The BBA is the voice of the banking industry for all banks who operate within the uk
Dust down dormant accounts this Easter says BBA
05/04/2007
Banks are making a determined effort to encourage customers to reactivate old accounts ahead of plans by the government to use money in accounts that have not had any transactions for 15 years for community purposes.
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) says there can be many different reasons why an account can become dormant, but the most typical is to forget to tell the bank when you move home.
Money in dormant accounts can be claimed at any time. If you know the name of the bank then you can apply to have the account reactivated through any of the bank's branches or call centre. Should you be unsure of the name of the bank where your account was held all is not lost as the BBA offers a free tracing service.
Claims can be made through the BBA website (see link below) or alternatively claim forms can be obtained direct from the BBA. There's also a customer helpline where you can talk with a member of the BBA staff about any questions you might have about the claim process - 020 7216 8909.
For further information, please contact:
BBA press office (020 7216 8840 )
Notes to Editors:
The BBA website provides a comprehensive background on dormant accounts and on the British Bankers' Associations dormant accounts tracing scheme and answers to some of the more frequently asked questions are below.
What is the BBA tracing scheme?
Central tracing facilities were first introduced in 2001 with the aim of making it easier for customers to trace dormant accounts. This FREE service was an extension of a scheme first introduced in 1998 and is designed to help where the customer is unsure of which bank holds an account to which they have entitlement, including instances where the bank has since closed or merged.
What is a dormant account?
Banks wherever possible seek to retain contact with their customers. If, however, an account has been inactive for an extended period, the account holding bank will write to the customer asking them whether they wish the account to remain open. If no response is received, the bank will stop sending correspondence and will class the account as "dormant". This ensures that financial details are not sent to what might be an old address. This reduces the risk of fraud and ID theft.
The most typical cause of a bank account being made dormant is a customer omitting to advise all relevant financial institutions of a change of address.
How do banks go about tracing their customers?
Banks have set procedures for contacting customers in advance of making accounts dormant. This contact is normally in addition to other regular customer mailings. Depending on the circumstances, banks may also undertake other forms of pro-active search to trace customers with whom they have lost touch.
Given the development of multi-product relationships with customers and advances in IT, banks are less likely to lose track of customers than previously was the case. This reduces the likelihood of accounts becoming dormant.
In the event that an account does become dormant, however, customers can either reactivate an account on application to their bank or use the BBA tracing scheme.
What happens if my bank has closed or merged?
The BBA website's dormant accounts section includes a long list of banks that have closed, merged or changed name. Even if your bank isn't listed there, call the BBA dormant accounts unit and they'll do everything they can to help. The number is 020 7216 8909.
What if my account is at a building society?
The Building Societies Association has an equivalent scheme. You can contact them through the website link below or by telephone on 020 7437 0655.
Related Links
BBA Online Dormant accounts claim form (External Link)
BSA website (External Link)
|
|
|
