A lost fortune: Are you owed money?

Are you missing some money? Is there a forgotten bank account out there with your name on it? Did you once pay into a pension scheme then forget about it? Here’s how to find and reclaim any money you’re owed.

How much has been lost?

There’s an estimated £15 billion in unclaimed assets in the UK, according to Experian.

Some of that is because of forgotten bank and building society accounts, some is held in mislaid pensions and some is simply unclaimed Premium Bond winnings.

And don’t assume that it’s simply lots of small change adding up to a substantial total. In fact the biggest unclaimed Premium Bond prize is a hefty £25,000.

So are you missing some money? Even if it was a small amount, you might be pleasantly surprised to find it’s grown over the years. Here’s how to get what’s yours.

Forgotten a bank account?

The banks and building societies do want to find the account holders who’ve forgotten funds. Unfortunately, if you’ve changed address and not informed them then it can be hard for the bank to track you down.

Because of that, the British Bankers’ Association, the Building Societies Association, and National Savings and Investments joined together to create the website mylostaccount.

You can run a search through the website or apply in writing, but you’ll get a quicker response by submitting the online form.

This is an entirely free service to help reunite savers with their missing money, and you’ll usually get a response within three months.

Mislaid a pension?

There are very few jobs for life anymore and so most of us change employers and even careers.

Once you’ve switched jobs and perhaps moved house, it can become very difficult for a pension provider to find you again. You may be confused about where your different pension pots are held and how to combine them.

In fact, this is such a large problem that the government has set up the Pension Tracing Service, which can help you track down your money even if you aren’t sure of the details.

This is an entirely free service and can check more than 200,000 retirement schemes for your missing money, whether you saved into a company or personal pension pot.

You can begin the process by filling out the Pension Tracing Service’s online form.

If you want some advice before you start searching, you can ring the helpline on 0845 6002 537.

Misplaced a premium bond prize?

National Savings & Investments currently holds more than 680,000 premium bond prizes, with a total value of £39 million. But there’s no time limit for claiming prizes, so you can still double check and claim any money you’re owed.
 
Use the prize checker to check for any outstanding cash.

Don’t panic if you’ve lost your bond number and holder’s number, there’s a tracing service you can use to retrieve the information – and any money. Fill out this form and post it to the address at the bottom of the document.

Ignored an inheritance?

What if a near relative died and left you their estate? How can you track down any unknown accounts if there’s no paperwork?

The website mylostaccount.com allows authorised partners, next of kin, beneficiaries and executors of wills to search on behalf of a deceased person. You’ll need to provide a death certificate and proof of the terms of the will.

It recommends searching the six largest banks, any nearby building societies and checking for a National Savings & Investments account.
 
Hire some help

It can seem daunting to search for unclaimed or forgotten cash but it isn’t as complicated as it might seem.

There are many ways to hunt down your missing money by yourself, and that means that the entire amount is yours once you do reclaim it.

However, if you cannot face searching by yourself then there are many agencies that can help you, in return for a fee or a percentage of the funds.

For example, the credit checking agency Experian has an Unclaimed Asset Register and charges £25 per search.

Have I left it too late?

You may have heard of the Unclaimed Assets Scheme, which was introduced back in 2009. This allows banks and building societies to pass unclaimed money to good causes after 15 years.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t claim your cash, even if it’s been longer than 15 years. You’re even entitled to any interest, and banks and building societies will always keep back some of the funds to pay any late claimants.

So even if it’s been decades since you thought about your missing money, there’s no reason not to search for it today.