Take the time to look
Published 9:59 pm Tuesday, May 21, 2019
If you haven’t checked a state website to see if you’re owed money you haven’t collected, you might be missing out on something worthwhile.
The Virginia Department of Treasury collects and holds money for Virginia residents, past and present, who didn’t claim it. Perhaps you moved and didn’t get your utility deposit back, forgot to collect your last check from a summer job decades ago, missed the refund check in the mail from a company with which you did business or forgot about a secondary bank account that has been deemed inactive. It’s not just money — you may even have forgotten about a safe deposit box.
These situations and many more could mean that you have money waiting for you. You’ve got a much better chance than hitting the lottery — one in four Virginians is on the list — and it doesn’t cost you anything. All you need to do is check to see if your name is on the registry.
If you haven’t looked, you may be missing out on big money. In fiscal year 2018, the unclaimed property program returned $79.6 million to Virginia residents.
The Suffolk Treasurer’s Office is making it easy with two free events coming up at the city’s treasurer’s offices — from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 4 at the North Suffolk Library at 2000 Bennetts Creek Park Road, and from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 5 at City Hall at 442 W. Washington St.
For those who cannot make it to either of the two events, people can go to vamoneysearch.org and search online for free.
It’s worth a few minutes of your time to see if you might be owed money you haven’t claimed.