SAN DIEGO–Anyone who has done business with the City of San Diego in the past three years, including paying business taxes, could be owed money. Check amounts range from $1 to $66,797.
The City regularly receives returned checks that were undeliverable based on the address on file. Checks that remain uncashed after six months become unclaimed monies. The unclaimed monies report is available on the City’s website at sandiego.gov/finance/unclaimed and is updated quarterly.
Since this time last year, the City returned $789,000 to 166 recipients who were listed in the unclaimed monies report, meaning 38 percent of the unclaimed monies were returned by the City. The average claim was $4,753.
“We want to refund every single dollar of unclaimed money,” said Fanela Espiritu, Disbursements Manager with the Department of Finance. “A simple search is all it takes to verify if you were issued a check that has gone unclaimed. There is no charge to search the data or to file a claim.”
Currently, there are more than 2,100 accounts with nearly $1 million in unclaimed monies, belonging to people or businesses that have not received money owed to them because of refunds or vendor payments. Payees can no longer claim the monies after being unclaimed for more than a year. The last day to submit a claim for any unclaimed checks issued prior to April 1, 2018 is Friday, June 21, 2019.
To submit a claim, print and complete the Request for Unclaimed Monies form and mail it to:
City of San Diego, Department of FinanceUnclaimed Monies Claim Processing, 202 C St. – Mail Station 7A, San Diego, CA 92101
Once a claim is verified, a replacement check will be issued in four to six weeks. Questions about unclaimed money can be submitted by email to DoF_Dept_of_Finance@sandiego.gov or call (619) 236-6310.
