How to find lost bank and savings accounts

How do I find lost or dormant bank and savings accounts?

The easiest way to re-trace lost or dormant bank and savings accounts is to use the mylostaccount.org.uk service, run by the British Bankers' Association, Building Societies Association and National Savings and Investments (NS&I).

You can search banks, building societies and all NS&I products free of charge by completing one online form. Searches with banks and building societies will be completed within three months, and within one month for NS&I.

The form will ask for information such as your current contact details, date of birth and any previous addresses and names.

You will need to provide as much information as you can about the lost account, such as:

• The branch you opened it at
• When you opened it
• When you last used it
• An approximate balance
• Type of account
• Sort code and account number

Paper mylostaccount forms are also available in bank and building society branches.

If the provider finds an account that matches your information, it will contact you to explain how you can access the unclaimed funds, including any interest, in the account. You will need to provide proof of identity in order to access the money.

If you know which provider your lost account is with you can also contact it directly.

How do I trace lost investments?

If you think you have company shares, but have lost your share certificate, you can check by applying to one of the three main company registrars - Capita Registrars, Computershare and Equiniti.

They'll search their records and, for a fee, will supply a replacement certificate. If you've lost track of shares bought via a nominee account you would need to contact the broker.

Gretel is a new service that launched in April and aims to replicate Experian's Unclaimed Asset Register - which closes on 29 August 2022.

Gretel is free for consumers and can be used to search for lost bank accounts, pensions, life insurance policies and child trust funds.

As it's new, it's still in the process of adding more financial firms - it estimates it has £3bn of unclaimed assets in its database.

Vestigium Services (previously known as Monimine) is also a relatively new tracing service that says it will check multiple asset types free of charge, although it doesn't cover all financial institutions.

For other investment products, the Investment Association may be able to help.

How do I find lost pensions?

For workplace pension schemes, contact your former employer or use the Government's free online Pension Tracing Service to identify the correct contact details.

For personal pension savings, Money Helper has guidance on how to track your pension and you can speak to one of their pension specialists for free on 0800 011 3797.

In the future, this process is due to become easier with the launch of pensions dashboards - which will enable millions of workers to view all their pension pots in one place online.

Our full suite of guides can tell you everything you need to know about pensions and retirement.

How do I trace lost premium bonds?

In addition to mylostaccount, if you know you have lost premium bonds you can use NS&I's tracing request form - you have to print it out and post it to: Tracing Service, NS&I, Glasgow, G58 1SB.

You can also trace other NS&I products - such as savings certificates, accounts and Isas - in this way.

If you don't have a printer you can write to the Tracing Service and include the following details:

• your full name and current address
• your address at the time you invested (if different) and any other previous addresses
• your previous name if it has changed, for example through marriage or divorce
• the approximate date and year you opened your account
• the approximate amount you invested
• any other information you think might be relevant.

Find out more in our guide to premium bonds

How do I reclaim assets when someone dies?

Luckily, the process of tracing and reclaiming lost accounts when a relative dies is much the same as finding one of your own.

When using mylostaccount or providers' own tracing services, you'll be asked whether the claim is for one of your accounts, and if not you'll need to provide the name of the account holder.

You'll then be contacted to confirm your identity and to sort out how to get the money to the right person.

If there is a will the process can be pretty straightforward; bigger claims tend to take longer to sort out.

You can also use the Death Notification Service to inform participating banks and building societies of someone's death by completing just one notification form.

Why has my account become 'dormant'?

An account can become dormant in one of the following instances:

• If your bank receives undelivered mail that it tried to send you.
• If you don't get in touch to inform them of a change of address they'll make the account dormant to prevent identity fraud.
• If there has been no activity on the account - no withdrawals or deposits - for a set period of time.
• This is typically three years for saving accounts and one year for current accounts.

Once your account has been marked as 'dormant', your bank will stop contacting you and no further action will be taken. It is up to you to track down this account if you want to reopen it or claim the funds back.

What happens to money in dormant accounts?

Providers will hold onto money in dormant accounts for several years - and should hand it over straightaway if the accounts are traced.

After 15 years, under the government's Dormant Assets Scheme, money in dormant bank accounts is given to charitable causes.

However, you will still be able to reclaim your money after this point by following the procedure explained above.

The scheme was recently expanded to include other financial assets including pensions, investments and life insurance policies.

Premium bonds work slightly differently; as long as you haven't cashed in the bonds they'll still be valid and will still be entered into the prize draws each month.

How do I complain about an account tracing service?

If the bank can't find the account, and you're sure it exists, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

The FOS will ask banks and building societies to demonstrate that they've done a full investigation into the account you're tracing. If the provider can't do this, the FOS will likely view your case favourably.

You'll usually need to provide the FOS with the original passbook, details of any names and addresses that have changed since the account was taken out.

You'll also need details of any major transactions (such as buying a house) since the last recorded entry on the account and an explanation of how the passbook came to light and why the customer had not been in contact with the bank before this time.

If the FOS finds strong evidence that the account and balance still exist, it will usually tell the bank to reinstate the account with interest from the time of the last recorded transaction, pay interest on the new balance at a rate of 8% from the point that you first asked for the money to date.

You'll also get paid compensation if it thinks you've had to deal with any stress or inconvenience while sorting out the claim.

• Find out more: how to make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service