HEADS UP, PEOPLE! YOUR CITY MAY HAVE UNCLAIMED MONEY FOR YOU! UP UNTIL NOW, I’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT STATE UNCLAIMED MONEY FUNDS AND HOW TO FIND THOSE, BUT IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO OVERLOOK CITIES AND THE MONEY THEY SOMETIMES HOLD FOR THEIR CITIZENS. LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS AT GOOD MORNING AMERICA, THE CITY OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA WAS HOLDING A BUNCH OF UNCLAIMED MONEY FOR PEOPLE. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE CITY HAD MORE THAN A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE FROM CITY CHECKS THAT WERE NEVER CASHED. THE BAD NEWS IS THAT PASADENA HAD DECIDED THAT IF PEOPLE DIDN’T CLAIM THE MONEY BY A CERTAIN DATE, THE CITY WAS GOING TO KEEP IT! SO MY PRODUCER AND I RUSHED TO CALIFORNIA TO TRY TO GET THE WORD OUT.
WE VISITED THE ADDRESSES ON THE CITY’S LIST AND FOUND THAT MANY PEOPLE HAD MOVED, WHICH IS WHY THEY HAD NEVER GOTTEN THEIR CITY CHECKS. OTHER PEOPLE DIDN’T BELIEVE US WHEN WE FOUND THEM AND SHARED THE GOOD NEWS. STORY OF MY LIFE WITH UNCLAIMED MONEY.
PEOPLE THINK IT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! WE LEARNED HOW LITTLE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO TO REUNITE PEOPLE WITH THEIR UNCLAIMED MONEY. IN THIS CASE, ONE OF THE RECIPIENTS OWED UNCLAIMED MONEY WAS THE PASADENA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, A FELLOW GOVERNMENT ENTITY THAT’S ONLY 16 BLOCKS FROM CITY HALL! BUT THE CITY HAD DONE NOTHING TO TELL THEM.
WE OURSELVES ALERTED PEOPLE TO MORE THAN 14-THOUSAND DOLLARS WAITING TO BE CLAIMED. THE OWNER OF A COMIC BOOK STORE HAD $270 DOLLARS COMING. THAT MAY NOT SOUND LIKE MUCH, BUT THINK HOW MANY COMIC BOOKS HE’D HAVE TO SELL TO MAKE THAT! WE FOUND A COUPLE WHO WERE OWED $1,750 DOLLARS IN REBATES FROM A RENTAL PROPERTY THEY OWNED. AND WE TRACKED DOWN A CONTRACTOR WHO PROBABLY OVERPAID FOR PERMITS AND WAS DUE MORE THAN 3-THOUSAND 3-HUNDRED DOLLARS! OFTEN CITIES TURN THEIR OWN UNCLAIMED MONEY ACCOUNTS OVER TO THEIR STATES FOR SAFEKEEPING. BUT, AS THE PASADENA EXAMPLE SHOWS, THAT IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE AND THERE IS REAL MONEY OUT THERE BEING HELD BY CITIES.
I THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD CHECK EVERY CITY THEY’VE EVER LIVED IN. BUT THERE’S EVEN MORE INCENTIVE TO CHECK IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN A CITY EMPLOYEE OR IF YOU HAVE EVER DONE BUSINESS WITH A CITY —LIKE THAT CONTRACTOR— OR BEEN SUBJECT TO A LOT OF TAX IN A CITY —LIKE THOSE LANDLORDS. THANKS TO THE INTERNET, IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE TO SEARCH. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE’S NOT A CENTRALIZED DATABASE OF CITY UNCLAIMED MONEY, SO I SUGGEST SEARCHING THE NAME OF THE CITY OR COUNTY AND THE WORDS “UNCLAIMED MONEY” OR “UNCLAIMED PROPERTY” OR “UNCASHED CHECKS.” GOOD LUCK!
