As many as 180,000 people in the UK die every year without leaving a will behind – a truly staggering number. This can result in a number of practical issues. For example, when someone without a will passes away it can often be difficult to track down their bank accounts, pensions and other investments in order to finalise their estate.
Recognising how much of a problem finding lost and dormant bank accounts had become, the British Bankers Association, Building Societies Association and National Savings & Investments came together to set up mylostaccount.org.uk – a free service which offers to help trace bank accounts that may have been lost.
To get started you will need to gather as much information as you can about the bank account to help them to track it down. However, if you haven’t got all the information then this won’t stop you from being able to run a search.
The search facility covers an extensive range of banks and building societies, including those that have closed, merged or may have changed name since the account was opened.
Having the name of the branch, the year the account was opened, when it was last accessed, an estimated balance, the type of account and specific details such as the sort code and account number can be very helpful in finding an account. You should also be mindful of previous names that the account holder may have been known by and previous addresses that they lived at.
The process of submitting a request can take as little as three minutes but may be longer for more complicated accounts and if you would prefer to submit your request by paper rather than on the internet then most banks and building societies will be able to provide you with a form in person.
All in all you should expect to hear back from My Lost Account within three months of completing your form claim.
For help and advice on organising a funeral, please contact us on 0151 228 3900, or leave us a message through our contact us page by clicking here.