Approximately $100 million in unclaimed funds in B.C. sitting in dormant accounts looking for a home
VANCOUVER, Dec. 3, 2014 /CNW/ - With the holiday season upon us, numerous British Columbians are searching for a few extra dollars for that special gift or money for a long overdue warm weather vacation. For many people, that elusive cash may be closer than they think. Thousands of B.C. residents have forgotten funds languishing in long forgotten credit union accounts, unpaid wages, overpayments to debt collectors, unclaimed proceeds from courts, pension funds, estates and forgotten real estate deposits.
In B.C., there's an estimated $100 million in forgotten funds waiting to be claimed. Last year, the not-for-profit B.C. Unclaimed Property Society (BCUPS), whose mission is to reunite unclaimed money with its rightful owner, returned $922,879 to claimants. This year alone, approximately $1.2 million in orphaned accounts has been paid out to recipients.
"For many people, particularly seniors, finding forgotten money in a dormant account can be a life-changing experience" says Alena Levitz, Executive Director of the B.C. Unclaimed Property Society. "As a not-for-profit Society, BCUPS holds unclaimed property as the custodian for rightful owners under the Unclaimed Property Act. We work with companies looking to get dormant assets off their books, search for and return funds from dormant accounts to the rightful owners. This service is free for companies holding unclaimed funds and claimants searching for long-lost money."
BCUPS maintains an online database (www.unclaimedpropertybc.ca) where people can conduct a name search to check if they have any unclaimed money waiting for them. Funds can be claimed by completing a verification process that firmly establishes the claimant's identity.
Millions of dollars are left unclaimed by B.C. residents each year. In 2013, BCUPS received $8,460,201 in unclaimed funds from financial institutions, companies, courts, tax offices and the Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia, representing 18,026 individual unclaimed properties. Thus far in 2014, companies and organizations surrendered more than $5 million in dormant accounts to BCUPS.
Most unclaimed accounts hold $200 to $300 on average. The single largest unclaimed property payout by BCUPS was $357,262 made in 2011.
"Accounts become dormant for a number of reasons," notes Levitz. "People move without leaving a forwarding address, neglect to pick up a final paycheque, forget about a security deposit or they simply pass away."
Technically, an account is deemed to be dormant when a prescribed period of time has transpired with no activity, ranging from a year to 10 years depending on the type of account involved. Under B.C. law, credit unions, debt collection agencies, real estate agencies, companies in liquidation, municipal and provincial courts and municipalities, which are classified as mandatory holders, are required to make a "reasonable effort" to identify forgotten account holders, before transferring these funds to BCUPS. Other organizations holding trust funds, insurance policies, brokerage accounts and closed pension plans are encouraged to voluntarily transfer their unclaimed property accounts to BCUPS if the rightful owners cannot be located.
The B.C. Unclaimed Property Society was established in 2003 by the Province of British Columbia and Vancouver Foundation. Under an agreement between the Province and the Foundation, BCUPS was appointed the Administrator of British Columbia's unclaimed property program. Since its inception, BCUPS has reunited owners with $8.8 million in assets from unclaimed accounts. Each year, a portion of unclaimed funds held by BCUPS is transferred to Vancouver Foundation to be used for charitable purposes. Since 2004, BCUPS has transferred over $20 million to Vancouver Foundation. B.C. is the only jurisdiction in North America that has set up a not-for-profit Society to administer its unclaimed property program where a portion of the funds are transferred to a charity to support philanthropic activities.
About BCUPS
The British Columbia Unclaimed Property Society (BCUPS) is a not-for-profit Society whose mission is to work with holders of unclaimed property to reunite rightful owners with their forgotten or unclaimed funds. BCUPS uses a number of resources to actively locate owners of unclaimed property. We maintain a public database of unclaimed funds, and process eligible claims to reunite owners with their forgotten dollars. The BCUPS database lists over $100 million in unclaimed funds, some dating back as far as 1859. Visit our website at www.unclaimedpropertybc.ca
SOURCE: B.C. Unclaimed Property Society
Martin Livingston, Living Communications Inc., Ph: 604-657-8234, Email: [email protected]
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