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CHAPTER 6: In this chapter, we will look at the process of filing a claim for your money:
Documentation Required for a Claim The Act states that the Registrar must be "satisfied" with a claim: “To allow for the refund of unclaimed moneys, the claimant must satisfy the Registrar that he is the rightful owner or has a legal right over the unclaimed moneys.” In practical terms, therefore, a claimant must know what the Registrar expects if he wants to reclaim his money. The Registrar's guidelines list the following documents as means of proving ownership or having the legal right over the unclaimed moneys: 1. A copy of Form UMA-7, duly completed and signed. 2. The original document showing ownership of the money to be claimed. 3. A certified copy of the claimant’s identity card. In the case of a foreign national, a photocopy of the pages in his passport showing the passport number, country of issue, name and photograph of holder. 4. In the case of a corporation or business, the employee of the claimant corporation or business must sign Form UMA-7, stating clearly his name and position. The claimant corporation’s or business’ rubber stamp must appear on the form. 5. In the cases where the claimant is not the original owner but has a legal right over it, the following documentary proof is necessary:
In addition, effective from 1st July 2007, the Registrar's office has been issuing all unclaimed moneys refunds directly into claimants’ bank accounts through electronic funds transfer. Thus, claimants must also provide: 6. A copy of their bank statement; and 7. Fax number or email address. Finally, if a third-party claimant (an agent acting on behalf of another person, business, or corporation) makes a claim, the original owner must fill in an indemnity bond, promising to indemnify the Registrar of any action taken against him for the refund. The Problems For the most part, the documents required to process a claim are not contentious. The biggest problem for any claimant lies with the documentation under No. 2 above: the original documentation showing ownership, and the final point above: the indemnity bond. Let us examine each of these in turn. Proof of Ownership If you know that you have lost something, the chances are higher that you can find the original documents showing proof of your ownership. As we have discussed throughout this book, however, moneys that sit unclaimed for long periods of time are typically forgotten, and the owners have more difficulty producing the original documents. The Unclaimed Moneys Act Guidelines state: “Where the claimant is unable to produce the original document showing ownership of the money to be claimed… he has to obtain a letter of confirmation (providing details of the money being claimed) from the entity that forwarded the unclaimed moneys to the Registrar.” This does not provide total relief, because:
In addition to the difficulties above, suppose you have no original document proving ownership. The original debtor – the entity which made the deposit to the Registrar – is not obliged by law to assist you in any way. The Act only requires the entity to report and submit the money to the Registrar, nothing more. In theory, the entity could simply turn you away, saying that it has more pressing matters to deal with than digging through its archived financial records, which may be already in storage in a warehouse elsewhere. Granted, that situation is rare. In practice, entities rarely turn claimants away. It is understandable though, that claimants' requests get low priority, and as more claims come in, this problem will only get worse. The Indemnity Bond (Form UMA-8) Historically, Rule 6 of the Unclaimed Moneys Regulations 1976 established Form UMA-8. Rule 6 states: “6. The Registrar may require any claimant to sign an indemnity bond in the form of UMA-8 of the Schedule before any unclaimed moneys are paid to the claimant…” The 2002 amendments to the Act, however, abolished the 1976 Regulations. This is an instance of a form remaining in practical use after the deletion of the regulations. The Unclaimed Moneys Act Guidelines state: “If the claim is for the refund of moneys wrongly sent to the Registrar as unclaimed moneys, documentary evidence to show proof that the money originally sent by the entity actually belongs to the entity has to be furnished. In addition the entity is also required to fill in an indemnity bond.” From this, we gather that the Registrar initially intended Form UMA-8 for use when an entity (the depositing organisation), for some reason, asks to take back money that it had previously deposited with the Registrar. In recent years, however, the Registrar has been requiring claimants, particularly when represented by third-party agents, to complete the UMA-8 form, as well. The UMA-8 states: “I, __________, NRIC No. __________, of __________, on my own behalf/on behalf of company/firm __________, who is claiming unclaimed moneys of the amount RM__________, which has been deposited by company/firm __________, in consideration of the Registrar of Unclaimed Moneys making payment of the stated unclaimed moneys, hereby agree to hold harmless and indemnify the This practice of requiring claimants to indemnify the Registrar, however, seems superfluous. It is hard to imagine a situation in which a claimant might be liable, especially since Section 13(2) of the Act protects the Registrar from any further demands once payment has been released to a claimant: “Where any unclaimed moneys paid to any claimant are afterwards claimed by any other person that other person shall not be entitled to the payment thereof, but such person may have recourse against the claimant to whom the unclaimed moneys has been paid.” Miscellaneous Problems There are two other requirements which may present problems for some claimants. The need to present a copy of their bank statement gives many claimants pause. Many of us, and especially business owners, are not keen on divulging our financial records to outsiders. We can circumvent this objection by blanking out the financial detail, leaving only the general information at the top of the statement, thus allowing the Registrar to verify the account. Is it really necessary, though, to require a bank statement at all? If you give the Registrar a request in writing to transfer the funds to your bank account, why does he need to verify the account information? The Registrar is either a debtor or a trustee of your moneys – a written demand that the funds should be transferred to a specific account should suffice. This requirement also poses a problem for anyone who does not have a bank account. If you fall into this category, you have only two options:
The Registrar’s other requirement which may prove troublesome is the request for a fax number or email address. We hope there is some leeway in this requirement for those who do not have access to the internet or a fax machine. |