Bathurst residents are missing out on thousands of dollars in unclaimed money held by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
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Australians are urged to do a free search on ASIC’s MoneySmart website to find out if they are entitled to a share of the $1.2 billion up for grabs.
And it’s impossible to say how many Bathurst residents could be in the money. A quick search by the Western Advocate yesterday returned multiple results for locals, with sums ranging up to $2800.
One Bathurst woman is owed a total of more than $4500 in seven unpresented cheques to the General Property Trust written between 2002 and 2005.
ASIC’s unclaimed money includes funds that have been held in dormant bank accounts, unclaimed life insurance policy payouts and money from shares and other investments that people haven’t collected from companies.
The money is transferred to ASIC after a certain period of time, but is always claimable by the rightful owner.
About $387 million of unclaimed money from bank accounts, life insurance policies and shares and other investments is unclaimed across NSW.
ASIC deputy chairman Peter Kell said millions of dollars was paid to Australian’s in the last financial year, but there is more waiting to be claimed.
“There are more than a million records of unclaimed money from dormant bank accounts, life insurance, shares and other investments,” he said.
“Unclaimed money is transferred to the Commonwealth after it’s been unclaimed, usually for seven years. The money is managed by ASIC, it’s always claimable by the owner and there’s no limit on claims. Last financial year, over $158 million was paid out to more than 25,000 people.”
To check for unclaimed money, just go to www.moneysmart.gov.au to do a quick and free search of the records.
If people find they have unclaimed money, they need to contact the relevant bank or other financial institution where the money is held if it is listed as “banking” or “life insurance”.
If money is listed as “company”, the owner needs to go to visit the MoneySmart website to find out how to claim.