Web unites bundles of lost cash with forgetful owners

A new website has been set up to help people track down money that belongs to them on long lost or forgotten savings accounts.

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The mylostaccount.org.uk website has been jointly set up by the British Bankers Association (BBA), the Building Societies Association and National Savings and Investments (NS&I) and allows people to trace bank accounts they may have lost track of.

The amount of money in unclaimed accounts - defined as having no customer-initiated activity for at least 15 years - is around £300m for banks and £150m for building societies. A further £466m is located in NS&I accounts.

People who think they may have a lost account fill out an online form, giving as much detail as possible, such a previous addresses of the account holder.

These details are then securely passed on to participating banks and if a trace is matched, the organisation involved will communicate directly with the person making the enquiry.

The site aims to deal with claims for money within three months of receiving the form.

The scheme covers 42 UK banks, 59 building societies and NS&I accounts including Post Office Savings bank accounts from before 1967.

Angela Knight, CEO of the BBA, said the site is a "key part of the industry's commitment to make further steps towards reunifying customers with their money".

People lose track of accounts in a number of ways, such as failing to update financial organisations of a change of address, forgetting about childhood accounts or if someone fails to make a will leading to finances being overlooked.