Don't forget MissingMoney.com

[DeniseNJ]

Just a reminder.  Every few years or whenever I'm bored, I go on MissingMoney.com to see if there's anything out there for me.  There usually isn't but then I start putting in names of everyone I know and always get a few hits.  Each state comptroller used to have its own site to search for and collect escheated funds but slowly they all moved to MissingMoney so it's easy to go down a rabbit hole and start searching everybody.  It's fun to find that a friend or sibling or colleague is owed an amount of money from an old account somewhere.

Yes, it's totally legit and it's free.  They don't pay interest so that's probably how they make their money. I've had ppl get money from Upromise, old security deposits, gift cards, insurance companies, etc.  Yu have to enter your personal info and maybe send a copy of driver's license or something to confirm your identity and then they send you a check.  My mil got a check from a place she worked at 40 yrs prior.  I got a check for a ten yr old health insurance claim.  Friend got a check from  cash back credit card yrs after closing the account.  It's worth a few minutes to fill out the form on the site and wait to get your check in the mail.

[Luke Warm]

Just found $80. Thanks!

[DeniseNJ]

Just found $80. Thanks!

Ha.  That's great. I found like 4 of the ten ppl I work with.  I once got $600 for my husband and even a few grand for my old boss.  Upromise is a big one ppl forget about too.  I got 50 bucks from that.

[hooplady]

Oooh, thanks for the reminder. I used to check every few years but haven't in a while, there was a little waiting for me. No clue what it was, from a bank I didn't recognize.

For a while I had the job of escheating some unclaimed funds at my old company. You wouldn't believe the people who just stuff paychecks into their sock drawers and forget about them. Or change banks and their direct deposit bounces, and then never respond to any of the various communications that follow. Crazy.

[ChickenStash]

This is cool.

I found two things from a previous state I lived in. One that appears to be an old rebate or maybe a settlement. The other is a closed out account of some sort that I think came from a past employer health plan - I recognize the name but don't exactly recall their purpose. The state didn't provide the amounts but said the check is in the mail. Neat.

[ptobest]

This is great! I found $400 from an apartment building I lived in 10 years ago. Thanks for the tip!

[geekette]

I’ve lived at this address for over 30 years, but there was $39.99 in my name (and this address) from Nestle?!?

[Just Joe]

Yep, DW and I found $34.

So this is legit? Don't want to give them a ton of private info only to find out it is a honeypot (I think it is called).

[Just Joe]

Friend in the business says you might find more money, more detail if you hunt for missing money on your state's own registry.

[ChickenStash]

This is cool.

I found two things from a previous state I lived in. One that appears to be an old rebate or maybe a settlement. The other is a closed out account of some sort that I think came from a past employer health plan - I recognize the name but don't exactly recall their purpose. The state didn't provide the amounts but said the check is in the mail. Neat.

Got my $145 check from the state yesterday. Not bad.

[DeniseNJ]

I’ve lived at this address for over 30 years, but there was $39.99 in my name (and this address) from Nestle?!?

I know!  If they have your address, why don't they just send the check!  Or at least a letter say8ng you have money.  But I guess if they keep the interest then why would they bother to contact you.

[DeniseNJ]

Yep, DW and I found $34.

So this is legit? Don't want to give them a ton of private info only to find out it is a honeypot (I think it is called).

Totally legit.  Sometimes they send you to the state comptroller's site, depending on the state.  I know over a dozen ppl, as well as myself that have received money, from 50 bucks to several thousand.

[geekette]

I just got my $39.99 check today. Nice!

[iluvzbeach]

Thank you for the reminder.  We found $480 for my DH's (late) first wife, when performing a search on our last name.  We had searched before and not found anything but today we found 4 items.  There was a fair amount of documentation we had to submit but we had it all neatly organized in a file (it's sad that our lives get reduced to a paper file when we're gone) and it was easy to scan and upload.  Thanks again.

[Michael in ABQ]

3 claims for me. $191 for a state tax refund while the others were $0.09 and $0.01 from old bank accounts or credit card rewards. Not bothering with those.

I also found a listing for my mom for $25-50.


Unfortunately, we have to get the claim notarized before sending it in, so that's a hassle. I think our credit union usually has a notary available for free. That and provide scanned copies of our driver's licenses, social security cards, and proof of address from something like a W-2.

[bacchi]

My partner found several thousand from a childhood mutual fund account, set up by a parent, but the state wants information that probably no longer exists. It was connected to an old business of said parent; it might have been some kind of tax dodge.

On the bright side, my dad got a small check this week and promised us dinner.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@bacchi - see if anyone's credit report has the right information. They are a wealth of information, going back years. Just one option to consider, given it's a reasonable chunk of money. Otherwise, perhaps attach documentation you can, and explain & ask what else you could reasonably provide.

[solon]

I found $0.03. I filled out the form and two weeks later a paper check arrived in the mail. I deposited it.

[DeniseNJ]

OMG, my friend had a coupe of listings.  One was for 11K and the other was for 10K.  I was trying to talk her into donating plasma for 75 to 100 bucks a pop but she wasn't going for it.  So I told her to look this up.

[iluvzbeach]

It took right at six months but we received the check today for the unclaimed funds we found in May.  Thanks for the reminder to check!

[jrhampt]

Always a good reminder.  I got a check earlier this year for about $1500 for an escrow/insurance refund that I never received after closing on an old house, plus some miscellaneous other small stuff.  It took less than 30 days.

[Pookie]

Just received a check for $255 from NC Treasury. It's from a class action lawsuit from the makers of airbags. Free money!!! Thanks for the suggestion! Would have thought it was a scam but no!!

[Psychstache]

Glad this got bumped, I forgot to report back. I filled this out and got a check for some lost gift card of a defunct company or something and a rebate of some kind. I filled it out and forgot about and then a few months later, check for almost $200 from the state appeared.