Wake up, savers

Wake up, savers

Huge sums of money, possibly as much as £1bn, lie unclaimed in thousands of dormant accounts across the UK - and this week the chancellor said he'll grab that money and spend it on youth projects, such as sending youngsters on gap year trips abroad.

The forgotten £1bn lies piled up in accounts where customers have switched banks, moved home or left it neglected for years, usually because the sums are small. Currently there is nothing the banks can do with it - they can't touch it as it is not theirs, and yet it is expensive in admin terms.

So now the chancellor has come to their aid and is targeting accounts untouched for 15 years, deemed to be "dormant". In most cases the bank or society will have written to the holder several times and failed to elicit a response. In such instances the account's contents will effectively be turned over to the scheme.

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Details of the scheme are still sketchy. Both the Building Societies Association (BSA) and British Bankers' Association (BBA) have been closely involved over the past two years, but no firm date has been set for it implementation. It appears unlikely it will start before next autumn.

Can the government really help itself to what may be your long-forgotten cash? It seems that any person whose account is emptied as part of the scheme, will have the right for their money to be returned to them at a later date, regardless of the time that has elapsed.

In an effort to stop this happening, trade associations BBA and BSA are embarking on an awareness-raising programme to get customers to reclaim any monies owed.

If someone believes they have a dormant account at a particular bank or building society, they should approach that institution direct, through any branch. If they can't remember its name, both bodies offer a free "finding" service that aims to reunite customers with forgotten accounts.

Details of the BBA's scheme can be found at bba.org.uk or call 020 7216 8909. The BSA's website is bsa.org.uk or call 0207 7437 0655. National Savings & Investments, which offers a range of investments including premium bonds, offers a similar service - call 0845 964 5000.

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