New Labour and Dormant accounts
Discussion
Prepare to make a donation to your house or office swearbox......
seriously!
I'd missed these news reports back in mid November.
If covered before sorry.
Nov19 The Times - Race is on for unclaimed millions
Yesterday The Times printed that the proposals will be watered down, slightly.
Rethink on seizure of untouched savings
The
robbing !!!!!!!!!
yours truly,
An incandescent FiF
seriously!
I'd missed these news reports back in mid November.
If covered before sorry.
Nov19 The Times - Race is on for unclaimed millions
The Times said:
The race is on for unclaimed millions
Cash in dormant accounts will go to charity, Joe Morgan writes
THE clock is ticking if you suspect that you, your family or a deceased relative left unclaimed riches in a dormant account or savings scheme.
The Chancellor is expected to use the Pre-Budget Report on December 5 to press ahead with plans to divert hundreds of millions of pounds in dormant high street bank accounts to charitable causes.
The Pre-Budget Report will also publish banks’ estimate of how much money is languishing in unused accounts. Which?, the consumer organisation, says that up to £15 billion lies unclaimed in bank and building society accounts, pensions and Premium Bonds.
Martyn Jones, the Labour MP for Clwyd South, has made reuniting this money with its rightful owners a personal crusade for the past three years. He says: “It all started when I discovered a £1 monthly direct debit going to Nationwide Building Society. I nearly closed it but decided to find out what it was for. I discovered that the money was going to an account that I thought had been cancelled.”
He supports an Irish-style law where money in a dormant account that is more than 15 years old is transferred to a government fund. The cash is distributed to charities, with some held back to meet claims from rightful owners.
If you think the chances of you having unclaimed money is on a par with a national lottery win, you could be wrong. The biggest cause of unclaimed assets is failure to tell a bank about a change of address. Research by National Savings & Investments (NS&I), the government-backed institution, has found that one in four Britons forgets to tell a bank when they move.
When Mr Jones raised the matter of the unclaimed billions with the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), a body representing the banks, he found it “complacent” and “arrogant”. But the banks cannot duck the issue any longer. Next month’s Pre-Budget Report marks an ultimatum for them to lay out concrete plans for how this money can be traced. Options on the table include publishing a national register, listing the names of all dormant account holders.
Mr Jones is pleased that the Treasury is overseeing discussions to thrash out a clear definition of a dormant account. “Banks used this as an excuse for their apathy. Each had their own definition. Most have picked three years and make no effort to trace the money after that,” he says.
In the meantime, banks are happy to use your money to increase their profits but are often reluctant to pay a decent rate in return. Building society passbook accounts are notorious for paying miserly rates of interest while gathering dust.
NS&I came under fire recently from the Commons Treasury Select Committee over its aptly named Ordinary Account. NS&I closed this account on July 31 last year, but £180 million is unclaimed and earns only 1.1 per cent to 1.2 per cent. While 90 per cent of these accounts hold £10 or less, NS&I admits that a small minority hold up to £40,000.
NS&I offers a free tracing service that has reunited about 25,000 people with £25 million in the past four years. But
£25 million remains unclaimed in Premium Bond prizes and £8.9 million lies dormant in savings certificates.
Nick Kirby, of Which?, says that the vast sums involved prove that banks must make every effort to reunite account holders with their cash. He says: “There is a lot of money that goes down the back of the sofa. Neither the banks nor the Government should take people’s money until serious efforts have been made to contact them first.”
Yesterday The Times printed that the proposals will be watered down, slightly.
Rethink on seizure of untouched savings
The Times said:
Rethink on seizure of untouched savings
By Caroline Merrell, Banking Correspondent
THE Government has backed down on plans to seize £1 billion from bank accounts that have been dormant for three years as Sir Ronald Cohen, one of Labour’s biggest financial donors, prepares to head a commission on spending the cash.
The Times has learnt that Gordon Brown is preparing to abandon his three-year definition of a dormant account when he delivers his Pre-Budget Report on Monday. The Treasury had wanted to be able to seize dormant funds from banks after an account had been untouched for three years. The Government had wanted the funds to be donated to charities, chosen by a commission chaired by Sir Ronald.
A dormant deposit is defined as a current or savings account where the holder has failed to withdraw or add to his funds over a substantial period. It is estimated that there is more than £1 billion in such accounts.
It is thought that the period of dormancy in the Government’s definition has been lengthened. Accounts would now need to have been untouched for more than a decade.
The issue has already stirred up protests from the Conservative Party and from banks and building societies, who doubt whether the Government has the legal right to seize the funds.
Concerns were also raised about the Treasury’s notion of how long an account had to be untouched to be defined as dormant.
The Treasury is believed to have watered down the definition after the banks pointed out that the short time period would create “administrative chaos”.
The Pre-Budget Report will also include plans to allow bank customers to reclaim any money redirected from their dormant accounts.
The proposals will not, however, include plans to redirect dormant savings in government schemes such as National Savings and Gilts, an omission that is thought to have angered the banks. One source said: “It is an unlevel playing field. Why shouldn’t these savings plans be included in the proposals.”
The Treasury is also believed to be at odds with the banks over the administration of money redirected from dormant accounts. Most of Britain’s biggest banks already give to charities through their own charitable foundations and favour funnelling the money to their own favoured causes.
The Commission of Unclaimed Assets is being set up with backing from some of Britain’s biggest charities to consider ways to to use the cash. Its chairman is to be Sir Ronald, the former venture capitalist chairman of Apax, who has donated more than £1 million to Labour.
Britain’s banks complained that such a fund would carry administration costs that would have to be paid for from the dormant accounts.
