Unclaimed Property Blog

You pay your monthly minimums but the debt just doesn’t seem to decrease. Here are some effective ways to reduce the debt.

The first thing you should do is pay more than the minimum. Paying the minimum which is usually 2% to 3% of the outstanding balance, maintains a balance rather than decreasing it. Banks bank on you making minimum payments since the longer you take to repay the charges, the more interest they make. Also with less cash you have the more likely to add to the credit card.

There are many stories about people being reunited with their money. Have you ever wondered how they lost it in the first place? Continue reading to find some answers to this question.

In Florida, Treasurer John Kennedy recently returned more that $133,000 in unclaimed money to owners.
He held an event at a local mall where shoppers could go onto the internet and search for unclaimed money.

This was the first event since hurricane Katrina. Kennedy also feels the total was the most money he has given away at any one event.

Last week it was the Veterans Affairs computer with personal data. Today we are informed that data from the Department of Energy is now at risk.

Officials told a House oversight committee that a hacker stole a computer file containing the names and Social Security numbers of 1,500 employees of the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons agency. Good that we are being informed. What I would like to know is why are we being informed on June 9th when the theft occurred in September?

Are you aware that you have rights when it comes to debt collection agencies? The following data will help you to understand what can be done when the debtor calls keep coming.

The first and most used method of dealing with those pesky debt collectors is to use caller ID and/or screen the calls.

Are you aware that there are different types of collections? One is either a creditor or a third party debt collector. A creditor is an employee of your bank or credit card company while a third party debt collector is someone who is being paid to collect a debt for the original creditor.

Pennsylvania State Treasurer audits the the well known ketchup Company to find it owes about $500,000 in unclaimed property.

State treasurer Robert Casey said the Pittsburgh-based food maker failed to fully report $353,220 in accounts payable checks and $157,290 in uncashed payroll checks.

Also found in the audit which covered January 1, 1993 to December 31, 2001 were 2,364 shares of commons stock unreported. This is stock that was abandoned by shareholders for various reasons.

Per Pennsylvania law, companies must remit uncashed payroll checks every two years, while uncashed company checks and abandoned shares are to be remitted every five years.

When you think of the military you think of people serving the country to protect you and all other citizens of the United States Usually they do this. Read on regarding a recent security issue.

Social Security numbers and other personal information for as many as 2.2 million U.S. military personnel were among the data stolen from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs analyst May 3, 2006.

The personal data for as many as 1.1 million active-duty military personnel, 430,000 National Guard members and 645,000 reserve members may have been included on the stolen electronic file. In addition to Social Security numbers the thief has access to their names and birth dates.

In October 2005 Congress passed some new bankruptcy laws. What does this mean to you? Read on and find out the most common consumer applications.

If you are considering filing bankruptcy the first thing you need to know is that there are two basic types of personal bankruptcy actions, they are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy has also been referred to as “no assetâ€? bankruptcy. Under Chapter 7, a debtor’s debts are discharged, or in layman’s terms, they are wiped out by the court and the debtor is not required to pay off those debts.

When a collection agency calls do you feel you have to respond? Do you know how to protect yourself ?

When they call you can avoid talking to them by hanging up, screening the calls and you can make it legal with a “cease and desist letter.”

If your decide on this tactic be sure you include your name, address and account number with the letter. The basic communication you want to get across to the agency is “do not contact me further about this debt.”

The phone is ringing; once again, its a collection agency. Do you know the rules that they have to abide by?

Yes, it is true there are laws regulating their actions. Here are what collection agents may not do: