Forgotten savings claimed by thousands

Following the government’s call to urge consumers to reclaim forgotten savings earlier this year, a recent report has shown that over ten thousand people reclaimed their lost savings over the summer months, and it is thought that many more will continue to do so over the coming weeks.

Consumers have used the British Banking Association’s reclaim facility in order to claim back money that has been left in dormant accounts and forgotten about.

Earlier in the year the government stated that any money that had been left in dormant accounts for fifteen years or more would be used to improve youth and community facilities if it was not claimed. As a result of this thousands of people put in their claims over the space of three months in order to get back their money, although the government did also state that the money could be reclaimed at any time and there was no deadline by which the money had to be reclaimed.

The British Banker’s Association stated that there would most likely be another flood of claims after legislation relating to claims, known as the Unclaimed Assets Bill, was mentioned in the Queen’s speech next month. Over two hundred thousand people have tried to claim money from their dormant accounts over the past year according to figures. Consumers have been able to do this through the BBA as well as directly through the bank or building society in question.

Paul Chisnall, executive director of the BBA stated: ‘We had stories of Gordon Brown stealing money in the press and on TV, which led to a huge increase in volume. That could well repeat. There may be a collective targeting mentality as a result of the legislation and we’re in a state of readiness. As banks are more active on this, that will also generate more interest. What we’re trying to tell people is – it’s your money; there has never been a better time to claim it.’

Tom Smith
10th November 2007

Tags: individuals, bank, claim, lost, accounts, savings