State will automatically refund Luzerne County $5 vehicle fee overpayments

The Pennsylvania Treasury Department will automatically process approximately 31,000 refunds for Luzerne County residents who overpaid a $5 vehicle registration fee no longer in effect, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced Wednesday.

County council halted the fee the end of 2021 and later learned 31,000 vehicle owners had unknowingly paid an extra $5 for 2022 because they chose the two-year registration renewal option.

“I want to make the process of returning this money as simple as possible for everyone in Luzerne County who’s owed a refund,” Garrity said in a release. “This situation isn’t their fault, and they shouldn’t have to fill out a form to get their money back. I’m very happy to work with Luzerne County officials to refund this money as quickly as possible.”

Treasury expects the refund process to be completed by May, it said.

The county administration welcomed the state’s assistance processing the overpayments as unclaimed property so the county would not have to spend money attempting to return overpayments.

An Excel spreadsheet template was required to add the county’s vehicle fee overpayments to the state’s unclaimed property database. As a result, county Treasurer’s Office Manager Laura Beers was tasked with transposing data on the 31,000 vehicle owners from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation into the unclaimed property template.

Following the initial procedure set up with the state, the county last week posted a link for vehicle owners to file an unclaimed property claim.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Wednesday she is pleased the state is willing to automatically process the claims.

“I think it’s great news,” Crocamo said.

The county sent $221,200 to the Pennsylvania Treasury Department’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property in February, which was the amount vehicle owners overpaid.

Garrity said county officials are working with Treasury to submit a claim on behalf of all 31,253 residents owed a refund. Treasury will process the claim and send a payment to every address on record. Most refunds will be for $5, but some recipients are owed $10, $15 or $20, the release said.

Touching on the general topic of unclaimed property, Garrity noted her agency has more than $4.5 billion in owed to more than one in ten Pennsylvanians. The average value of a claim is $1,600.

Unclaimed property can include dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance policies, contents of forgotten safe deposit boxes and more, her release said. State law requires businesses to report unclaimed property to the state after three years of dormancy.

Anyone can search for unclaimed property online at patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property. For help with a claim, residents can call 800-222-2046 or email tupmail@patreasury.gov.