The Government’s interest in dormant accounts was heightened this year when it emerged that some of the banks had been flattering their profits by using the money held in them.
The
robbing !!!!!!!!! yours truly,
An incandescent FiF
Times Business said:
The Commission of Unclaimed Assets is being set up with backing from some of Britain’s biggest charities to consider ways to to use the cash. Its chairman is to be Sir Ronald, the former venture capitalist chairman of Apax, who has donated more than £1 million to Labour.
I see he greased his way to the role with a rather large donation.
Utter scum.
Ohhhhh you lot wait till 5 or 6 years time when Prime Minister Brown levvies a one off 'social windfall' tax on all bank deposits accounts with more than £10,000 in them.
The UK is going to see wage controls, currency restrictions, a return to a 60% top rate of tax, all because of what that 'Prudent' Dickhead has been doing.
The UK is going to see wage controls, currency restrictions, a return to a 60% top rate of tax, all because of what that 'Prudent' Dickhead has been doing.
FourWheelDrift said:
The Commission of Unclaimed Assets is being set up with backing from some of Britain’s biggest charities to consider ways to to use the cash. Its chairman is to be Sir Ronald, the former venture capitalist chairman of Apax, who has donated more than £1 million to Labour.
I see he greased his way to the role with a rather large donation.
Utter scum.
Never liked his burgers anyway !
Jaglover said:
What use is the money sitting in a bank account unclaimed?
What is wrong with giving the money to charity after a suitable period has elapsed?
The key thing is this money is in dormant accounts. Should it stay there forever?
It belongs to someone else, not the government.It isn't the government's or the banks' to give away.
Eh?
How is it deemed unclaimed?
Surely if I open an account and leave it 5 years untouched it's still my bloody money, wether or not the address is correct!?
Do these banks send MULTIPLE letters before "assuming" it's unclaimed? Maybe even going to lengths such as direct contact or even trying to find you first, afterall it's your money.
I can't believe you can't even leave money lying around in a bank anymore.
Time to start putting it under your floorboards.
Dave
How is it deemed unclaimed?
Surely if I open an account and leave it 5 years untouched it's still my bloody money, wether or not the address is correct!?
Do these banks send MULTIPLE letters before "assuming" it's unclaimed? Maybe even going to lengths such as direct contact or even trying to find you first, afterall it's your money.
I can't believe you can't even leave money lying around in a bank anymore.
Time to start putting it under your floorboards.
Dave
Mr Whippy said:
Eh?
How is it deemed unclaimed?
Surely if I open an account and leave it 5 years untouched it's still my bloody money, wether or not the address is correct!?
Do these banks send MULTIPLE letters before "assuming" it's unclaimed? Maybe even going to lengths such as direct contact or even trying to find you first, afterall it's your money.
I can't believe you can't even leave money lying around in a bank anymore.
Time to start putting it under your floorboards.
Dave
They'd soon find you if you owed them money!
FourWheelDrift said:
Offshore accounts are the way forward then like depositing money in the Cayman Islands (or should that be the Coxster Islands now? ) or perhaps Switzerland, I hear they are good at keeping account details private.
Can't see that being reliable, they're already laws which make you submit computer passwords for instance, so why not account access details ?
esselte said:
What use is the money sitting in a bank account unclaimed?
What is wrong with giving the money to charity after a suitable period has elapsed?
The key thing is this money is in dormant accounts. Should it stay there forever?
It belongs to someone else, not the government.It isn't the government's or the banks' to give away.
It 'belongs' to someone else, but if they unable to claim it what use is it to them?
FourWheelDrift said:
Offshore accounts are the way forward then like depositing money in the Cayman Islands (or should that be the Coxster Islands now?
Or physical gold in a safety depsoit box. Can't find that can you Mr Brown, you stealing one eyed fecker.
scorp said:
Offshore accounts are the way forward then like depositing money in the Cayman Islands (or should that be the Coxster Islands now?
Can't see that being reliable, they're already laws which make you submit computer passwords for instance, so why not account access details ?
If you're referring to my Switzerland comment I was referring to the hidden millions believed to be stashed in Swiss accounts stolen from Jewish families during WWII which are proving very difficult to access.
Jaglover said:
What use is the money sitting in a bank account unclaimed?
What is wrong with giving the money to charity after a suitable period has elapsed?
The key thing is this money is in dormant accounts. Should it stay there forever?
Three points, three questions.
None, thats the point of money sitting in bank accounts. Its no use for anything until you take it out. Its not "unclaimed" it belongs to the people who's account it is. Or in some cases their heirs.
What is wrong with giving the money to charity? Everything.
Firstly, its not their money to give away! Secondly which charity? Simply because something is a charity doesnt mean its a "good cause", look back to some of the PH charity threads, I consider some "charities" to be little more than pressure groups for their own agenda (Brake anyone?), while a lot of the animal based charities not only have their own political agendas but also have close links with borderline terrorist extremists.
What is a "suitable" period of time for the government to confiscate your money? I'm 27 and I know for a fact I have a few quid tucked away in accounts set up for me by my grandparents. It's been left there intentionally and will likely stay there for a while, my "complete emergency" hedge fund as it were. Its been there for a hell of a lot longer than a decade...
Its not likely to be drawn upon unless there is a REAL emergency (ie going private for lifesaving medical care, homelessness, escaping a despotic UK government and seeking asylum elsewhere etc)
Last point, these acounts are dormant. Yep no question, however they STILL belong to people. Should the government come in and raid the contents of your loft for things unused in a decade and redistribute them to whomever they wish? As lots of that I'm sure has been there for years.
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