Fletcher Recovery Group LLC complaints

So....from time to time we get complaints about our service.  Sometimes, but only sometimes, these complaints are legitimate.  Being in business for over 10 years, we have definitely had some growing pains.  Starting with one person answering phones and responding to inquiries, processing claims and slowly growing our staff over the years has resulted in us missing phone calls, not responding to inquiries, and frankly not following up on claims processing.  

And to be fair, it still happens; but we work on getting better everyday.  We pride ourselves on transparency and easy access.

We try not to miss phone calls, or keep our customers on hold.  In that regard, we have added staff to answer customer inquiries and implemented a call service to take messages 24 hours a day.  We want to give our customers the best chance at getting a live person to speak with about the process.  Our business can be a sensitive topic, and leaving voicemails can be frustrating.  However, it is still necessary from time to time.  We also have a web chat that can be used even when no one is online to answer the inquiries, as well as email, fax and regular mail.  

Fletcher Recovery Group Review

We recently received a thank you card from a satisfied customer.  And while it is nice to hear from people and see reviews on the web, it is small gestures like this thank you card, that warm our hearts.  It helps us keep working hard for our customers in the face of obstacles.

Who is Fletcher Recovery? What is Fletcher Recovery Group LLC?

We are a group of compassionate individuals that truly try to help as many people as possible to recovery unclaimed funds, in spite of the paramount regulations that have been developed to make that goal more difficult.

We use advanced technological innovation to locate and communicate with owners of unclaimed assets that have been lost, sometimes for decades, and sometimes worth quite a large amount.  But, we help many people recovery very modest amounts as well.

So, if you received a letter for us, or a phone call; please get in touch and let us answer all of your questions.  Ultimately, we want you to fell comfortable and hire us to work for you.  The result is mutually beneficial.

Is Fletcher Recovery Group legitimate?

Apparently, this question gets asked a lot in google searches.  The inquiry is justified considering we are informing you that there are lost funds you may be entitled to recover.  The proposition certainly elicits thoughts of scam scenarios.

The reality is we have been in business for over 10 years.  We have an A+ rating with the better business bureau, and for the time being, no negative reviews.  We obviously will strive to keep that immaculate record.  Despite being a rather small company, we actually help many thousands of people annually to recover their lost accounts.

We never ask for any money in advance, nor out of pocket.  Everything we earn is entirely contingent upon our success.

And whether you choose to work with our company, or try to collect the money on your own; its yours and you should collect it.

"California Running Ponzi Scheme with Unclaimed Property Program"

Here is a link to an opinion piece written by Bruce Bialosky, CPA, who founded the Republican Jewish Coalition of California and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, titled, "California Running Ponzi Scheme with Unclaimed Property Program".

Notable disclosures include - 

 Unclaimed Property fund was the fifth largest source of revenue for the state of California.

Taryn Kinney, public relations head for the California Controller’s office, stated that in the year that ended June 30, 2017, the State's General Fund had taken in $399 million from unclaimed property transfers and that the fund stands at $8.6 billion.

As Bialosky writes, "If there was actually a better notification of the rightful owners, then the state would have to cough up money they don’t have or wait to take it from some other unclaimed property.  The money in the unclaimed property fund has even less than the social security fund.  At least with the social security fund they put IOUs in the fund. Here they do nothing."

The link to the article is below - 

https://townhall.com/columnists/brucebialosky/2018/04/22/california-running-ponzi-scheme-with-unclaimed-property-program-n2472108

Don't believe the hype.

It is unfortunate how rare it is to find an honest news piece that reports the facts about the world of unclaimed property - A little understood, yet enormous cash generating aspect of government.

I recently read a quote by the Alabama State Treasure that was published by ABC News: 

"Nothing gives us more satisfaction than to give you your money," remarks State Treasurer Young Boozer.

Ironically, the State is holding $672,000,000, having paid out $114,000,000 over the last 5 years.  That equates to approximately $28,000,000 per year in payouts, or a quite inadequate 4% per year. 

More scandalous is the fact that in 2013, Boozer supported legislation that stripped citizens personal assets from the unclaimed property fund to be used to fund his treasury department; and increased the regulations that allow companies like Fletcher from helping return these accounts.  No longer is the State a custodian, they are deceptively looting this money to fund the government and making sure that no one gets in the way.

And Boozer had the audacity to declare that the legislation would benefit taxpayers.  

