THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011
MONEY
PAGE 5
Make sure your card bucks will follow you
BY MEG LOWRY
mlowry@kansan.com
Every year, thousands of KU students use their Beak Em' Bucks to order pizza, fill up their gas tanks and print off their papers. But when the student graduates, who keeps the change?
Since 2007, $63.430 from more than 10,000 students have been left in Beak Em' Bucks accounts and sent to the Kansas State Treasurer's Unclaimed Property Department by the University Card Center.
"If the student withdraws from the University or graduates, their money stays in their account for a year," Nancy Miles, director of the card center, said.
After one year, the money is sent to the State Treasurer's Office, where it remains indefinitely until its owner requests it.
Although more than $60,000 has been left on Beak Em' Bucks Cards since 2007, only $23,348 has been reclaimed.
"Most of the money goes unclaimed because students may not know where the money goes, or even that it is due back to them," said Kathy Priest, deputy director of Unclaimed Property at the State Treasury.
The treasury has an online database that lists all unclaimed property amounts by name, so long as the amount is more than five dollars.
In the last six months, 1,151 unclaimed property claims totaling $227,496 have been reimbursed in Douglas County. The number of claims is much higher than the rest of the counties in Kansas.
"The money students charge to their Beak Em' Bucks does not belong to the University," Miles said. "If they request a refund, we will make sure that they get it."
"University towns have a disproportionate amount of properties because students are not permanent residents here, and are often times only here for a short time." Priest said.
Unclaimed properties are listed through the State Treasurer by county.
She said that Beak Em' Bucks are a good example of these kinds of temporary expenses, which students forget about when they leave Lawrence.
"Basically, students should be aware that this is still their money," Priest said. "If they have a leftover balance, it should go back to them."
WHERE THE MONEY WENT
$63,430 sent to treasurer from KU Card Center since 2007
10,699 number of Beak Em' Bucks accounts from which money was withdrawn
All amounts over $5 are listed online. Anything less can be accessed by calling the Unclaimed Property Department.
$23,348 amount returned since 2007
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