PEACC

PEACC (pronounced “Peak”) stands for Property Escheatment And Compliance Consulting. PEACC has been helping companies large and small throughout the Unites States get and stay in compliance with all State unclaimed property reporting laws and requirements since 2002.  PEACC works with companies in all industries including banks and financial institutions, corporations, retailers, manufacturers, real estate/title companies, insurance companies, and consumer service firms to achieve total compliance with all State requirements. Although there are other unclaimed property service providers, PEACC prides itself on providing the best solutions to your unclaimed property headaches, with the most economical fees. So whether your company is new to unclaimed property and never reported in the past to the States, or you have reported but feel you are not in complete compliance or would like to know if you are over or under reporting, PEACC has a solution that will fit your company and your bottom line. PEACC – “Where Unclaimed Property Consulting Doesn’t Have to be Expensive – Just Good!”

How Can PEACC Help?
PEACC strives to be your total source for unclaimed property (“UP”) compliance and offers the knowledge, experience and tools to assist your company in:

Looking to comply or never filed unclaimed property reports in the past, or filed sporadically over the years? PEACC can assist with an initial compliance review and coming forward voluntarily with all States while helping to alleviate any potential fines and penalties for past due property. PEACC will ensure that only property due to the States is reported, alleviating the costly burden of over reporting.  It is estimated that only 30% – 35% of corporations in America are complying with the State required reporting of unclaimed intangible property, and that only a third of these companies are fully compliant. For this reason, the States are aggressively enforcing their laws.  After all, its free money for the States.  However, most States do realize how much of a burden this compliance issue is for a company and have been known to work with companies to report property without the threat of interest and penalties for past due property. That is if the company comes forward voluntarily and reports. Please note that this “State Holder Friendly Attitude” may change soon, so there is no better time than now to participate in an informal “Voluntary Disclosure Agreement” (“VDA”) with the States.  Also keep in mind that a company can not take advantage of the VDA process if it has already been selected for an unclaimed property audit. So act fast, thousands of audit selection letters are going out weekly to companies around the Country.  No company is exempt!  Once a company is selected for an unclaimed property audit, the opportunity to participate in a Voluntary Reporting Program no longer exists.

Unclaimed Property Co-Sourcing (Report & Search Letter Generation) – Have all your unclaimed property items ready to be reported to the individual States but don’t know how, when, where, or in what required format? Let PEACC review the file(s) for accuracy. PEACC will also uncover and negate any possible audit triggers, and generate your unclaimed property reports in the required formats for all applicable States, along with completing the State mandated due diligence function, if desired.  PEACC uses proprietary market leading reporting software to ensure compliance with all State formats and guarantees each report’s acceptance. Each State report will be filed within the proper time constraints and in the correct formats, fulfilling all State rules and requirements.

Cursory UP Review – It is recommended that all Holders perform a review of their unclaimed property past reports and reporting procedures every three years to assure their reporting compliance.  History has shown, that even though a company is reporting property, they may not be fully compliant. Also, whenever there is employee turnover within an organization’s UP Department, non-compliance can start to occur, and only magnifies and time goes on. So whether you are reporting, have never done a review, or employee turnover has occurred, contact PEACC to perform a thorough review customized to fit your company operations and budget.

Policies and Procedures – Does your company have unclaimed property policies and procedures in place?  Are they up to date with current State requirements?  The first question an Auditor will ask a company is if they can see/review their unclaimed property policies and procedures. So if you do not have current policies and procedures in place, or what you have is lacking, please contact PEACC and we will customize a set of unclaimed property policies and procedures that will meet State and State Auditor standards at an economical price.

State Unclaimed Property Compliance Information – PEACC’s unclaimed property compliance manual is a user friendly compliance tool, customized to the company, that contains all Compliance reporting information for each entity.  It may be priced for only applicable reporting States and added to as a Company’s reporting exposure grows.  Included in this Compliance tool is the PEACC Compliance Hotline that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  We updated it so its compliant throughout the report year.  Now you have some where to turn to get your questions or concerns addressed in a timely, accurate fashion.

