Eric Henderson of Nashville discovered he was owed $642 after visiting the Unclaimed Property Division’s booth at the Tennessee State Fair in 2022. The booth was set up at the Unicoi County Apple Festival in October.
Eric Henderson of Nashville discovered he was owed $642 after visiting the Unclaimed Property Division’s booth at the Tennessee State Fair in 2022. The booth was set up at the Unicoi County Apple Festival in October.
State officials are taking yet another approach in connecting with Tennesseans who may be owed a share of $1.2 billion in unclaimed property.
Earlier this week, the Tennessee Department of Treasury said it is sending letters to businesses across the state in hopes of connecting with their current or former employees who may be among the estimated 7 million state residents eligible for unclaimed property.
There was more than $1.2 billion waiting to be claimed as of June 30 and state officials say even more missing money has been turned over by businesses in the last seven months. Last year, the state returned 50,337 claims totaling $57.6 million in cash property to the owners or their heirs, businesses and local governments.
Unclaimed property is money that has been turned over to the state by businesses and organizations that are unable to locate the rightful owners. This unclaimed money includes utility refunds, uncashed paychecks, credit balances for overpayments, rental deposit refunds, gift certificates, securities and abandoned bank accounts.
The Unclaimed Property Division is a consumer protection program of the Tennessee Department of Treasury that seeks to return missing money to the rightful owner. The program works to proactively locate owners through various means, including working with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to match information with employment records to help locate possible claimants.
Thousands of letters are mailed annually in large batches to those owners through their current employers, who are asked to deliver the letters to those with missing money.
The letter directs the recipients to submit a claim through ClaimItTN.gov. A significant portion of claims each year are returned through the assistance of employers. About 70% of claims are paid on average in as little as two weeks.
“For most of us, it’s probably hard to believe that we might have money missing, but the 7 million names in our database show it happens to many of us,” state Treasurer David H. Lillard Jr. said in a recent news release. “We hope you’ll find this letter a welcome one, as we’re contacting you to let you know you have money that belongs in your bank account.”
There is no time limit on claiming the property, and there is never a fee to claim it in Tennessee. State authorities also advise residents to beware of any service asking them to pay its help in claiming the money. If you are ever contacted about unclaimed property in Tennessee and would like to check the validity, go to ClaimItTN.gov.
State Treasury officials have also tried other approaches to connecting Tennesseans with unclaimed property. One has been to establish unclaimed property booths at local festivals and state fairs.
Last October, the state had a both on display at the Unicoi Apple Festival. According to the unclaimed property division, there was roughly $1,131,489 in unclaimed property waiting to be recovered in Unicoi County in 2022.
State officials also estimated there was nearly another $32 million in unclaimed property waiting for residents of Carter, Greene, Johnson, Sullivan and Washington counties.
Robert Houk has served as a journalist and photographer at the Press since 1987. He is a recipient of the Associated Press Managing Editors Malcom Law Award for investigative reporting.
