Jeni Foreman, of Henderson, was supposed to be one of the recipients, but it took some work and a little outside help. Now she is one of those people.
"I couldn't believe it," Foreman said. "And then, I started wracking my brain, 'What is this from?'"
It was a $712 court judgment she won years ago, but she couldn't claim the money because she could not prove the Durham address associated with the name was once hers.
"I called Duke Power, GTE, the Durham County tax office, the Durham Police Department, the Durham County sheriff's department, Circuit City and CCB Bank," Foreman said.
Finally, she gave up. That was four years ago.
"I just chalked it up as lost, but when I saw (my name) on TV again, I was like, 'This has to be one more chance that I have to take,'" Foreman said. "So, I took it. And I'm glad I did."
Foreman called 5 on Your Side, which then helped her get the money.
"That is one of the issues that we have a lot of problems with -- people trying to locate an address they lived at 10 years ago," said Shirley Fowler, who heads the Unclaimed Property Division.
Fowler said that although you must prove your Social Security number -- which can be in the form of a number of documents, including a Social Security card, W-2 form, pay stub or bank statement -- claims representatives are flexible when it comes to the address.
"If a claim comes through that somebody says, 'I absolutely cannot do it,' then, we make every effort we can to help them and see if they can get it approved without them having to go through so much frustration," Fowler said.
Any legal document that shows the name and specific address is acceptable. Those documents include a driver's license, pay stub, W-2 form, bank statement, marriage or death certificates and credit report.
The unclaimed property division helped Foreman confirm her address through court records.
Fowler said one of the biggest obstacles with claims is when people do not take the time to read the directions on the form.
For more information on North Carolina's unclaimed property program, or to search for unclaimed property, go to
NCCash.com
.
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