Be wary of businesses promising to find your “lost money"

Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech has warned consumers to be wary of businesses charging fees to recover “lost” money.

“The practice of businesses approaching members of the public to suggest they may have unclaimed funds, for example, from old bank accounts or life insurance is known to the Office of Fair Trading,” Mrs Keech said.

The Office of Fair Trading has recently received a number of complaints about a New South Wales registered company that has been writing to people in Queensland.

“The business concerned has been sending unsolicited letters telling people they are the owners of unclaimed money which they can recover - for a fee.

“Such companies generally only ask for commission on money recovered but this business is asking for an upfront fee, so people need to be especially wary.

“It’s not a good idea to pay upfront for any goods or services but, in this case, the payment of any fee is totally unnecessary.

“The practice of ‘funds recovery’ or ‘money finding’ is not illegal but it is something people can do for themselves, easily and at no personal cost.

“The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) maintains a register of unclaimed monies that can be freely accessed through ASIC’s consumer website at www.asic.gov.au

“Institutions like banks advertise the names of people whose unclaimed money they are holding and money finding businesses scan the advertisements and search for the legitimate claimants.

“They might write to several people with the same name and there is no guarantee the money actually belongs to any of the persons they have written to.”

“The complaints that have been received have been referred to the New South Wales Office of Fair Trading for appropriate action,” Mrs Keech said.

People who receive unsolicited fee-for-service requests from money finders can complain by calling the Office of Fair Trading on 131304 or visit the website www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au

Consumers seeking further information can get a free copy of Consumerwise, an 84-page handy how-to guide which includes information about how to avoid scams.

Media contact: Joanna Whitaker 3224 2005