Apparently tired of holding the bag, vainly waiting for millions of Oregonians to figure out they’ve collectively left behind hundreds millions of dollars worth of their hard-earned money, the state has gone ahead and done the governmental equivalent of snapping its fingers in front our blank faces, hoping to get our attention.
The state, joining others around the country that have had them for years, unveiled a new “unclaimed property” database last month. And anyone who wants to can search their name (or anyone else’s name) and see if they’ve ever left any money behind. (Some 2 million laggards are on file, forgetting close to $400 million).
Usual stuff includes a lost bank account, old stocks, tax refunds that went to a wrong address, etc. (My boss was very disappointed when he found out the state wasn’t keeping old umbrellas or shoes or gloves, like a giant bus depot lost-and-found.) It’s not so terrible if you don’t claim the money, though: The state skims the interest from it and sends it to schools.
I’m a bit too new to the state to have anything good. But when I went looking for some better-known names, well… JACKPOT.
COOL! I just won <$50!
ME TOO!! I AM GOING TO SPEND MY <$50 ON SOMETHING!
This post was great… when bojack did it a couple of weeks ago:
http://bojack.org/2011/06/leaving_their_cr…
I confess I don’t read Bojack so religiously… nor, I suspect, does he read us with much vigor, either. But I’m glad you do, Blabby, on both counts. And here I was feeling sheepish for not knowing about the database itself until this weekend.
I DONT EVEN KNOW HOW TO COPY AND PASTE BOKAJC, I JUST GOT <$50!!
Is this real, or some honeypot? I scored with >$100 but am nervous.
Hmm… I have a <$50 and a $50 to &100 in there. The description for the <$50 is "WARRANT". Yeah, not gonna claim that one. Nice try, coppers!