WGN's Click This

IRS says more than 4,000 Illinoisans have unclaimed refund checks. Are you one of these people?
If you are, all that may be needed from you is an updated address.

To get a list of undelivered refunds you can go to: www.irs.gov or by calling 1-800-329-1954.

Are you having trouble keeping up with your mortgage payments?

Click to: www.nhschicago.org/content/index.php.

Learn how to tip everyone on your list this holiday season.

For more information, click to: http://emilypost.com/everyday/holiday_tipping.

www.charitywatch.org

1. Think about where your gift is needed most. While holiday-inspired gifts of toys to needy kids or food donations to the local food bank are definitely worthwhile donations, keep in mind that other charities, like your local women's shelter for example, may need contributions just for general operations like keeping the lights on or paying the rent for their facilities.

2. Make educated giving decisions, not emotional ones. Most of us are familiar with the solicitations letters we receive in the mail from charities that include sad photos of hungry kids or abused animals, and desperate pleas for money. What many people don't realize is that often times these direct mail or telemarketing solicitations come from a for-profit professional fundraiser hired by the charity to raise funds. On average, only about one-third of what you give through a professional fundraiser will ever reach the charity. The ability of a charity or professional fundraiser to include sad photos or statistics in their solicitations tells you nothing about how efficiently the charity will use your donation.

3. Resist the urge to drop cash or coins into a collection bucket. When you hand over cash to someone soliciting for charity, you have absolutely no way to track your donation to make sure it reaches the intended recipient. The charity has no way to track it either. If you believe the charity soliciting is deserving of your support, pass up the collection bucket and go home and write a check to the group, or go to their secure web site and make a credit card donation. It is especially important to get a receipt of your donation if you plan on taking a year-end tax deduction.

4. Don't take the claims of charities at face value. Many donors don't realize that charities can count huge portions of their telephone or mail solicitation expenses as a charitable program, claiming that their telemarketing call is "educating" you. When people look at charity web sites and see statistics like "90% of your donation goes directly to programs," many donors don't realize that much of this figure may include fundraising activities that include an educational component. These are called joint costs. Never rely on a statistic given to you by a charity without knowing and understanding what is included in the figure.

SMOKERS IN THE CHICAGOLAND AREA CAN GET HELP KICKING THE HABIT FOR THE NEW YEAR.
THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IN SKOKIE HAS A FREE NICOTINE ADDICTION SEMINAR TONIGHT.
THAT'S JUST IN TIME FOR THE JANUARY FIRST WHEN A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE STARTING THEIR NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS AND WHEN *THE SMOKE-FREE ILLINOIS ACT* GOES INTO EFFECT.
IT'S A STATEWIDE BAN ON SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES, INCLUDING BARS AND RESTAURANTS.
THE SEMINAR IS FROM 7 TO 9 AT SKOKIE VILLAGE HALL.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 847-933-8252

Giannoulias: Redeem expired gift cards
New gift card law protects consumers
Thursday, December 27, 2007

Illinois residents who received gift cards this holiday season may be able to redeem them for cash even if the gift cards expire, Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias said today.
The Treasurer's Office is holding more than $5 million in unused gift card balances for Illinois residents.

Giannoulias' announcement comes after a record year in gift card sales and in advance of a new law which aims to make gift cards more consumer-friendly. As of Jan. 1, gift cards must not expire for five years after issuance and cannot charge fees which diminish their value.
"In Illinois, gift cards never stop giving," Giannoulias said. "Even when gift cards expire, consumers can recover their money from the state."

Owners of expired gift cards can search for their refunds on the state's unclaimed property database at www.cashdash.net or call (866) 458-7327. Even if a name isn't listed, the state may still have a person's unused balance.

Most gift card retailers do not record the name or contact information for the purchaser or recipient. The unredeemed balances come to the state marked as "owner unknown." In such cases, the purchaser or recipient must file a claim with the Treasurer's Office using the serial number on the expired gift card.

Unfortunately not all retailers who do business in Illinois send unclaimed gift card balances to the Treasurer. Unused gift card balances are sometimes remitted to the state where the retailer is incorporated. That's one reason why the new gift card law is a win for Illinois consumers, said state Rep. Jack Franks of Woodstock who sponsored the legislation.
"Our goal was to put an end to the gift that keeps on taking," Franks said. "That money needs to stay in the pockets of consumers."

An estimated $8 billion in gift cards went unused in the U.S. in 2006, according to TowerGroup, a research firm in Needham, Mass.
Similarly, a recent Consumer Reports National Research Center survey found that 27 percent of adults who received gift cards during the 2006 holiday season had not used one or more of them nearly a year later. That is an increase from 2005, when 19 percent of consumers had one or more unused gift cards.

Over one-third of those respondents said they didn't use the cards because they either forgot about them, lost them, or the cards had expired, according to Consumer Reports. More often, people said they didn't have time to shop or couldn't find anything to buy.
Still, gift cards remain wildly popular. TowerGroup projects gift-card sales will top $100 billion in 2008, compared with estimates of $80 billion in 2006.

"Gift cards are king. Illinois laws make them all the more appealing to time-pressed shoppers," said Lynda DeLaforge, co-director of Citizen Action Illinois.
The Consumer Reports survey found that 62 percent of consumers planned to give gift cards in 2007. They were the most-wanted gift among women and ranked third with men.
"When it comes to gift cards, it is buyer beware," said Jack Gillis of the Consumer Federation of America. "Illinois consumers can be thankful for a new law that protects their pocketbooks when it comes to gift cards. Banning fees and insuring that gift cards are good for at least five years will go a long way to insuring that these cards really are gifts and not overpriced sales gimmicks."

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