Posted on 04/06/2014 11:31:58 AM PDT by Kaslin
Four years ago, I wrote a column about how the state of California had passed a law to make retailers turn over any unused gift cards to the State after a set period. The law did not consider any effects on the retailer; just the fact that California was grubbing for new revenue flows and once greedy politicians see a target they can devise any rationale for why the money or new tax should be placed into their coffers. The column also explored how the State was taking money from unclaimed bank assets as if it were another revenue stream. I never thought I would get caught in the trap, but I did.
Recently after hearing that the State Controller had a website my nephew decided to go fishing on it for kicks. Surprisingly, he found there was an asset listed on the website that was under my name. It was from a cashier’s check issued by a major bank. The website had the information listed regarding the check and the person to contact at the bank. It did not take me long to contact the bank though it was in another time zone.
The bank representative I spoke to asked me if I had contacted the State of California. I asked her why I would do such. My name is Bruce Bialosky. There are no others in existence and it is obviously my asset so why would I go through their rigmarole when we can handle this between the bank and me. She was totally unfamiliar with the process to get me my money despite being the listed representative of the bank. She said she would research that and get back to me. Then I asked her the proverbial $64,000 question: since the asset had been in their hands since October, 2010, had anyone tried to contact me? She disclaimed any responsibility for that process. That is when I asked who at the bank was responsible for the unclaimed assets. She had no clue despite being the identified person on the California website. I then asked my favorite question in these situations – “May I speak to your supervisor please?”
When her supervisor (a high up person in their accounting department) called back, I asked her the same questions which are 1) did anyone try to contact me and 2) who at the bank was responsible for unclaimed assets? She had no clue either, but she promised someone would follow up. Indeed someone did and that was the manager of the branch where the check was issued. She rambled on about their process with cashier checks and how this one had fallen through the cracks. I asked her if she once tried to contact me. I told her I am all over the internet. I am readily accessible. While we were talking I went on Google and found my telephone and address in less than a minute. I asked why they had not done that simple act. She had no explanation, but she lauded the Controller’s website. I then asked again who at the bank was responsible for unclaimed asset and she had no idea, but someone would get back to me and someone did.
A senior vice-president called me from their headquarters. When I asked if they had tried to contact me he stated they sent two letters to the issuer of the check. I replied “Ah, snail mail.” He said it referred them to his professional bankers at an 800 number. I stated that people working at a call center were not exactly professional bankers. I then asked again if there was anyone at the bank who was responsible for unclaimed assets. He finally confessed in a convoluted manner that there was not and again lauded the fact they were working with the state of California to identify owners. I took this opportunity to enlighten him that the state of California has an ulterior motive in that they actually want the assets for the State and that they have only modest concerns for the owner of the asset. I asked him if the bank could not find me, what are they doing about the little old lady who was less able to protect herself? I told him the story of the lady who the bank could not find so they turned over the assets in her safe deposit box to the State. In the safe deposit box was the trust deed to her home where she still lived and they still could not find her. I told him in my case how disgraceful his bank’s actions have been.
John Chiang, California State Controller, has unclaimed assets as the leading item on his website. He is pushing this issue to make him seem like a protector of the people and showing how many unclaimed assets are now reported and claimed annually. He never states how many end up in the State’s hands because no one has made a real effort to find the asset’s owner including the State. Banks are uninterested in spending their personnel’s time finding people that will not enhance their position and they now know the assets will be the State’s anyway.
I have to say once I sent the notarized form in to claim my asset the bank had my money to me in a few days. I am one of the lucky ones, but what about the ones who don’t have my resources. The real winner here is the government with an asset from the bank.
Statists don’t think we should own anything. They use any excuse they can to confiscate money and property.
Which is why I keep very little in a bank. I get paid and the money leaves the account. I do not trust banks not to at some point hand over everyone’s dough.
