My First IOU From State of California, Renamed to State of Emergency

Some time ago I found the California Unclaimed Property website and looked up my name for fun, and sure enough, I had $395 at an old job of mind. At the time I thought I just had to call someone at the place where the money was from, which I tried and got no where, and eventually forgot about it. Then, some time later, a few companies tried convincing me that if I like them keep 80% of it, they would get me the money, crazy right?

Of course I did not fall for it and went back to the website, since then the money had been transferred to the state and it was now in their hands for me to claim. So I filled out the proper paperwork some time in June and sent it in. Then, yesterday, on July 9th I received what I was thinking would be a check, however I found a “Registered Warrant.” Basically it looks just like a check, but it says “will be honored on or after 10/2/2009 unless it’s approved for earlier redemption pursuant to Gov Code Section 17221.5.”

So, I contacted my bank at one of their local branches as I would like the money fairly soon for my vacation I am going on, and sure enough, my bank, WestAmerica Bank, is honoring these until the end of today, July 10th. No kidding! The end of today, so needless to say at my lunch break, I am going to get my IOU honored. Apparently most banks are actually honoring California IOU’s for a period of time so if you get one, not all is lost!

Image via Wikipedia