Government owes you money? How to get what you’re owed

Homeowner Michael Paulus believes he was cheated out of his money when a company offered to help him track down a refund he was owed.

He says, “On a postcard I got, nowhere, anywhere on this post card did it say this had to do with my property taxes.  It just said funds have been located in your name, generically, and they wouldn’t tell me anything over the phone.  If I called, they said you have to come in with an ID.  They were very cloak and dagger about it.“

Paulus, a mechanical engineer, went to check it out.  He was asked to show I.D., and sign some forms.  Not understanding until too late that he’d given that company permission to not only find the money, but to keep the entire amount as a fee.  He thinks he was deliberately mislead.

“These companies are raking in thousands of dollars doing this, and it’s completely legal.  It’s just unethical,“ says Paulus.

Tarrant County Tax Appraiser Betsy Price thinks it’s unethical, too.  Her office frequently gets complaints from people upset after they paid fees or unwittingly signed over sizable refunds.

“People can always get their money back from the government themselves without paying for it,“ says Price.

Price says the companies in question research public records looking for unclaimed refunds, like if a property tax value is lowered or for a homestead exemption.

Property owners will get postcards telling them to contact the company for help in getting unclaimed funds with no out of pocket costs.

But as Paulus found out, there is a cost.  Often a big chunk or all of the refund that’s due.  And it’s only later that some people discover they can apply for the money themselves…Easily, quickly, and for free.

Price says, “Ideally, we would hope that everyone would call us or call the appraisal district if it’s a value issue or an exemption issue before they deal with anybody else.“

Michael Paulus eventually got his money back.  But he said it took a year of wrangling and a small claims court filing.

Taxing authorities say they will let you know when they owe you money.

Normally, it only takes a couple of minutes to complete a request for it, and sometimes forms are available online.