I was contacted by a private company informing
me that I have unclaimed funds and offering to help claim them
for a fee. Is this legal and legitimate?
Florida law
allows Florida licensed private investigators, CPAs and
attorneys to register with our office as claimant's
representatives. These firms have access to our records and
frequently contact account owners, or their heirs, soliciting
them to assist in the recovery for a fee. Click here to
see a list of such firms currently registered with our office.
Is it necessary to hire one of these firms in
order to claim my funds?
No. You can claim the money
on your own, directly with our office, free of charge. Click here to search our database and print a claim form for any
account(s) you believe you are entitled to claim. The unclaimed
property program is a free service provided to you by the State
of Florida.
Is there a limit on the fees these locator
companies can charge?
Yes. Fees are limited to 20%,
up to a maximum of $1,000 per account. These limits may be
exceeded if the original document you sign contains, on its
face, the required Full Disclosure Statement. Click here to see
the required wording of the Full Disclosure Statement.
One company informed me that if I did not act
quickly, I could lose the right to claim my money. Is this
true?
No. There is no statute of limitations on
unclaimed property in Florida. Account owners, or their heirs,
maintain the right to claim their funds indefinitely.
I received a card from a company that said
for $35 they would tell me how to find unclaimed money. Should
I send them $35 or provide my credit card information?
No. You should not pay anyone any amount of money to tell you
how to find unclaimed property. These companies (or websites),
after getting your $35, will usually just refer you to this
website (the site you are now viewing) and/or the websites of
other states' unclaimed property programs which are already
available for you to search as much and often as you want free
of charge. Click here to search Florida's unclaimed property
database. Click here for links to other states' unclaimed
property programs.
I received solicitations from several locator
companies and signed a Limited Power of Attorney, and filed a
claim through one of them. I then learned that I could claim
the money just as easily on my own, directly with the state,
at no cost. Can I change it now?
You can still file
the claim on your own if you wish. However, the law provides
that in cases where more than one claim is filed on the same
account (conflicting claims), we will recognize and process the
one that is received (date-received) first in our office and is
complete. Because of this, and because it is helpful to
everyone involved, it is strongly recommended that you file
only one claim for an account, whether it is directly with our
office or through a locator company.