Boozer is not alone, this behavior is happening all across the country, as the government needs to find increasingly clever ways to fund its obligations.

It is interesting that these news stories, really fluff pieces, never disclose how private auditors are paid handsomely by the Government to identify ever increasing amounts of unclaimed property eligible for escheat under ever more liberal regulations.

The message is clear - It is okay for the Government to pay a professional to abscond with the citizens personal assets, but it is not okay for the citizens to pay a professional to recover this money.

Working with a professional recovery outfit like Fletcher is an incredible resource to have in the struggle to recover unclaimed property, and the contingency fee we charge aligns our interests with our clients.  To paraphrase from Mr. Boozer:

Nothing gives us more satisfaction than recovering money for our customers.

Don't believe the hype.  

Faced with revenue shortfall, Mississippi took $14 million from the state’s Abandoned Property Fund

This troubling development in the ever evolving use of the public's abandoned funds.  Rather than make an effort to return this money to the people, the effort is made auditing business' to marshal these funds for the ultimate use of funding budget deficits of mismanaged government.

While Fletcher charges a reasonable fee for our efforts; we are transparent in our mission.  Even if you choose not to work with us, our outreach empowers you with the knowledge that there is money owed to you by the government.

Of course working with Fletcher is the easiest, streamlined approach which allows you the highest likelihood of success in recovering your assets.  Our team has the experience to overcome any illegitimate claim denial.

You can read more about the Mississippi situation here - 

MS Revenue shortfall

We have completed our move to the new office!

After a year of extensive renovations on the Prince of Realms Lodge located in the historic district of Roslyn, NY; we are pleased to announce that we have completed our move to the new location.

We will maintain a virtual office at 1979 Marcus Avenue, Suite 210, Lake Success, NY, for the next year to make sure we maintain continuity in our operations.  

Delaware apparently protected two scientists out of $12,024,148.25.

Two Belgian scientists who headed the research team responsible for creating a Hepatitis B drug were awarded shares in the company that commercially developed the drug, Idenix.  

Yet another example of a state being much less concerned about returning property to its rightful owner (as it should be) and more concerned with using the unclaimed property laws as a revenue raising tool.

"Despite the facts that (a) both Idenix and Computershare (their transfer agent) had record of the mailing address of the scientists and no mail was ever returned undeliverable—as required by Delaware law at the time for property to be deemed abandoned— and (b) that the scientists both continued to perform professional services for Idenix, Computershare reported the Idenix shares to Delaware in November 2008 and delivered all of the shares to Delaware on January 2, 2009.  Three days later, Delaware sold the shares for a total of $1,695,851.75 (approximately $3.03 per share). At the time, Idenix had approximately 50 shareholders, and the market for the shares was illiquid.

After making an inquiry concerning the stock to Computershare three years later in 2012, the plaintiffs learned that their shares had been escheated to Delaware. Upon contacting the Delaware Office of Unclaimed Property to claim their property, the plaintiffs were forced to provide substantial documentation verifying their status as the rightful owner, which they did in October and December 2012. After over a year of “pending” status, the plaintiffs were directed to complete a “Request Form” in May 2013, at which time it was noted that a response could take another 12 weeks.

On June 9, 2014, Merck and Idenix announced that Merck would acquire Idenix via a cash tender offer for $24.50 per share. Because the plaintiffs’ shares had been escheated to (and immediately sold by) Delaware in 2009, they were not able to participate in the tender offer despite their desire to. Had they been able to participate, the plaintiffs would have been entitled to receive a total of $13,720,000 for their shares. Meanwhile, Delaware had still not responded regarding the status of their claim. Notably, it was not until October 2014 (over two years after their initial request) that the Delaware Office of Unclaimed Property confirmed that the plaintiffs Idenix shares were sold (and for how much). The plaintiffs subsequently completed a claim for the market value of their shares (i.e., $13.72 million based on the Merck tender offer). Delaware immediately responded that they could only refund $1,695,851.75, and could do so without any additional documentation—which had previously delayed the process. Without agreeing to the lower amount, Delaware took the initiative to send the plaintiffs a check for the lesser amount.  The plaintiffs accepted the check in June, after agreeing that the acceptance would not affect their rights to seek recovery of the remaining amount of their claim. In July, they filed this complaint."

Read the full article here.

The article is written by Stephen P. Krantz, Diann Smith and Eric Carstens and published on insidesalt.com.