1995 old style trust fund for children

CLONNEN

I used to have a child trust fund which was set up when I was born in 1979 and ran until I turned 16 in 1995. The week after I turned 16 (June 1995) a bloke from the bank came to our house to have the maturity signed by my parents who were trustees on the account. He said we could either take the money as a cheque made payable to me and deposit it elsewhere OR we could reinvest the money until I was 21. We chose the reinvestment option as we didn't need the money at the time. I had to sign the forms for this reinvestment - my parents were not asked to sign at all so I don't think any trustees were required for this over 16 account.

Unfortunately my parents went bankrupt in Dec 1996 and the money in this account was taken by the Offical Receiver.

Does anyone remember these types of accounts? Were they called trust funds on the statements? I know deposits could be made into the account but no withdrawals were allowed.

Did only certain banks sell these? Or did all banks sell them?

Reaper

Is this a savings account or an investment?

It sounds very odd to me because if your parents were only trustees then it was not their money it was yours, and as such I don't understand why the Official Receiver grabbed it.

Maybe it has to do with where it was reinvested. Was it re-invested in your name or your parents?

CLONNEN

The product was in MY name and was specifically for ages 16 to 21 - the bloke said they don't do them beyond the age of 21. Like I said MY signature was asked for on the forms. He specifically said that my parents were not eligible to sign anything on this account as over 16s are allowed to sign for themselves.

Haven't got a clue if it was investment based - I think it's probably savings as it grew bigger on each statement according to my parents. At least the one for age 0 to 16 did and I assume the 16 to 21 version would be the same.

Trying to find out which bank actually sold it to us so I can ask about the bankruptcy snatch. My parents think either Lloyds or Abbey National. Because mine was from 1979 originally it might have been Lloyds as my dad had his main bank account with them since 1959. My younger siblings had theirs with Abbey and we aren't sure what year my parents started to use them instead.

Reaper

Provided the money was in your own name, which it sounds as though it was, then it ought to have been safe. Possibly the account may have been frozen while they checked but that should have been temporary. Sounds like you need to do some digging to uncover the paperwork.

CLONNEN

That's the problem - I don't have any paperwork relating to the 1995 opening of the new account in my name. I think we were given a copy of the application form I signed and I know we received an annual statement in June 1996 but we had nothing after that because the bankruptcy people forcibly closed it. My parents chucked all financial paperwork in a desk drawer and gave it all to the Official Receivers when asked for his financial records.

Reaper

You've left it rather late to track it down now, the trail will be cold. I suggest you start with the building society and see if they have a record of it. If so ask for the details. However if it was closed 14 years ago there is every chance they will have chucked away their records. While I think you have a good case the money should not have been taken I'm afraid you are unlikely to get very far without any hard facts.