Harry Gross: Grandpa's CDs from 1989: Negotiable today?
DEAR HARRY: I recently found a number of certificates of deposit that my grandfather bought in 1989. He since has died. He had my name included as survivor-Social Security numbers weren't required back then. The CDs were issued by PSFS. I did some researc
DEAR HARRY: I recently found a number of certificates of deposit that my grandfather bought in 1989. He since has died. He had my name included as survivor-Social Security numbers weren't required back then. The CDs were issued by PSFS. I did some research and found that PSFS was acquired by Meridian, which was acquired by Mellon, which was acquired by Citizens. When I presented Citizens with a death certificate, I was told that the CDs could not be redeemed because of their age and because of the many acquisitions. That just does not make sense. I went above the teller and still got nowhere. I think I'm getting the runaround because of the interest accumulated and because the people at the bank were too lazy or too uneducated to do anything. There must be something I can do.
WHAT HARRY SAYS: My first shot would be to see if the bank (somewhere along the line) transferred the CDs to the state as unclaimed property. Your best bet is to use the Internet at patreasury.gov/unclaimed property. If that fails, try the Department of Banking. The phone number is 1-800-PaBanks. Beyond that, you have the option of a lawsuit, but that's of questionable value.