Unclaimed Property

Several months ago I was notified by the California State Controller's Office that the state was holding $175 for me in unpaid wages from Radio Shack, my employer throughout my college years. Needless to say, this caught me by surprise since I had not been employed at Radio Shack since July of 2001.

According to the instructions that came included with the notice, all I had to do was to send in photocopies of my drivers license and social security card along with a completed claim form to the state controller's office. So I quickly gathered my materials and sent off the form and have been anxiously awaiting my unclaimed $175 ever since. I knew that I might not receive the money soon because the form warned that it can take up to 180 days to process unclaimed property requests, so I was anxious but patient. To make a short story shorter, my $175 arrived in yesterdays mail, and I am splitting the money evenly between my summer savings fund and my Roth IRA. It was the easiest $175 that I already made, so I was happy to finally square my account with Radio Shack, so to speak.

Speaking of Radio Shack, however, I do have an interview this week with the local Radio Shack for summer employment, since I am largely out of work from the colleges this summer due to lack of course availability. I have always enjoyed Radio Shack, and I miss the simplicity of just trying to meet the sales goals and do a good job helping people. It is a much simpler work environment than what I have been doing for the last six years or so, and I am looking forward to using that simplicity to pay the bills while still having energy to write my dissertation this summer. It is hard not to feel like I am moving backwards in life by going back to Radio Shack, but I was always happy there and I am looking forward to a nice, mellow summer as a result!

Getting back to the unclaimed property bureau, if you are in California and you suspect that monies are being held for you by the state, you can visit this web site to search the State of California's unclaimed property and see if you are owed any money that you can claim: UCP Inquiry System. While this site is just for California residents/employees, your own state should have a similar method of searching for unclaimed property. A quick Google search for your state's name and "unclaimed property" should point you in the right direction.