MORGANTOWN — Twice a year, the state treasurer’s office provides newspapers — including The Dominion Post — with “Discover,” a special insert with a partial listing of about 13,000 names.
Those people are deemed to be the rightful owners of unclaimed property.
Those advertisements, and a few other methods, help the treasurer return money to hundreds of people each year.
State Treasurer John Perdue’s Unclaimed Property Division received nearly half of its claims applications electronically in December, according to a press release from Purdue’s office.
Another program — Fast Track — in the office attempted to get money in claimants’ hands faster.
A total of 363 claims were filed electronically in December, accounting for 48.3 percent of all claims filed, according to the press release. An electronic claim is one in which the claimant goes to www.wvtreasury.com and files online. The claimant must provide identifying information, but doesn’t have to submit paperwork.
E-claims have traditionally been tailored to relatively low dollar amount claims for property with a single owner. More complicated claims often involve providing paper documentation, such as wills or business documents.
“We try to remain on the cutting edge of technology,” Perdue said in the release. “An e-claim is by far our most popular option for claimants. The claim can be filed from the comfort of their home.”
Unclaimed property in these “Discover” inserts and on the treasurer’s website is any financial asset from which an individual has become unintentionally separated. Examples are forgotten utility deposits, a left-behind final paycheck and abandoned safe deposit box contents.
Another source of unclaimed property claims were owner claims — a paper claim filed by the property owner. Often the claimant discovers the asset on the treasurer’s website, downloads the paper form and physically mails the document. The claimant may also call 800-642-8687 to find out whether the office is holding his or her property, and then file a claim.
“We want to give each rightful owner every avenue possible to be reunited with his or her possessions,” Purdue said. “And we want to do it as quickly as possible. That’s where Fast Track comes in.”
Fast Track claims are expedited e-claims that use external databases to verify the identity of the claimant and determine whether it matches the property owner. If claims are of a relatively small amount and meet specific identification standards, those claims may be “fast tracked” for automated approval, the release read.
Deputy Treasurer for Unclaimed Property Carolyn Atkinson said the Fast Track system has been in place since last fall. About 1,000 claims have been processed through Fast Track.
“Fast Track helps us to be more efficient while ensuring that claims are paid to the rightful owner,” Atkinson said.
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