here, and that they can obtain copies for 60 cents," not $60.

The Register of Deeds said anyone who receives such a letter and is in doubt about what to do should call her office, at 789-1726.