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Treasurer's proposal would cut finder's fees
By Kenneth Lowe
Lee News Service
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SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias unveiled a proposal Monday to prevent companies that locate unclaimed properties from charging people large recovery fees.

Giannoulias said such companies – called "finder" or ''tracer'' firms – track down unclaimed property that has yet to be reported to the treasurer's office and then tell the rightful owners they must pay a portion of it – sometimes as much as half – in order for the firm to return it to them.

''Unclaimed money is your money,'' Giannoulias said. ''It already belongs to you, and it does so forever here in Illinois. These companies have figured out how to make a fast buck by duping consumers.''

The proposal would put a cap on fees, holding them at 10 percent of the unclaimed money in question. It also would require the finder firms to disclose to consumers the name of the institution holding the unclaimed property, and requires the companies to inform consumers that the treasurer's office does not charge any fees for recovering unclaimed property.

State Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, sponsored the proposal after receiving a letter from such a firm informing him they had located unclaimed property of his, and that they would return it if he gave them 50 percent of the money in question.

''My subsequent conversations with the firm left the distinct impression - intentionally created, I believe - that unless I retained their firm and signed over 50 percent of the money at issue, I would lose this – that it would become uncollectible,'' Harmon said.

The treasurer's office maintains an unclaimed property division, where by law a company must send unclaimed money or property if it has not been claimed in five years – during which time the company must make an effort to locate the property's rightful owner.

Unclaimed property can be the contents of a safe deposit box, uncashed paychecks, or abandoned bank accounts or property. The treasurer's office holds the property or money indefinitely, and returns it to rightful owners free of charge should they come forward, Giannoulias said.

''I'm fortunate enough to serve in the state Senate,'' Harmon said. ''I have both the access and the comfort to call the treasurer's office and say, 'Hey, what gives?' Not everyone in Illinois is that similarly situated.''

The legislation is Senate Bill 2636.

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