Public Defender: Your lost cash vanishing from view as state government takes $10m a year from unclaimed money register

THE state government is removing $10 million a year from its unclaimed money register and, once hidden from public view, rightful owners are retrieving ­barely $1 million a year.

THE state government is removing more than $10 million a year from its unclaimed money register and, once hidden from public view, the rightful owners are retrieving ­barely $1 million a year. And much of that is only after “money finders” have pocketed up to 25 per cent.

Today I’ll reveal how to check if you’re owed dough that’s been ­removed from the register (it doesn’t require using an expensive money finder).

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The Office of State Revenue (OSR) “removed” 17,500 sums of unclaimed money worth $10.9 million from its publicly available register in 2013-14 after being there the required six years. In 2012-13, $10.4 million was removed. The money can still be retrieved, but it’s more difficult. Just $1.35 million was given back in 2013-14 and $1.12 million in 2012-13.

Of these amounts, a significant proportion would have gone to money finders, who use freedom of information (FOI) laws to “source data that is no longer on the register”, an OSR spokeswoman said.

They take a hefty cut before ­returning what’s left.

Which brings us to Eleanor and William Napai, who face a $6800 bill from Australian Un-Recovered Finance Services. The Casula ­couple paid AURFS a $133 fee for online access to its databases. Or so they thought.

The couple paid the fee after ­receiving an unsolicited letter from another money-finding agent that said it had located “lost” assets worth $41,000 in Mr Napai’s name. The agent said it would help ­reclaim the cash for a 25 per cent fee.

They claim the AURFS online search didn’t tell them anything new. It did, however, lock them into forking over 17 per cent of any assets worth more than $700. William and Eleanor claim they didn’t know this at the time of paying the $133. They later agreed over the phone but allege they felt pressured.

I have not been able to broker an outcome in this matter, so the Napas are taking AURFS to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. I was able to assist with some advice on what to argue, courtesy of Financial Rights Legal Centre principal solicitor Katherine Lane, who suggested people in such circumstances raise aspects of the Consumer Claims Act, which covers whether parties have unequal bargaining power and whether undue influence was exerted.

AURFS denies wrongdoing and will vigorously defend the claim. It says it put a week’s work into ­reports for and communication with the couple.. It said without assistance, William and Eleanor wouldn’t have tracked down the $41,000 of assets held by OSR and Link Market Services. AURFS told me one of the checks it did for them was for money OSR had removed.

You can make such a check via FOI, or the government information (Public Access) Act as it is now known. Applying costs $30, but contact OSR first. It may be able to assist in tracking down money removed from the register without an FOI application.

And remember, if you find dividends via OSR then there may well be even more valuable shares to be found, too, as was the case here.

But OSR does not hold the shares. To find shares, the Australian Shareholders Association recommends contacting the company that issued the stock.