Never Lose a Penny

Have you ever had the feeling that you are sure you have some money or benefits somewhere in a bank or building account; an investment, pension, premium bond or anywhere else, but you are simply not sure where? Or do you need to make sure that a deceased loved one doesn’t have monies left somewhere that you don’t know about?

‘Neverloseapenny.com’ will help you to find everything that you, or they, own.

‘Neverloseapenny.com’ provides you with access to a service to search for all your lost accounts from years gone by. You could have hundreds, or even thousands of pounds lying in dormant or lost accounts and investments, which you have forgotten about or lost the details.

According to the ‘Unclaimed Assets Register’ (UAR), there is over £15 billion in unclaimed financial assets lying around in Britain’s banks, building societies, National Savings and other institutions. Are you sure none of it is yours?

How do you do it?

To use this service you have to register as a member of the Neverloseapenny site.

The membership log-in details are on the side of this page.

Once you have become a member simply complete the form headed ‘Find My Lost Accounts’ in the member’s area and we will provide this service for online searches to rummage through bank records on your behalf. All you have to do is enter your details and you will be contacted direct if there are nay lost accounts you need to know about.

Make sure you put as much information as possible once you get to the website, including as many of your old addresses as you can remember. The more information they have, the more likely they are to find that old lost savings account your Nan set up for you when you were born.

Your search details will then be forwarded on to all financial institutions you specifically mention. These institutions will then search all their records and try to locate your lost accounts. However, you have to be patient because the whole process will take around three months.

If you think you have some old or lost accounts, you have to check this out. You wouldn’t throw money away in the street. If this is your money; all you have to do is track it down.

What if they find a lost account?

If this search does locate an account you’ve lost, you won’t get your hands on the cash straight away. There will be lots of stringent security checks to make sure you are who you say you are. You will be expected to produce different identity documents depending upon which financial institution is involved.

about pensions, shares and insurance policies?

To search for lost investments in the form of investments, pensions, shares etc., you will need to form headed ‘Find My Lost Pensions and Investments.

THERE MAY BE A CHARGE FOR USING THESE SERVICES!

Ten core pledges from the banks

The ten core pledges made by banks and building societies in respect of dormant accounts and lost savings are set out in full below.

• If you have a savings or current account and you have not made any withdrawals or deposits for a set period (usually at least three years) and the bank or building society has not heard from you during that time, it will write at least once to the most recent address it holds for you to ask if you want to keep the account open (unless mail has previously been returned from that address). It may also make other attempts to trace you.

• If you reply to keep your account open, the bank or building society will continue to treat your account as live, sending you statements and other correspondence in the normal way.

• If the bank or building society receives no reply from you after a set period, usually between six weeks and three months, your account may be considered lost and the bank or building society will treat your account differently from a live account. This is to protect you because:

o It can stop fraud and identity theft
o It is not good practice to send out statements, cheque books and other material to an out-of-date address because other people could try to access your account or use the correspondence for other fraudulent purposes
o It can safeguard your privacy by not allowing confidential information to go to an old address.

• If your account is considered lost, the bank or building society will retain a record of the account.

• The funds in the account remain your property. If you make a valid claim the funds in it will be paid to you in full, with interest if applicable.

• On receiving your application to search for a lost account, each bank or building society that you identify will conduct a search of its records to see whether any matches the details you have provided.

• When you send an application form to reclaim funds from a lost account you will be contacted if further information is required. You will be advised as quickly as possible on whatever the outcome, within three months of receipt of your form.

o The balance of the account
o The amount of interest accrued, if applicable
o How you can access the funds (including any interest) in the account.

• During 2009, the Government's unclaimed asset scheme is due to be introduced and may apply to your account if you have not paid any money in to or out of the account for more than 15 years. Under this scheme money in genuinely lost accounts will be made available to be paid to certain charities. This will not affect your right to access the money in the account.

• If you are dissatisfied with the way a bank or building society has dealt with a claim you will have the right to appeal through its internal appeals process. If your appeal is unsuccessful, you have the right to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR, Telephone: 0845 080 1800 Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Points to bear in mind:

Different procedures apply in the case of business and charity customers - please consult your bank or building society if you require more details.

Some banks or building societies will contact you as detailed in the above pledges but only if the balance in your account is above a certain amount - such as £25.

Where a building society lost account is reinstated, your continuity of membership could have been interrupted.

It may be that there are legal steps you need to take before you are entitled to exercise your claim on another person's lost account. In that case the bank or building society will tell you this and you may need the services of a solicitor to help you.