Hi! I have received a letter from Keane Tracers indicating that they
know about unclaimed property that belonged to my dead mother. I
called Keane and was told that they had knowledge of stock property
worth $21000 and that we would have to pay them 33 1/3% of the value
for the information.  I have sent letters to the states my mother
lived in and have called Stock Transfer Agents and have found nothing.
 What would you suggest?

http://www.findcash.com/ offers free searches based on last name, and
only charges $10 to get the rest of the information if they have the
name in their database. I would try there first, if anything.

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Clarification of Answer by bookface-ga on 22 May 2002 19:16 PDT

I meant to post only as a suggestion, but if that doesn't work out
request a clarification with your mother's name and I will try to find
more information for you.

Be very, very careful, and see a lawyer before you part with any money.

For what it's worth, article below says the 1/3 can come out of the
money AFTER you receive it.  Also, Keane Tracers does have a fairly
respectacle looking web site...worth having a look, if you haven't
already.  And one more thing -- many states have unclaimed property
sites you can search on the web (if you write to them, it will take
ages)...woth looking at, if you haven't already.

Good luck.  If you get your $$$, treat all the Google Answer guys to a
pizza!

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER 
September 18, 2000

ASSETS OFTEN GET SEPARATED FROM THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS 


QUESTION: I hope you can answer my question regarding unclaimed
assets. I was originally contacted five years ago by Keane Tracers
Inc., which said it had knowledge of a "paper asset" easily converted
to cash for about $4,500. Keane said that for a one-third finder's
fee, it would claim my asset for me and deliver it to me less its fee.
I passed on the opportunity, believing it to be a scam or too good to
be true. Now, it has contacted me again. My question is, is the
company reputable? Is there any way I could be out more than the
finder's fee to reclaim my asset? Could I find this asset myself? I
have no idea what it could be at this point. I see myself signing the
contract with Keane and owing more than the asset is worth. Is that a
possibility?

ANSWER: I am not familiar with this particular company, which claims
to be the largest firm in its field and to have a 50-year history.

Every year, a surprising number of investments and other accounts get
separated from their rightful owners. For example, people simply
forget to file a change of address with some organizations, including
employers that hold assets in their names. Sometimes when a person
dies, his or her heirs might not be aware of all of the deceased
person's assets.

You can try and locate assets to which you are legally entitled by
contacting the state treasurer's offices in those states in which you
or your deceased relatives have previously held assets. Many
institutions are required by law to turn over so-called abandoned
assets to state government. If you've moved around a lot, this could
take a great deal of time.

Your concerns are good ones. However, the company told me that you
don't have to pay the finder's fee up-front, and it can be deducted
from the money you are due. I don't foresee you possibly owing more
money than the asset is worth, so long as the finder's fee is a
portion (one-third) of the value of the asset.

This web page also offers some ideas:
http://www.unclaimed.org/RightFrame.asp?VisitorType=owner&SectionName=been_contacted

Hi Jane, 

I'd feel awful taking your money for this, so this one's on me:

The Better Business Bureau has a report about Keane Tracers here:

[ http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?compid=P12910&national=Y ]

Here is a brief excerpt from the report, but I encourage you to read
the whole thing:

"The company's services include unclaimed fund compliance,
administration and recovery services. The administration services are
offered to large financial institutions while the recovery services,
which may be endorsed by the financial institutions, are offered
primarily to the public. The asset recovery services pertain solely to
those unclaimed or dormant assets which have not yet been remitted to
state's treasury or revenue departments. Charges for services are
based on a contingency fee contract. The company charges a fee of
between 10 and 35 percent of the total asset value for recovery of the
unclaimed asset. The fee is based on the difficulty in locating an
individual, the value of the asset and the complexity of processing
the case. There are no retainers or advanced fees and no fee is owed
if there is no recovery. Also, the company has informed the BBB that
generally the higher the asset value, the lower the contingency fee."

Good luck!

missy-ga

At the very least, if you can't find the assets through other means,
you could try negotiating with the company over the fee.  At this
point, it appears, the company has already done the work needed to
find the assets (probably found while researching something else), and
if you don't buy they don't get anything.  You should also be aware
that you may not have unlimited time to claim the assets.  Through a
process known as escheatment, some unclaimed assets can become the
state's if not claimed soon enough.

Some states give you the ability to check online.  For example,
California provides an online inquiry form at
http://sco.ca.gov/col/ucp/

I received a notice from Greenview Company, LLC in Millis MA which has
a 20% fee if the assets are recovered.  I don't know a thing about
them but their fee is at least lower than Keane.  I am going to pursue
some of the links form this site.  Thanks.
I live in Massachusetts, where the findmassmoney.com brings you to the
Abandoned Property site of the state's abandoned property division. It
allows you to file a claim for no fee.  I think the assets are held
with no time limit.I would assume many states have a similar easy way
of accessing info about assets and for filing claims.   Good luck and
thanks for the suggestions.

http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2003/04/07/smallb1.html