"I figured it must be some sort of a scam," Thomas said.
But sure enough Thomas is owed a refund worth $18,000.
"I can't understand it," Thomas said. "They have my address, they hear from me every year."
The fact is there are thousands of taxpayers in Southern California who are owed millions of dollars in tax refunds that never got to them.
"People send in their tax returns and then maybe they move," said IRS Senior Tax Consultant Tom Cavagnero. "And so we send out their refund check and it comes back from the post office as undeliverable."
You may be one of those who is owed money.
In Los Angeles County, more than 4,600 people haven't gotten their 2008 refund and the average is more than $1,100 each.
In Orange County, nearly 1,400 people are without their refund, at an average of $948. In San Bernardino County, 900 people at an average of $1,138 didn't get their money.
In Riverside County, 843 people are missing an average of $1,186. And in Ventura County, some 318 taxpayers are owed an average of $937 each.
To get your money, logon to the IRS Web site at www.irs.gov. Then click on the "Where's My Refund" link, which will bring you to a page where you'll need to put in your Social Security number and some other information.
