Escheatment laws remain a hot topic at state and Federal levels

We've been discussing a couple of recent news items related to escheat laws that really drive home the risk management issues associated with unclaimed, abandoned or escheated property.

The first story is from The Times Picayune in New Orleans, LA. Benny Spann, director of the Unclaimed Property Division of the state's  Treasury Department details Louisiana's escheatment audit and unclaimed property efforts.

I've talked in the past about escheat laws, audit risk, the increased scrutiny companies are facing, and the rising state interest in unclaimed property. The bottom line is that unclaimed and abandoned property contributes a lot to the states' top line revenue.

From the story:

"Collections are coming in at a record clip because of the state's stepped-up efforts to audit companies that might have been withholding payments and not turning them over as state law requires. Companies talk, even competitors talk...that the state is auditing more."

If you ever doubted that unclaimed property and reporting issues posed a risk to your company, ask any companies headquartered or doing business in Louisiana right now.

The other story is regarding the Fed's planned overhaul of the rules governing gift card escheatment. Essentially the Fed is proposing that, "consumers must have at least five years to use the gift cards before they expire," and that, "service or inactivity can be imposed only under certain conditions." A number of outlets covered the news, including the Wall Street Journal.

In our internal discussions our consultants all agreed that this was a step in the right direction! The patchwork of state restrictions on gift card/certificate fees and expirations, which appear in both consumer protection and unclaimed property laws, make compliance with the escheat laws very difficult for our clients and businesses in general.

We've talked about this before because the fact is some states have very strict rules on charges and expirations, while others have none. A standard set of rules across the states would be a welcome and logical change!