Reed Warns Seniors: Be Wary of Firm Charging Fees to File Property Tax/Rent Rebate Applications
Free assistance offered by legislative offices
Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana) is alerting Indiana County residents to be wary of solicitations offering to fill out a state Property Tax/Rent Rebate form in exchange for a fee. Free assistance with the forms is available to seniors by contacting Reed’s office or Aging Services Inc. of Indiana County.
“I would hate for a senior citizen living on a fixed income to pay for a service that my district office will provide for free,” Reed said.
Reed learned from some of his colleagues in the House that citizens in other areas have received solicitations to pay for help with filling out the Property Tax/Rent Rebate application. While his office has not received word from local residents that they are being contacted, Reed wants to proactively warn Indiana County senior citizens to be on the lookout.
“We didn’t want to wait until someone in our area was taken advantage of,” Reed said. “We want to get this information out to folks so they can protect themselves and their hard-earned money.”
The letter, which comes from an entity identifying itself as the Senior Advisory Center, asks senior citizens to provide income and homeownership information and urges them to include their processing fee of $39, which they can pay by check, money order or credit card.
Anyone who receives this solicitation may bring their questions or concerns to the Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection at (800) 441-2555 or visit the attorney general’s Web site at www.attorneygeneral.gov. Consumers may also contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at (877) 876-2455.
The Property Tax/Rent Rebate program provides rebates of up to $650 based on their rent or property taxes paid. The program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians who are 65 years or older, widows and widowers 50 years or older, and those 18 years or older with permanent disabilities. Eligibility income limits for homeowners were expanded last year to the following levels, excluding 50 percent of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and Railroad Retirement Tier 1 benefits:
- $0 and $8,000, up to $650 rebate (Homeowners and renters)
- $8,001 to $15,000, up to $500 rebate (Homeowners and renters)
- $15,001 to $18,000, up to $300 rebate (Homeowners only)
- $18,001 to $35,000, up to $250 rebate (Homeowners only)
For additional information, contact Reed’s office at 724-465-0220 or visit RepDaveReed.net. Aging Services Inc. of Indiana County can be reached at 724-349-4500 or toll-free at 1-800-442-8016.
Rep. Dave Reed
62nd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
(717) 705-7173
Contact: Dan Massing
House Republican Public Relations
(717) 772-9845