Claimant Profile: A Win-Win from BC Unclaimed

When Vancouver resident Trevor O’Reilly received a letter from the BC Unclaimed Property Society in 2008 informing him he had unclaimed money waiting for him, he was understandably skeptical. “At the time, I never heard of the BC Unclaimed Property Society,” he recalls. Trevor went on the BC Unclaimed website, did some research, and decided it would be worth a phone call. Turns out he has a little more than $800 ownng to him in vacation pay from when he worked for a hotel in Whistler when he was a student. “I grew up in Whistler,” he says. “When I was in high school I worked for a local hotel at their golf course.” While attending university in Victoria, Trevor’s parents moved out of the Whistler area. “I guess after my parents moved, the cheque was sent to their house but was returned to the hotel as undeliverable.” “When I received the letter from BC Unclaimed, I was intrigued because if there was unclaimed money waiting for me I wanted to know about it,” he said. “I was 24 at the time, just starting out in my career, living in Vancouver and making an entry level salary. So the extra money was really helpful, particularly in a city like Vancouver which is super expensive to live.” Trevor did some online due diligence on the BC Unclaimed Property Act, determining that BC Unclaimed was the legal custodian of unclaimed property in BC. “When I talked to someone at BC Unclaimed, they knew the name of the hotel I used to work at. I answered some simple questions, provided the required information to confirm my identity, and a few weeks later received a cheque in the mail.” When he received the cheque, it also included a survey for a draw to win $100. “I thought to myself, how many people who receive money from this organization actually take the time to complete this survey?” he recalled. “So I filled it out, sent it back and a month later received a cheque for $100.” “I’ve had nothing but good experiences with BC Unclaimed,” said Trevor. “It’s been a win-win situation all around.”