Given the recent negative immaterial reviews of our company on our google business review page, we thought it would be illuminating if we gave an honest review of our company – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Federal Government has trouble recovering unclaimed assets.
I understand your frustration....
As businesses lean more heavily on technology to replace human-centric customer service, consumers are confronting a stark reality: when problems arise or questions need answers, they are often on their own in finding the solution. In this landscape, the effectiveness of customer service often hinges less on a company's support quality and more on the consumer's patience, comfort with technology or sheer determination—factors that vary widely among individuals.
Do I really need to provide my Social Security Number (SSN)?
UGMA (Uniform Gift to Minors Act) Accounts Are Not Exempt
The days of stashing money in a savings account and not thinking about it for years has ended. The treasuries and unclaimed property departments of US States, under mounting financial strain, have leveraged increasingly aggressive tactics to seek out and reap potentially unclaimed assets as a remedy to decreased federal funding and dwindling tax revenues. And unmonitored accounts, opened with long term intentions, are more at risk than ever of being abandoned to the state due to alleged inactivity.
Of course we did business; you have my money.
Proof of a connection to the address
So, you’ve taken the initiative to reclaim an account from the state. Aside from asking them for your money back, you’ve fought through the discomfort of sharing sensitive information to prove you are who you say you are. You gave them your current address and your phone number. Your date of birth and social security number. You even had your signature notarized – a formality with the express purpose of proving you are exactly who you say you are.
Custodial Accounts (UGMA/UTMA) abandon too.
Self-custody and the end of unclaimed funds.
When an entity possesses an asset of financial value, and cannot deliver that asset to its customer, that asset eventually becomes subject to unclaimed property laws which require it to be turned over to the state government to hold as a custodian until the owner can be reunited with the asset. This is a broad, general definition of unclaimed funds. And, as we have stated in the past, by our calculations the amount of value sitting unclaimed on the books of various governmental agencies as a result of the unclaimed property laws easily exceed one hundred billion dollars.
Small Estates and the Voluntary Administration Conundrum
Recovering unclaimed funds in the custody of NYS, which are held in the name of a deceased individual is often a difficult and complicated process. While we can speculate as to the reasons why the process has become overburdensome, we will instead demonstrate a classic example below, and provide some important characteristics about the process. In preview, unless the amount to be collected is significant, or alternative creative options for recovery are available, abandoning the claim and keeping your sanity is a reasonable decision. Maybe it’s not a speculation as to why the most logical choice made available by NYS is to relinquish your claim and let the State keep your money.
Alternating Current of Unclaimed Funds
Analog unclaimed funds recovery in a digital world
A recently published New York Times article discusses the enormous amount of unclaimed funds...
There is no government-wide, centralized information service or database on how unclaimed funds held by the government may be obtained.
Voluntary Administration now required to recover money held by New York State
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Fletcher’s Unclaimed Asset Recovery Mission
Fletcher Recovery Group has built our business around reuniting people and their assets. It’s important to do what you love and at Fletcher we love the thrill of helping individuals successfully navigate the unclaimed asset recovery process. We view the unclaimed asset epidemic in the U.S. as a problem worthy of our efforts and we’ve built out a team and processes to help our clients successfully resolve their cases.
