Brits sitting on £1.2 BILLION of 'forgotten' money
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UK consumers are sitting on over £1billion in 'lost' money according to research, with thousands of current accounts holding forgotten cash which has never been reclaimed.
As much as £1.2 billion is lying untouched in "zombie accounts" according to Compare the Market - in other words unclaimed cash left abandoned in bank accounts that are no longer in use.
Research by the comparison website found one in three Brits (37%) hold multiple bank accounts, yet almost half of these (49%) only use one on a daily basis.
With 49 million people using current accounts in the UK, this means that around eight million accounts are sitting idle and unused.
With each of these accounts holding an average of £141, this equates to £1.2 billion across the UK.
Forgotten money - how does it happen?
The investigation by Compare the Market found that the primary reason for these 'lost' accounts is consumers failing to close down unwanted ones - especially when switching.
Nearly a third of those surveyed said they'd opened another current account to take advantage of different rewards offered by different accounts , however one in five people admitted they had opened an account a long time ago and simply had not been bothered to close it.
A bank may deem an account as dormant after a period of prolonged inactivity. At this point, they may send out letters to verify you still hold the account - and wish to keep it open. If they receive no response, or the letter has been 'returned to sender', it is likely the account will be archived until further notice.
Jody Coughlan, Head of Money at compare the market .com said: "It is concerning to see how many people have over £100 sitting in these unused zombie accounts.
Whilst it is a good idea to have a "rainy day fund" set aside in case of emergencies, the fact that so many people don’t regularly check their additional accounts is a risky move to take.
"It is really important to regularly check your personal finances for unusual activity and prevent financial losses.
"Unused accounts are easy targets for hackers who might be able to steal hundreds of pounds without it being detected.
"Similarly, recurring direct debits from forgotten accounts can cause customers to unknowingly go into their overdraft and incur hefty fines."
How to find out if you've got 'lost' money stashed away
(Photo: Getty)
If you think you may have forgotten Premium Bonds, or even a lost savings or current account stashed away, there's a handy website called Mylostaccount.org.uk that can help you rediscover it.
It's a free service by the British Bankers' Association (BBA), the Building Societies Association (BSA) and National Savings and Investments (NS&I). All UK banks and building societies are included in its database - to start a search, you'll have to complete an online form here .
The service aims to help consumers discover accounts that are no longer on the 'live' or 'open' part of the bank or building society's customer records and instead are being maintained as part of their record of 'lost' or 'dormant' accounts. This includes accounts belonging to the deceased - which may qualify as part of a will - or vulnerable adults that may be unaware that the accounts even exist.
If you are aware of a bank or building society holding an account then you should first approach that bank or building society direct to see whether the account is still open. If it is not, then you should follow their guidance or use Mylostaccount to search for a 'dormant' or 'lost' account.
If you're tracking down Premium Bonds, you may want to check if you've got any winnings to claim. You can do this using the NS&I Premium Bonds prize checker .
Bonds that were bought more than 30 years ago are unlikely to have a Premium Bond holder's number associated with them - you're likely just to have the individually-numbered bonds. If that's the case, you can write to NS&I to ask for one.
What about pensions?
(Photo: Getty)
Lost money is not just about lost savings and old banks accounts, you may also find there's money hidden away in old pensions.
While it is always advised that you keep in touch with your pension schemes throughout your career, if you've changed jobs on a number of occasions, it's possible you may have lost track of what's locked where.
There are over 200,000 pensions schemes in the UK. The government's online Pension Tracing Service helps you track down any lost money you have available elsewhere. You can use the tool to:
Find contact details for your own (or previous) workplace or personal pension scheme
Find contact details for someone else’s scheme if you have their permission
Remember if a close relative has died without taking their pension, you may be eligible for that pension fund cash too.
If you’re dealing with someone’s affairs after their death, you should check their paperwork to see if they had any personal or workplace pension schemes in place.
If they did, contact the pension provider to find out how much they had and what to do next.
If you don’t know who the pension provider is and the deceased was employed, contact their employer to see if there was a workplace pension in place.
The amount you can claim and when you can claim it depends on which type of personal or workplace pension it is. The Pensions Tracer tool can help you find out this information, to make a claim or contact the pension provider, the Money Advice Service has a handy letter template you can follow.