Missing cash? B.C.'s unclaimed property fund reaches $177M
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The B.C. Unclaimed Property Society is a non-profit group that looks after forgotten or unclaimed funds, which it receives from companies that can't trace them back to their rightful owners.
The BCUPS is a non-profit group that looks after forgotten or unclaimed funds, which it receives from companies that can't trace them back to their rightful owners.
The funds could come from sources like credit unions, unpaid wages, pension funds, estates, overpayments to debt collects, or proceeds from municipal and provincial courts.
The BCUPS notes that it does not receive funds from dormant bank accounts, which are overseen by the Bank of Canada.
The B.C. Unclaimed Property Society has a free online database where people can search to see if they have unclaimed funds available.
In 2021, the BCUPS received $4,070,621 from various sources, and returned $717,209 through verified claims.
"People lose track of their funds for a number of reasons," said Alena Levitz, executive director of BCUPS in a release Tuesday. "People tend to move around a lot, change jobs frequently, or simply forget to close an account."
The single largest unclaimed account totals $1.9 million and is part of an estate that the legal inheritors are seemingly unaware of, according to the BCUPS.
Levitz adds that inquires to the BCUPS for unclaimed funds spiked during the pandemic.
