Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – July 19, 2012 - 40,000 Pennsylvania residents will find a letter from the Pennsylvania Treasury in their mailboxes within the coming weeks. This annual mailing sends notification to potential owners of unclaimed property that are most recently listed in the PA Treasury’s database. This is not junk mail and it is estimated that 1 in 10 Pennsylvanians have unclaimed property they do not know about.
According to the letter signed by PA State Treasurer, Rob McCord, “Unclaimed property includes items such as abandoned bank accounts, forgotten stock, uncashed checks, certificates of deposit, life insurance policies, safe deposit box contents and recovered stolen property.” The PA Treasury receives property after it has been unclaimed for one year or longer and is required to search for the rightful owner under Pennsylvania law.
Your Better Business Bureau is notifying consumers that they can claim their property for free by contacting the Treasury’s Return Team at 1-800-222-2046 or by visiting their website to initiate a claim. There is no charge associated with claiming property through the Treasury’s Return Team.
A company or person claiming to be a claims processor, professional finder or fee finder may offer to help retrieve these funds in exchange for a flat advance fee or percentage of the recovered property. Under PA law, finder’s fees are capped at 15% of the unclaimed property’s value. Consumers should also be aware that they are not required to utilize such services to claim their property and can do so for free through the PA Treasury.
Be cautious of any additional correspondence claiming association with the unclaimed property mailing. Such requests are likely coming from scammers, hoping to steal your personal information and money. The PA Treasury will never ask for your bank account information, as checks will be mailed to your home instead. If you receive a suspicious phone call from someone stating that you have unclaimed property, get off the call and contact the PA Treasury’s known telephone number to confirm the information.
For more helpful information or to view a company’s Business Review before choosing to do business with them, visit www.bbb.org. To search for unclaimed property and claim it for free or view the PA Unclaimed Property Law, visit www.patreasury.gov.
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