Not long after J sold his house in MD, we started getting notices from random strangers that he was owed money by the government. All of them had the wrong initial for J, so we tended to ingore them. After 4-5 years, however, we were still getting notices. And various people were offering to get the $ back for us, minus a "finder's fee".
We finally decided to call one of them, and explain they were looking for another J, with a different middle initial. Oh no, the paperwork was wrong, and the person started spouting off the property address (correct), settlement date (correct), etc. We again ignored them because we didn't want to pay a finder's fee, and we figured this couldn't be that hard. But stuff always got in the way.
Just last week, after our move to MA, we got yet another notice. So I decided to do some sleuthing.
I googled "find government money" and found his name and MD address on the HUD website. Complete with a "don't let a stranger find your $ for you, just call us!" message. So I called. None of the info I have works with their automated system--homeowners, remember how many forms you signed??? And of course no one is at HUD on a snowy Saturday afternoon.
So Monday my plan is to call and wait on hold as long as it takes to talk to a real person. This isn't enough money to make us millionaires by any stretch of the imagination, but it would allow J to buy a few more SCA toys without breaking the bank. I joked to him that I should get the finder's fee ;)
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