How do I know this is not a scam?
The first thing is that we NEVER ask for any money up front. We work on a contingency basis and get paid ONLY on successful recovery of your money. The next thing is that we don’t ask for any additional personal information because we’ve already qualified you as the rightful owner or heir/beneficiary before we even attempt to contact you.

There are definitely scams that are out there, so please be aware. Make sure you DON’T pay any money up front. And DON’T give out any personal information unless you’re completely certain of who’s going to use that information and for exactly what purpose.

Do I take any risk by hiring Meritrust ARS to recover my money?
Absolutely not – there is ZERO risk. This money is yours, and you pay us nothing until AFTER you have received your funds. Our job is to navigate the claims process for you, and make it simple.

What are your business credentials?
Meritrust ARS is registered in good standing with the WV Secretary of State's Office. We are also members of our local Chamber of Commerce, and members of the Professional Business Women’s Association.

In addition, we have a toll-free number, and our Office Manager, Jennifer Mekulski, makes herself readily available to clients.

You may call us anytime at 877.309.MARS (6277)

You may also e-mail Jennifer directly at jennifer@meritrustars.com

Lastly, if you wish to take our documents to an attorney, please do so. We have absolutely nothing to hide, and stand behind everything we do.

Do you need my bank account numbers, SSN, or anything similar?
Not in the least. We do not need any sensitive or private information. In fact, your privacy is always of the utmost importance to us. Even if we need to procure documents like death certificates or similar, we’ll have them sent from the government directly to you.

How come I didn't know about this money? It seems so unlikely.
It’s really not that unlikely. Many times a simple change of your address can delay or completely cause you to miss out on money that belongs to you. Assets become abandoned when contact with the rightful owner is lost – due to a death, an unreported change of address, a divorce, change of name (marriage, etc), or simply just forgotten by the owner.

Also, we have access to databases and other records that are not readily available to the general public. And even if you were aware of it, it’s still very difficult to find, let alone recover, without a lot of experience and professional training.

Examples of Abandoned Assets:

• Overpayment of property taxes
• A vendor check
• Utility deposit
• Performance bond
• Insurance policy payouts
• Court settlements/deposits
• Abandoned Checking and Savings Accounts
• Dividends/Stock/Mutual Funds/Matured CDs
• Escrow funds
• Uncashed cashiers checks
• Refunds due/Credit balances
• Wages/Payroll/Unemployment Benefits
• Pension and Profit Share Plans
• Estates with missing/unknown Heirs
• Safe Deposit Boxes

As you can see by the above list, many of these are very, very easy to “let slip”. For example, if somebody dies, what happens to their utility deposit paid fourteen years ago? Or a property tax overpayment? Add in the fact that a significant life event usually triggers the loss of contact (death, divorce, relocation), and it becomes easier to envision a bank account or a safe deposit box being forgotten.

Also, like previously mentioned, it does not have to be YOUR asset originally – if you are the closest surviving heir to a deceased relative, any of the above may now belong to you.

How do you know the money belongs to me?
We spend many long hours researching public records, such as census records, estate documentation, obituaries, vital records, business filings, and/or other proprietary methods, to determine and track down the legal owner of the money we find. But, sometimes there is not enough information supplied by the Holder of the funds, so it may take a conversation with you to make a final determination.

But as of this moment, if you received a letter from us, we believe you are the rightful owner of an abandoned asset.

How do you charge for your services, and do you charge any up-front fees?
We do not charge ANY up-front fees, processing fees, deposits, or anything similar. Meritrust ARS works strictly on a contingency basis. We only earn and collect our fee when we are successful, and after you receive your money.

We charge a modest percentage of the total amount recovered only AFTER you receive your claims check. However, if for some reason you are unable to recover your property, you owe Meritrust ARS nothing. If no recovery is made, Meritrust ARS receives absolutely nothing and absorbs every cost incurred.

The percentage we receive and the amount you will recover are clearly stated in the finder’s agreement and disclosure form. An invoice is sent only AFTER you receive your claims check. In other words, you pay us right out of the funds we recover for you.

Why should I pay Meritrust ARS to assist me?
Our business is asset recovery. It’s all we do. And asset recovery takes considerable time and effort, and can also be very frustrating if you don’t know all of the ins and outs. There are a myriad of government agencies, letters and calls, confusing forms, strict filing requirements, people who don’t call back, etc.

Meritrust ARS offers an easier solution – let US do all of the above, and you simply get your money. Is that worth our modest percentage fee? We think it is.

In addition, we have the personal contacts within many of the agencies that will be processing your claim, we are experts at knowing what forms need to be submitted to "prove entitlement", we advise you and assist you in completing any paperwork, and we have the capability to check on the progress of the claim once it has been filed.

Meritrust ARS is a customer-service driven company, adhering to strict ethical rules, processes, and procedures. We treat our Clients honestly and fairly – it’s the only way to do things.

Lastly (yet importantly), we’ve already done some work. Would you have even known you were owed money unless we notified you? It took time, effort, and money for us to locate you and inform you about your abandoned funds. So truthfully, Meritrust ARS would genuinely appreciate your business for our efforts. You’ll pay our modest fee out of the money we recover for you – it’s a true win/win situation.

How do I begin recovering my property?
To begin the recovery process, you must sign and return the Finder Agreement that we have sent to you. This provides us with the permission to assist you in the recovery of your funds (and again, if you are still skeptical and want to take this form to an attorney, please feel free to do such). If you need another form, simply contact us and we’ll send another.

I didn’t get a letter from you, but hey, maybe you can find some money for me? How about it?
Well, since we get paid FROM the funds we collect, we want to make sure there ARE funds before we start the process. So we really can’t do searches for anyone who asks.

That said, we are very good at uncovering things. If you wish to pay us to do some detective work for you in this regard, we’d be open to discussing it. Contact us if this interests you, and we’ll discuss possibilities.