Could you have unclaimed money that you are not aware of?

There is currently over $636 million held in a national pool of unclaimed funds, including $71 million in Queensland alone. You may have unclaimed cash held by government or other organisations and not even know it.

But... beware of the catch...  While these funds are free to claim, provided you can prove your identity and ownership of the funds, there are a number of third party companies offering their services to assist you in gaining access to the funds.  It is also important to keep in mind that, if you receive such correspondence, they may be correct in having located unclaimed money for you, so do not dismiss it too readily as a scam.

We have had a number of clients contacted by these companies advising that they have located funds in their name which can be recovered for them, usually for a commission of up to 20%.  The correspondence elludes to the fact that the funds will become unrecoverable if the accompanying paperwork authorising the third party company to collect them is not completed.

If the money is part of the national unclaimed funds pool you can submit the claim yourself via the Australian Security and Investments Commission MoneySmart website (www.moneysmart.gov.au) by simply entering your surname or business name.  If you receive a positive match you need to complete a claim form and provide proof of identity to allow you to claim the funds.

If you are contacted by a third party company offering to assist you with recovering money you are entitled to please ensure you read the fine print. 

For further information in relation to unclaimed funds, or if you would like us to check on your behalf whether you have any entitlements, please contact Erin Headley on (07) 3234 8988 or by email on erin@hmw.com.au