CONCORD — It's not illegal, but the service that is being offered adds about $80 to the cost of something a property owner can get for $5 or less from the county registry of deeds.

New Hampshire Attorney General Michael Delaney is releasing a consumer alert about two companies that are mailing property owners costly offers to provide property owners with copies of their deeds for $86 or $87.

Some of the solicitations offer to throw in a property profile, which is easily obtainable at the city or town assessor's office, or even online in some communities.

Delaney said the mailings appear to be official notices, with one company currently sending the notices showing a Washington address and the other showing a Concord address on South Main Street that is a mailbox at the UPS store.

Delaney issued the alert about companies using the names: Secured Document Services and Deed Retrieval Services. The solicitation mailings appear to be official government notices recommending “that all United States [or New Hampshire] homeowners obtain a copy of their current grant deed” and further indicate that for a fee of $86 or $87, these companies will provide the property owner with a copy of their grant deed and a property profile.

Delaney said these companies are providing a service of questionable value and the information advertised in these solicitations can be obtained from any of the state's registers of deeds for $1 per page, and $2 per document for certified copies.

With deeds so easily and inexpensively available, the existence of these companies depends on the public's lack of familiarity with the county registers of deeds offices.

Senior Assistant Attorney General James T. Boffetti, who heads the consumer bureau, said: “They hope somebody is gullible enough to do it.”

As for the property profile that is sometimes offered along with the deed copy, Boffetti said it is information about sales and property values in the neighborhood and can be obtained for free by searching the assessor's office data base.

Boffetti said the solicitation isn't a scam. “It appears to be an official document,” he said, but there is information on the paperwork that shows it isn't official or required by law, but he said that information can be missed if the paperwork isn't carefully read.

Under New Hampshire's Consumer Protection Act, N.H. RSA 358-A, it is unlawful for any person to use any unfair or deceptive act or practice in the conduct of any trade or commerce within this state. Anyone who feels they have been the victim of any unfair or deceptive act should call the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Bureau hotline at (603) 271-3641 or 1-888-468-4454. For more information on consumer fraud you can also visit the bureau's website at www.doj.nh.gov/consumer.