The City of Danville Treasurer’s Office will be hosting a virtual call event with the Virginia Department of the Treasury’s Unclaimed Property office to assist citizens with looking for money that may be owed to them. On Thursday, June 2, and Friday, June 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., citizens will be able to call the toll-free event phone number, 1-833-302-0704, and speak to a Treasury representative to assist them in their search.
Virginia’s consumer protection law requires businesses to escheat/report unclaimed property over to the state, relieving the business of the financial liability. Virginia holds the property as the custodian until the rightful owner, or heir, files a claim.
More than $1 billion has been paid out to Virginians since this program was started in 1961. Unclaimed property consists of “abandoned assets or accounts” which are considered dormant due to inactivity and can include utility deposits, customer refunds, unpaid wages, money from insurance policies, securities and investments, bank accounts, and tangible property. Property becomes unclaimed when the holder company has not had contact with the owner of the property for a specified period of time.
These call events are held to aid citizens in searching and starting the claim process. Virginians can also easily search the Commonwealth’s unclaimed property database by visiting VaMoneySearch.org. This free website allows individuals to search the Commonwealth’s unclaimed property database and download a claim form.