OT..maybe. Unclaimed money

[the 'stache]

Hey guys, just wanted to bring this to everybody's attention. I think I mentioned this in another thread, or the in chat discussion during the closing night of REA's auction. But, since it could conceivably benefit some of my favorite people, my fellow Net 54 members, I thought I'd share this with you all. Please indulge me, Leon. I know this is off topic, but this is the place it will be seen by the most people, and who knows, a few baseball card purchases might just result from it, making it very much on topic.

I received a letter in the mail last fall from a company in California notifying me that they'd found some money that I was owed. The company name is not important. I am always leery about being scammed (something ingrained in me after going through my stock broker licensing and training), so I rolled my eyes, and jumped online. I did a search on the company name, and it turns out that they were legit. They make their money by pointing out money that is being held by the different state comptrollers for various reasons. They have researchers that identify where the people owed the money currently live. Pretty simple, really. Similar to the skip tracing I did when I was employed by Daimler Chrysler. It's pretty easy money for them-they get 10% if you agree to use their service, and the money is paid out to you. Now, obviously, you don't have to use their service. You are free to decline, and do the research yourself. The initial letter gives you the name of the company, and from which state the money is owed. But, since I figured I would have never even known about the money, I had no problem paying the 10% fee.

The form showed that the money was owed to a Gregory Williams. Similar to my name (inverted, and Williams instead of William), but the date and apartment # were close enough that I figured, what the hell, it might be me. I went to Google, and searched for unclaimed money in Texas. That brought up the State of Texas Comptroller. I went to their site, selected 'search for unclaimed property', and entered the name as listed. There it was. The site showed that this person was owed $780, which by my recollection, was my monthly rent at the time. So, I printed out the paperwork for my claim. I searched the site by my correct name, and found two other listings under my name, with my middle initial, at addresses I have lived at. $25 from the University of North Texas (I'm guessing an over-payment of fees), and a $140 refund from an imaging center where I had an MRI done on my back. I guess I'd reached my max out of pocket on my health insurance, so I got a little bit back. Ok, so, I printed out a form to claim that money, too. I knew that $165 was going to be mine, and I took a shot on the $780. I mailed the completed forms along with a letter explaining that I had lived at the complex during the time cited, and that I wasn't sure if the money was mine or not, asking the state to determine that. Well, three days ago, I got two envelopes in the mail from the state of Texas. Inside were two checks. They'd verified that the over-payment was due to me by contacting the company, and matching my social security #. So, I ended up getting $867 that I never knew existed. And after receiving the letter initially, I also searched for both of my parents. I found $650 for my dad in Texas, and another $200 in Illinois. All in all, I found about $1,717 for my family after paying the $78 fee.

So, I'm hoping that some of you fine folks will follow my example. Just check your state comptroller website, and hopefully, you'll find some money that is owed to you. Google your state, and unclaimed property, or state comptroller, and you should find the database you can search.

I hope you all find lots of money. Good luck!!!