New website helps trace dormant accounts

by Gill Montia

Story link: New website helps trace dormant accounts

A new website that can help consumers reclaim dormant savings has been launched this week.

Mylostaccount.org.uk allows people to trace overlooked or abandoned bank, building society or National Savings and Investment (NS&I) accounts.

In the past, dormant account seekers had to use three separate schemes to trace forgotten savings.

It is estimated that up to £1 billion could be contained in dorman accounts and the Government has plans to use what it describes as “genuinely unclaimed” assets in community projects.

A new community fund will be initiated during 2009 and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

The Treasury will limit its use of such funds to accounts where there has been no “customer-initiated activity” for at least 15 years.

The financial services sector estimates that using this definition, around £250 to 350 million exists in bank accounts; up to £150 million in building society accounts and a further £466 million in dormant NS&I accounts.

The new website covers 42 banks, 59 building societies and all NS&I products and Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, says: “Mylostaccount.org.uk will enable account holders to initiate a search … the click of a button. It is a key part of the industry’s commitment to make further steps towards reunifying customers with their money in advance of the statute-backed unclaimed assets scheme.”

Schemes similar to that planned for the UK already exist in a number of countries, including the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia.