publicrecords.us

On November 13, 2025, I made what I understood to be one-time purchases on Publicrecords.us. I received two email receipts: Receipt #1 (Nov 13, 2025): “Thanks for your purchase. We have added Standard Report upgrade to your account.” Amount: $4 (MasterCard ----) “Charge will appear as PUBLICRECORDS.US.” Receipt #2 (Nov 13, 2025): “Thanks for your purchase. We have added PDF Reports to your account.” Amount: $7 (MasterCard ----) “Charge will appear as PUBLICRECORDS.US.” Neither receipt indicates that these purchases would enroll me in a subscription or recurring plan. There is no mention of “subscription,” “recurring,” “auto-renew,” renewal frequency, future billing amounts, or clear cancellation/renewal terms. After these purchases, recurring charges began on my card that I did not knowingly authorize: • Dec 1: $5 • Dec 16: $5 • Jan 2: $5 • Jan 17: $20 • Feb 2: $20 • Feb 17: $20 Total recurring charges: $75. Suspicious billing pattern: The charges began as small recurring amounts ($5) and continued for multiple cycles before increasing to a much higher amount ($20). This escalation—without clear notice or affirmative consent—raised concern for me because it resembles a “test charge” pattern, where small charges are run repeatedly and then increased after a customer may not notice the initial transactions. I cannot speak to intent, but the pattern is inconsistent with what I would expect from a transparent subscription enrollment and upgrade process. I was able to cancel the subscription and received confirmation that no further charges will occur, but I have not received a refund for the recurring charges listed above. .css-c8hvdp{--Grid-columns:12;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;min-width:0;box-sizing:border-box;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-fl [BBB Scam Type: Online Purchase] [Business: publicrecords] [Location: OH, USA- 44121]

Publicrecords.us intentionally makes itself look like a government websites but is not. They advertise a $1 fee but have deceptively advertised add ons that I refused. They email me a bill for $8 but my bank account showed 4 withdrawals. I contacted them and they refunded one withdrawal. I contacted them again about the other withdrawals and they refunded the money. I asked them several times for their business name and address to file this report but they refused to give it. I could not be more concerned that they have my information. Publicrecords.us is fully a scam they just give refunds when you call them out. [BBB Scam Type: Online Purchase] [Business: Publicrecords.us] [Location: MO, USA- 64056]

The person I was selling my car to requested a VIN report. I attempted to purchase a VIN report from publicrecords.us, thinking it was a government-affiliated site. The VIN report cost $8, which I paid for with my credit card. When I attempted to use the VIN report I was sent, it was apparently not an official or acceptable report for buying or selling a car. I then started receiving repeated $5 charges from publicrecords.us every two weeks until December 13, when the charge increased to $20. So far, I have been charged a total of $168. I used the live chat feature on the publicrecords.us website to request a refund for the repeated charges that they have allegedly issued. I have also reported the charge to my credit card company. However, I believe this to be clearly a fraudulent and predatory website. @media (min-width:768px){.css-1w6dufj{-webkit-box-flex:0;-webkit-flex-grow:0;-ms-flex-positive:0;flex-grow:0;-webkit-flex-basis:auto;-ms-flex-preferred-size:auto;flex-basis:auto;width:calc(100% * 6 / var(--Grid-parent-co [BBB Scam Type: Other] [Business: publicrecords.us] [Location: CA, USA- 93401]

Went through the portal, ended up to pay the $1 fee for 1 report. You can only choose one option, looks like they update there terms on a daily basis. I submitted my credit card information to pay for the service. requirements pop up, now I guess I'm being charge $7 and $9 for unknown reasons after I already been charged $1. I commit any way. Then I see I was charged another $9.95 for no reason at all. I disputed it with my bank with no response. Two weeks later I get another $9.95 charge. I go on the website to close my "account". There is no way to delete payment information from the consumer side of the website. You have to speak to the chat or call in and there is no verifying they actually delete your information, just assume they did. Chat wouldn't answer my questions for why I was charged $9.95 per 2 weeks. Phone service operator says they don't work directly with the company and have no control over the charges. Chat transcript sent to email has no verification it was from publicrecords.us. bbb.org doesn't allow multiple attachments but I have the chat transcript. .css-1w6dufj{-webkit-box-flex:0;-webkit-flex-grow:0;-ms-flex-positive:0;flex-grow:0;-webkit-flex-basis:auto;-ms-flex-preferred-size:auto;flex-basis:auto;width:calc(100% * 12 / var(--Grid-parent-columns) - (var(--Grid-parent-columns) - 12) * (var(--Grid-par [BBB Scam Type: Government Agency Imposter] [Business: publicrecords.us] [Location: IL, USA- 60402]