If a government agency owes you money, you could get bombarded from companies offering to help you track that money down--but make sure you read the contract carefully.

Homeowner Michael Paulus believes he was cheated out of his money when a local company offered to help him track down a refund he was owed.

"On a postcard I got, nowhere, anywhere on this postcard did it say this had to do with my property taxes. It just said funds have been located in your name, generically, and they wouldn't tell me anything over the phone. If I called, they said you have to come in with an ID. They were very cloak and dagger about it," Paulus recalls.

Paulus, a mechanical engineer, went to check it out. He was asked to show ID, and sign some forms--not understanding until too late that he'd given that company permission to not only find the money, but to keep the entire amount as a fee. He thinks he was deliberately misled.

"These companies are raking in thousands of dollars doing this, and it's completely legal. It's just unethical," Paulus says.

Tax appraiser Betsy Price thinks it's unethical, too. Her office frequently gets complaints from people upset after they paid fees or unwittingly signed over sizable refunds.

"People can always get their money back from the government themselves without paying for it," Price explains.

Price says the companies in question research public records looking for unclaimed refunds, like if a property tax value is lowered or for a homestead exemption. Property owners will sometimes get postcards telling them to contact the company for help in getting unclaimed funds, with no out of pocket costs. But as Paulus found out, there is a cost. Often a big chunk, or all of the refund that's due. It's only later that some people discover they can apply for the money themselves--Easily, quickly, and for free.

"Ideally, we would hope that everyone would call us or call the appraisal district if it's a value issue or an exemption issue before they deal with anybody else," Price says.

Michael eventually got his money back, but he said it took a year of wrangling and a small claims court filing.

Don't forget--taxing authorities say they will let you know when they owe you money. Normally, it only takes a couple of minutes to complete a request for it, and sometimes forms are available online.