Unclaimed Property Blog

Iowa State Treasurer, Mike Fitzgerald, is not going to just sit back and do nothing about it. What is it? It is a rebate, you know, when you make a purchase with an offer to get money back. Well some don’t give you the money back. Here is a story about that exact issue.

State Treasurer Fitzgerald says he has asked the Attorney General to file a lawsuit against Young America Corporation for unpaid rebates. Fitzgerald found that this company as well as others offer refunds or rebates, but does not make good on the offer.

Throughout the United States there is money to be given away by the IRS. Yes, you read that right, the IRS is giving away money. Actually it is trying to return money to people that have not received their tax refund. IRS refund checks go unclaimed for many reasons. Sometimes, as in the case of hurricane victims, people face a significant change in their normal lives.

Nationally, there are 84,290 taxpayers with undeliverable refunds, totaling approximately $73 million with an average refund of $871. Here is a breakdown for some states:

If you have ever felt like there was too much hassle to getting a rebate, you may be correct. Read on for how this could be the case.

Brian Grow, author of “The Great Rebate Runaround,” found in his research that companies are not eager to give out rebate checks and have many ways to keep them from you. It is not uncommon to ask consumers to send in copies of their sales receipt multiple times or to hold on to the rebate check for several months, hoping you will never bother to follow up on it.

Former welfare mother, Cassandra Garrison, went from a longtime renter to homeowner in 2003 because of a $3,000 check from the federal government and good advice from a friend: Buy a home.

Now Garrison, a single mother, is a homeowner and a landlord in Southeast Portland’s Lents neighborhood.

“I never, ever, never thought I’d be able to do that,” says Garrison, public policy director for the Oregon Food Bank. “We struggled for so long.”

In her case, the federal government’s Earned Income Tax Credit, which was created during the Reagan administration, did what it intended. It helped push her out of the hand-to-mouth poverty cycle.

Like many other cities and states, Philadelphia, PA is trying to locate owners of unclaimed property and funds to return the unclaimed money to the correct owners.

“Right now we have, in the five county region meaning, Philadelphia and the four suburban counties, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware, as much as, more than, 308-million dollars,â€? said PA State Treasurer Robert P. Casey Jr.

Why does this unclaimed money and property end up with the state? The law requires it. After a certain amount of time, dormant bank accounts, uncashed paychecks, insurance payouts, you name it, must be handed over.

About $920,000 in tax refunds are due to residents in Utah. It is the goal of IRS Comminssioner Mark W. Everson to get this money back into the hands of the people it belongs to.

According to information provided by the IRS, refunds can go astray for a number of reasons, but they usually are lost when a taxpayer moves or changes address and doesn’t notify the IRS or the U.S. Postal Service. Utah taxpayers who have moved since filing their last tax return are those that should look into this free money give-a-way.

Here’s a great site that has reviews, articles and advice about all the paid online survey websites out there. It seems to be the latest craze to hit the Internet – everyone wants to get paid big money filling out surveys. I think this is possible to find these paid surveys, but I don’t really know how much money you can make.

Some sites claim you can make $250 per hour. I’m a little skeptical about that, but don’t see why you couldn’t make some extra cash on the side with it.

On Deborah’s Proposal Writing Blog she talks about how to look for a government grant and get free money. This is a legitimate way to get money for all sorts of things.

In her post she says:

“I get a lot of e-mail from individuals who are looking for grants (or what many people call “free money”). Most of the individual grants that are given by foundations are for scholarships and educational support, research and the arts; however, there are some individual grants that don’t fall into these categories.

Free money – do you want it? You would think that most people would jump at the chance. However, Three business school professors have discovered that when it comes to work most people are leaving hundreds or thousands of free dollars left on the table.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that in their study, called: “$100 Bills on the Sidewalk: Suboptimal Savings in 401(k) Plans.”, most people are not taking advantage of investment fund matching programs. This is where the employer will match any contribution you make to an investment account like a 401K retirement account.

Minnesota is trying to return over $230 Million dollars to it’s rightful owners. The Star Tribune reporter Kara McGuire wrote that her husband recently recovered $124

Minnesota’s unclaimed property law mandates that companies turn assets over to the state if they can’t locate the rightful owner within three years. There are many other sources of unclaimed money, property and funds. It can be from lost tax refunds, insurance settlements, old bank accounts and safe deposit boxes.