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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 28, 2014 11:49 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Ed Neilson |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Co-Sponsorship: Third Party Asset Finder Registration |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation establishing a registry of third party asset finders in the state. Third party asset finders, recently covered in the media, are in the business of filing claims for unclaimed property on behalf of the rightful owner. Finders charge a fee or percentage of the value of the property claimed from the Pennsylvania Treasury, even though the Treasury makes it clear that there is no fee to search or make a claim for unclaimed property on their web site. As recently reported in a Philadelphia Daily News article entitled “Unregulated ‘finders’ play by their own rules in PA,” finders may charge higher than lawful fees for their services or use fraudulent documentation in order to secure the property. Frequently, disreputable finders target the elderly and other citizens without the means or knowledge necessary to file the claim themselves. Although the Treasury requires a background check for third party asset finders filing claims for unclaimed property, there is currently no provision of a registry of finders. This legislation will establish the application and registry of third party finders in the state, to be administered by the Treasury. Protecting the citizens of this Commonwealth is always a top priority. When potentially dishonest businesspersons target our citizens, it is imperative that we move forward to extend our laws in order to put an end to such practices. With this in mind, creating a registry of honest third party finders is a critical step in obtaining that goal. I urge you to join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation. |
Introduced as HB2155