Forgotten Bank Accounts
Do you think you might have money lying around in a in a long forgotten bank or building society account?
Maybe you can’t remember whether you closed an account or not. You might not even remember which bank or building society it was with. As much as £12 million could be sitting in forgotten accounts in Northern Ireland and now is a great time to check whether any of that money belongs to you. This handy guide will help you check if you have a forgotten account and get your money back if you do.
Forgotten accounts – your questions answered
What are dormant accounts?
You might have heard about “dormant accounts” or “unclaimed assets” in the media recently. A dormant account is a bank or building society account which a customer has not asked about, put money into or taken money out of for more than fifteen years.
The bank says my account is dormant – does that mean I can’t get my money back?
You can still get your money back even if your account is classified as dormant by the bank, Talk to your bank about withdrawing the money - they may ask you to provide proof of your identity or that the account belongs to you.
I think I might have an old account, but I’m not sure. What do I do?
There are two ways to trace whether you have any money in a forgotten account – you can do it online or send the forms in the post.
Online
www.mylostaccount.org.uk is a free service that helps you trace your lost accounts and savings. The website will help you fill in the form for the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the Building Societies Association (BSA) and National Savings and Investments (NS&I) to check if you have a forgotten account.
To get started, just click the yellow ‘start search’ button and follow the simple steps.
By post
If you don’t have internet access, you will have to fill out a separate form depending on who your account may have been with. The BBA will check with the banks; the BSA will check with the building societies and the NS&I will check whether you have any savings and investments with them. You can get the forms by contacting our banking team on 0800 121 6022 or directly from the organisations. The contact details for each are:
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA)
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, LONDON, EC2N 1EX
T: 020 7216 8909
The Building Societies Association (BSA)
YorkHouse, 23 Kingsway, LONDON, WC2B 6UJ
T: 020 7437 0655
National Savings and Investments (NS&I)
Tracing Service, National Savings and Investments, BLACKPOOL, FY3 9YP
T: 0845 964 5000
What happens next?
The banks, building societies or NS&I will check their records for an account in your name. They will get back to you to say either:
That there is no record of any accounts in your name; or
That there is a match and which bank it’s with. After this happens, the bank(s) will contact you directly
How long will it take?
The BBA or BSA will respond to your claim as soon as possible, but within three months of receiving your completed claim form. In the case of NS&I you should receive a response within one month – however, it could take up to 12 weeks.
I’ve heard that the Government is going to give the money in dormant accounts to charity; does that mean I can’t get my money back?
You will always be able to get your money back. The Government is going to establish a Central Reclaim Fund so that banks can transfer the money from dormant accounts into it to be used for charity. Even if your money is transferred you can still get it back by contacting your bank or using the BBA’s or BSA’s search scheme.
I’m having difficulties getting my money back, what do I do?
You should make a complaint to the bank – give them as much detail as possible about your proof of ownership and when you contacted the bank to ask for your money back. The bank must acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five days and must give you a full response within eight weeks.
If you are not satisfied with their response you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS helps settle individual disputes between banks and their customers and it is completely impartial and free.
You will have to fill in a complaint form. You can get the form by telephone on 0845 080 1800 or download a copy from www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
Post the form with your handwritten signature on it, along with copies of any relevant documents, to the FOS:
The Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, LONDON, E14 9SR
Remember, never post original documentation - always send a photocopy.
Let us know how you got on ….
We cannot check whether you have a forgotten account on your behalf nor can we take up any complaints but we’d like to know how well the banks are helping their customers get their money back – we want to hear both the successes and the disappointments.
Please contact our banking team on 0800 121 6022 or e-mail: bankinfo@consumercouncil.org.uk.
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