Harlingen Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced today that the city of Harlingen has reclaimed $42275 in unclaimed property and Cameron County has reclaimed $26797. Cities and counties face challenges in this tough economy" Combs said. Combs also urged all residents in South Texas to check the unclaimed property list to see if they have money waiting to be claimed.
Our office has expanded its efforts to quickly contact local governments that have money on the states unclaimed property list and help them reclaim it and I applaud Harlingen and Cameron County for taking the initiative to get their money back and put it to work in the community" said Combs.
The state is holding $11.2 million dollars in unclaimed property for more than 93000 people in Cameron County. The Comptrollers office has returned about $641000 to Cameron County owners in the last two years. For Willacy County the state is holding $467734 for more than 4000 unclaimed property owners. Willacy County residents have reclaimed $18000 in the last two years.
The annual Unclaimed Property List will appear in South Texas newspapers on Sunday Nov. 15. The Comptrollers office has re-invented the traditional statewide newspaper insert breaking it into six regional unclaimed property lists being published on an extended schedule through Feb. 7 2010.
By focusing on one region at a time we can provide better customer service and reunite people with their money faster because claims will be spread out
over several months rather than a single peak period" Combs said.
The South Texas regional list will contain the names of unclaimed property owners who have had at least $250 in forgotten funds reported to the state within the last year.
Of course you dont have to wait until the Unclaimed Property List appears in your newspaper to find out if the state is holding forgotten cash or other valuables in your name" Combs said.
The unclaimed property Web site at
www.claimittexas.org is available year-round and contains the complete list of all owners of any amount of unclaimed property from any year" said the Comptroller.
The state is holding about $2 billion in unclaimed property. The Comptroller estimates one in four Texans has money waiting to be claimed. Examples of unclaimed property include:
- dividend payroll or cashiers checks;
- stocks bonds and mutual fund accounts;
- utility deposits and other refunds;
- insurance proceeds;
- mineral interest or royalty payments;
- dormant bank accounts; and
- abandoned safe deposit box contents.
In these challenging economic times Texas families are trying to make every dollar count" Combs said. Now more than ever it is crucial that we reunite Texans with their unclaimed property."
You may also inquire about unclaimed property by phone at (800) 654-FIND (3463).