Selected for the dreaded State or State-sponsored 3rd Party Unclaimed Property Audit, or received a “Self-Audit” letter in the mail? Some of these audits have been known to last for three to five years, if not longer!  PEACC and we will offer reliable and accurate advice on how the handle and proceed with these situations. PEACC’s years of experience and State relationships have proven valuable when applied to our audit defense procedures and recommendations.  Contact PEACC for assistance if your company has been selected for an audit, or is in the middle of one that has taken a bad turn. Already working with another service provider? Contact PEACC for a second opinion. Its not unheard of for one Holder Advocate to get away with something another Holder Advocate doesn’t. There’s all sorts of “under the table” deals and agreements that are hush hush.

Unclaimed Property Compliance Trainings – Have you thought about staff training on unclaimed property but discovered they are few and far in between, or even nonexistent? When you do find a training, are they cost prohibitive? By the time you pay each individual registration fee along with all travel related expenses, is your yearly training budget exhausted? Let PEACC come on-site and train your entire staff on unclaimed property compliance along with what the States expect with reporting. PEACC can develop and present a total compliance seminar that will ensure your company will be compliant with reporting.  Plus, we will make ourselves available for continued follow up questions and assistance until you are completely satisfied.  Also, if your company would just like to meet and get a better understanding of what unclaimed property is all about, we’re there for that too!  All for one economical price!

Unclaimed Property Compliance Research – Are you short staffed because of cut backs or employee turnover and need to put your efforts in to more revenue generating areas?  Contact PEACC for assistance on compliance research functions.  Even though all States have unclaimed property regulations, there are still some very “grey” areas in the laws, along with areas not even addressed by law.  PEACC can act as your advocate and offer valuable experience, knowledge and assistance through our compliance research tools.  Looking for allowable property exemptions, including Business-to-Business (“B2B”), Ongoing Business Relationships, Gift Certificates, etc.? How about allowable service charge deductions and due diligence/search letter requirements?  Which States required search letters and which allow for deductions for each search letter? If you don’t have the time, experience or expertise to preform the continue research to stay in compliance each reporting year, contact PEACC! We’ll do it for you in a very cost effective manner. You owe it to yourself and your company to contact PEACC to help alleviate all your unclaimed property compliance reporting headaches.

info@peacc.com
410.303.5510

The basic components of a due diligence letter include:

1. a statement that the unclaimed property will be reported to the State if the Owner does not respond;
2. a statement of property type;
3. a statement that the Owner can always reclaim the property from the State;
4. a statement of the date by which the owner must respond back to the Holder in order to claim the property;
5. and the name, address, email and phone number of the Holder contact person on the letter.

A typical State due diligence statute includes the following: The Holder has an address in their records for the apparent Owner and the records do not indicate that the address is bad or inaccurate. (some State statutes say an address where “mail can be delivered”). The claim of the apparent Owner is not barred by any other law of this State (child support/delinquent taxes). The value of the property is at least ____ dollars [$____]. In most States the due diligence amount corresponds with the State’s aggregate amount. So if a State has an aggregate amount of $50.00, then the Holder would only need to perform due diligence on property items valued over $50.00.

There are about a dozen or so States that require certification that the due diligence was done. This is normally fulfilled when an Officer of the company signs the State affidavit/verification & checklist.

There are a few States, where under certain situations, require the Holder to send out their search letters Certified Mail, and in some cases this mailing cost is deductible. These States include Iowa, New York, New Jersey and Ohio. Please refer to each State’s individual statutes for further information.

Although most States do not allow the cost of the search letter mailings to be deducted (it is considered the “cost of doing business”), California, Illinois and Nevada are three States where the Holder may deduct the cost of these mailings. Please refer to each State’s individual statutes for further information.

The Holder checklist for due diligence should include the following prior to any mailing.

1. Has the Owner increase or decreased the account?
2. Has the Owner contacted the Holder about the account?
3. Has the Owner indicated an interest in property?
4. Does the Owner have any other accounts with the Holder?
5. Is the Owner a current employee of the Holder’s?
6. Is the Owner a well-known individual business or government entity?

How long should the Owner have to respond to the search letter?

Some States prescribe a specific time period. Some States say 30 days, where others say 60. Some States say until October 1 before a November 1 report due date. Others actually suggest to “allow enough time for the Owner to respond”.

Are there audit concerns for non-compliant due diligence?

Yes. All Holders need to keep documentation to verify due diligence was performed and also keep a copy of what the actual letter looks like and says. Some State statutes now allow for penalties for due diligence non-compliance.