Time to stake a claim to your ‘forgotten’ savings
Let’s face it, there’s not much to cheer about in the news at the moment. I know from your letters and emails that the cost-of-living crisis is getting many of you down.
So I’m going to do my best to find some practical, realistic money saving tips to help you beat rising costs. Starting with money you may have forgotten all about…
Lost money – three places to look
If you read my recent column on claiming back cash, you’ll know you may be able to claim back a lot of money that you have accidentally, overpaid or cash taken in error.
But there might be even more money lurking in other places. Here’s a quick guide.
How to find dormant accounts
Did you know that if you don’t use a bank or savings account for a while, the business closes it? They must give you a warning that this is going to happen, but this is usually by letter – and if you’ve moved home then you may not realise. This is known as ‘dormancy’ the bureaucratic term for shutting an account and sitting on the cash.
However, you can claim back dormant account balances and now it’s easier than ever. My Lost Account (mylostaccount.org.uk) is a free service set up by the British Banker’s Association (BBA) which allows you to search bank accounts, savings accounts and even National Savings and Investments (NS&I) by filling out one form. As always, the more you can remember about when the account was set up the better. A word of warning – a lost paying-in book found in a drawer isn’t ‘proof’ of missing money. It’s possible to withdraw a balance without the book, so don’t assume that finding an old one means a passport to big money!
If you’re missing investments the Experian-run Unclaimed Assets Register (uar.co.uk) may be able to help, though there is a fee.
How to find lost pensions
The Pension Tracing Service is completely free and can help you track down a missing workplace pension. This matters because many of us will change jobs repeatedly in our working lives – and as a result you can struggle to find old schemes you’ve paid in to. The Pension Tracing Service can help you by trawling through 320,000 pension schemes. It’s dead easy, so get started right now at gov.uk/find-pension-contactdetails.
It’s estimated that around £20bn is lying around in ‘lost’ pensions, waiting to be identified by its owner. However, wherever there’s easy money waiting to be claimed, there are businesses that will charge you for doing something you can do yourself for free. So watch those Google ads and stick to the official tracing service mentioned above.
How to claim overpaid council tax
It’s surprisingly easy to overpay council tax. People usually pay the tax in advance and spread the payments over 10 months, which means most of us who pay regularly will be in credit.
When you move to a new area, it isn’t necessarily
returned to you – especially if you are not paying by direct debit. Sometimes you can be owed quite a bit of cash. This can happen when the people who live in your property after you get the home re-banded (so the property is in a cheaper band). This can mean you could be entitled to a significant refund for the period you overpaid.
Don’t rush to the council just yet though. Most councils are flooded by complaints over the Government’s £150 rebate, so they probably won’t be able to cope with people calling for a refund of overpayments.
Why not check online with the council in the area you used to live to see if they have an online form you can fill in?
Resolver has money saving tips, free switching services and can help you make a complaint – all for free – at resolver.co.uk