The danger is when the state decides an account has been inactive for six months or less it is inactive and takes it. Then the owner gets a monthly statement saying it was taken by the state and he must spend time and effort to get it back. The state decides that they took it by acident and promise to return it as soon as the legistlature passes the state budget and pay off any pressing bills first before the owner gets his money back. It could be months before the owner gets his money back. This has happen to safety deposit boxes in CA where a woman stored a few items in the box and always paid the box rental fee. CA inspectors came and decided that no one open the box for years and had the bank send a letter to the owner to claim it otherwise. Problem is most banks do not update the deposit box owner address despite the fact we have on line ability to do so on all our accounts (I learned that the hard way after I moved and changed my mailing address on line, all accounts were updated but the update of the desposit box had to be done in person or mailed letter to a separate group in the bank, my rental bill was forwarded from my old address. Went to the bank and found out address updates for boxes cannot be done on line). Result was the bank sent the letter to the woman’s old address despite she banks at the bank. Result was the state took the content of the box and auctioned all of it within 30 days. The woman discoverd the problem when the deposit box rent fee no longer came and upon the death of her husband she went to access the box for documents. Then she was informed of what happen. The state returned her documents and the cash for the family jewelry that was auctioned off at discount.
Great post.
This happened to me.
they tried this gift card theft here too - we sent ‘em packing
Agreed. Mine is SS so 'automatic' in - but I take out all but monthly bill $$ wich I pay by check.
Am considering taking all out and paying bill with MO's
Can someone tell me the advantages of a credit union over a regular bank? Is your money, privacy safer in a CU? (Not that I have enough to amount to much - but it's all relative -
After my mother died I cleaned out all of her accounts. Or so I thought. A cousin called me a few weeks ago to tell me that she was looking at the state unclaimed assets list and an account belonging to my mom was listed. I started the process (”up to 90 days”) and should see something shortly.
Apparently the account was inactive for close to 5 years. My guess is that it is some left over dividends from a small account she had but maybe we get a free dinner out or some ammo out of it.
I have a brother that feels the same way very little in his account.
Precisely.
where does one go to view unclaimed assets in a state?
Bialosky sounds pretty lazy, expecting other folks to keep up with his money. Perhaps he needs to be a bit more diligent in keeping track of his own assets.
Short answer to that is 'no'. They do have an advantage of being generally less expensive for those with small accounts.
I would note that the NCUA hasn't been able to resolve a large credit union that they put into conservatorship in 2011. They apparently can't afford the hit to the insurance fund that closing it or selling it would cause. So it remains the ultimate zombie bank.
NCUA has managed to close a number of small credit unions since then.
Money in the bank is, as a matter of law, the bank’s money, not yours. Your account gives rise to a claim on a certain amount of the bank’s money.
Agree with you.
I don’t know which huge bank he is dealing with but they are not in the business of tracking down Bruce Bialosky to deliver the money has left behind.
As a matter of fact the state does have a website, his nephew (not the irritable, one-of-a-kind Mr. Bialosky) found a listing for him, and he is, as he says, one of the lucky ones.
I have no praise for big banks and certainly not for big government. But a person has to watch out for his own interests. Jamie Dimon isn’t likely to call me up about the forty bucks I forgot I had. Or the four thousand either.
This resulted in a huge lawsuit, which my grandmother lost because the last nieces had squatter's rights and my grandmother had never claimed the property. (Hard to do when you don't know you own it!) It was a crappy little dirt tract, so no big loss as far as property goes, but the whole point of it is that probate is a huge deal. Make sure it's done right.
Uhh, the retailer received the full cash value of the gift card, plus the time value of the money.
I find it difficult to come up with any particular reason a retailer should be able to just pocket these funds. One of the main reasons they're so popular with retailers is that a great many of them are never redeemed, which then becomes 100% profit for the seller.
While I'm not entirely sure it's right for the state to take the funds, the retailer certainly has no legal or moral claim to them.
The amount at stake is some billions of dollars per year in the USA.
The key is that the more concerned they are about something, the more they want it for themselves or to use it to control you.
“We want everyone to have healthcare”
Teanslation-We want you to come, hat in hand and beg us to treat you.
“We want to protect your unclaimed property.”
Translation-Having access only makes it easier to acquire for ourselves.
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