Unclaimed funds from New York State

May 10, 2017 1:42 PM

Using the NY Comptroller's website I discovered they have a record of unclaimed funds at an address I lived at 13 years ago. I tried to recover the funds using their online system but it insists I mail in a form with documentation. This was a long time ago and I don't have any documents listing this address. How do I get these funds?

The documentation requirements are here. I don't have any of these documents, I only lived in the state for two years and it was over a decade ago. The only thing I can think of is that my credit report lists this address, do you think that would be sufficient?

This is probably a trifle (based on my poor grad student status at the time I can't imagine they owe me more than a hundred bucks) but since they won't tell me the amount it's worth a shot, right?

posted by Bistle to Work & Money (8 answers total)

Best answer: Send them what you have, they're surprisingly good about working with people to get them the funds. I once sent in a request for the wrong funds (I wasn't sure if they were mine or not) and they actually did the work on their end to confirm and make sure I got the correct ones. Worst case scenario, they deny the request.
posted by griphus at 2:07 PM on May 10, 2017

Best answer: I think you should be able to get a report from the SSA listing any address you ever paid taxes at. (The last time I did this was almost twenty years ago, but if they did it for me in 2000, I don't see why they wouldn't still do it.) Check around their website and see if there's a way to order it.
posted by LizardBreath at 2:18 PM on May 10, 2017

...based on my poor grad student status at the time...

From the link: Records such as tax (W2 and 1099 forms), school, insurance, medical, military...
Can you order a transcript or other documentation from your school that would show your address at that time? (If you still have your student log-in, you might be able to print this out yourself.) If you had/have a student loan, the loan company website may have what you need. The IRS has the Tax Return Transcript form that lists your address.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:22 PM on May 10, 2017

Can you call them? I found something in California for my mom from 1972, and they told me exactly what I needed to send them, saving a lot of time.
posted by Room 641-A at 2:56 PM on May 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I tried calling them but the automated system was...unresponsive.

Thanks for all the answers so far!
posted by Bistle at 2:59 PM on May 10, 2017

The credit report is certainly worth a try. All they can say is "we need more documentation."

Your utility companies, banks, etc. may also be able to send copies of past bills for a small fee.
posted by wierdo at 3:07 PM on May 10, 2017

I had a situation like this in Washington State (though I was able to get something over the phone) and they wound up accepting a notarized document by me saying that I had lived at that address at those dates.
posted by jessamyn at 6:11 PM on May 10, 2017

Oh, yes, I also needed something notarized.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:02 PM on May 10, 2017