Record number of savers search for lost accounts

The account tracing website mylostaccount.org.uk has notched up over six months of success, during which time over 140,000 individuals have searched online for their forgotten funds.

Since its launch on 30 January 2008, the site that brings together the three existing account search schemes from the British Bankers' Association (BBA), the Building Societies Association (BSA) and National Savings and Investments (NS&I), has seen more than 140,000 people submit search forms for money left unclaimed in dormant bank, building society and NS&I accounts. This compares with 44,000 claims in 2007, via the BBA's, BSA's and NS&I's own tracing services, prior to the launch of the website.

The free website has averaged over 760 claims per day since its launch, as savers have become more aware of this easy way of checking whether any of the estimated £1 billion lying in dormant accounts is rightfully theirs.

Commenting on the first six months of mylostaccount, Angela Knight, Chief Executive of the BBA said: "It's been a whirlwind six months for us as the tracing service has proven phenomenally popular. Our hope with this website was to reunite as many people as possible with their forgotten funds. It has certainly made the very best of starts."

Adrian Coles, Director-General of the BSA, said: "We couldn't have hoped for a better first six months for mylostaccount. Building societies, banks and NS&I are committed to reuniting customers with their money and our free website is a great way for people to track down accounts they have lost touch with - after all, this money belongs to them."

John Prout, Director of Sales at NS&I said: "The mylostaccount website is certainly proving popular with the public - as well as profitable for many. In the six months since launch NS&I alone has clocked-up over 25,000 successful traces through the site - reuniting customers with just over £41 million. Overall, since 2001, NS&I has reunited savers with some £102 million of their money - we are simply delighted with these achievements."

Statistics issued today from mylostaccount also show the country's hotspots for reclaiming forgotten funds. The north west of England - including Manchester and Liverpool - filed the largest percentage of claims through the website, notching up more than 24,000 of the total 140,000 claims.

And it is the South - particularly Portsmouth - and the Home Counties who have had most success with the number of traces and the value of funds reunited from NS&I accounts.

mylostaccount.org.uk is designed to make searching for lost accounts easier than ever as it is a one-stop shop for BBA, BSA & NS&I's search and trace services. The savings industry is committed to reuniting as many customers as possible with their money in advance of the Government's Unclaimed Assets Scheme. The scheme aims to release money from dormant accounts for use in community projects.