Unclaimed Funds-Real Life Stories

When Rosa & her daughter Catherine in Caracas, Venezuela, received a letter back in Dec 2009 asserting that they had $ 114,693.18 USD in unclaimed money in Florida, they thought, as many people do, that it was some kind of scam. They simply discarded the letter and dropped it in the trash basket.

They had already forgotten the incident when they received a call few days later from an unknown number in Miami that they didn't take, but the person in the other side of the line left a courteous message giving some hints about the source of the unclaimed money. Rosa ' s husband had passed away some time ago leaving a money market account in a bank in Florida (Eastern National Bank) whose balance had been growing through the years until reaching the amount specified in the letter, when the bank had to deliver it to the State of Florida¹⁾.

At that time, they were intrigued and called back the number, receiving more information and details about the account and the necessary steps to be taken to claim the money. Furthermore, the company declared that they didn't have to pay any cost during the claiming process and only a fee would be charged if the claim resulted successful and the money was delivered to them.

Their thoughts

They (the company) appeared to know what they were talking about, had all the information about us and the claiming process wouldn ' t cost us a cent. How in the world it could be a scam or an identity theft? They already had all the information about us. I they were trying to do something illegal, by no way they would be contacting us...

So, they decided to act and proceed with the claim. They were sent some documents to sign, forwarded some needed proof to establish the real identity of them as claimants and put all the burden of the process in the company.

The claiming process took a few months, some additional documents were requested (i.e. death, birth and marriage certificates), but the load of the day to day correspondence, necessary translations and certifications, the gathering of additional certified documents and copies of statements from the bank and much more, resided in the company's side.

By then, they knew that they were dealing with a serious and professional company, that the money was real and that sooner than later, they will get the money. The only thing they didn't understand so far was that how Pedro (Rosa's husband) never told them about the account and how much money was in it. But this little and insignificant issue was no longer important.

Did they recover the money?

Few months later, the postman delivered an envelope containing an official check from the State of Florida with the promised amount printed in it.

This is a true story, only the names of the protagonists have been modified to protect their identity.

This case is not unique, the same with different twirls happened to Renee and her nephew Roman ($ 62,893.55) in Paris, France, and Heronaldo and his wife ($56,770.41) in Cabedelo PB Brazil, only to mention a couple of examples.

The details for each case may be different, but the tale was the same: they didn't know of the existence of the unclaimed money, at the beginning they thought they were being targeted for a scamming scheme, but after getting additional information they decided to act and at the end they got the confirmation that everything was true and correct with hard evidence: a real authentic check with the promised amount stamped in it.

But frustratingly, many people when contacted are overly suspicious, and instead of following logical steps looking for more information, they simply discard the idea and with it the opportunity to grab the money or assets that rightfully belongs to them. Instead, would be more reasonable to think that there is a possibility, no matter what small it looks, that the information could be reasonably certain and they may have rights over some kind of abandoned property. They probably are not aware of the fact that there is more than $100 Billion Dollars in the United States waiting to be claimed.

Examples of this last group of smart people are Cantino J ($ 123,323.27) in Miami, Joaquin ($44,617.10) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Reinaults ($159, 234.77) in West Palm Beach, FL, Gary ($339,841.59, yes) in Denver, Colorado, Catherine ($88,335.80) of Carslbad, CA...; and many, many more (see a partial list of holders of unclaimed money unwilling to take action here). These people when contacted they have expressed the unwillingness to pursue the claim or simply do not answer in any way (yes, they are alive and it's a fact that the money is real and waiting for them).

Some unclaimed accounts usually have small amount of money, but more frequently than we can conceive, there are accounts with thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars that remain unclaimed (we know a couple with even millions in it) due in part to the misinformation, indolence or procrastination of the people.

Should you receive a notification of unclaimed assets in any form, think twice before discarding it. Analyze it carefully, consider the company that is contacting you, the length in business, references, look for the existence of any complaint against it, etc. and if everything is in order, then ask yourself the question: If this is a legitimate company, Why they should be wasting their money doing research and contacting me with an unfounded claim?

Specially to be trusted, are the companies that do not ask for any kind of money up-front and they are not getting paid if you do not receive your money first. They would carry all the expenses associated with the claiming process only if they think that there is a real possibility of getting the money for you. Furthermore, your money never is in their position, the state will mail you the check directly. Taking in account all the facts why not to proceed?

With frequency, the claiming process involves legal procedures like probates, determination of heirs with rights over the unclaimed property, certified translations, presentation of certified documents, and other very technical events, that if not done correctly, can trash the petition resulting in denial or rejection of it with no money delivered. Because of all these issues, it is advisable to get professional help and select a trusted company with the expertise and knowledge necessary to do the job seamless, saving time, money and big headaches at the end.

1)  Florida, as most states, has specific laws establishing that when any bank account (as many other individual and business kind of accounts in custody of any financial institution as well) have remain inactive for a certain period of time, the holding institution has to deliver the property to the state (F.S. Title XL Chapter 717). The bank previously had notified the owners of the inactivity on the account, but the notification went to the old, not updated address, and of course never reached their addressees.