Missing Tessa account held by Abbey / Santander

mr.magoo_4

I am trying to locate funds in my mother’s Abbey National Tessa Account that matured in 2001. She is disabled, and has been housebound since 2000 and is now bedridden.

Late January 2010 I went to a local branch of Santander with pass book in hand to enquire what to do. As Santander had no record of the account on their computer system I was advised to follow the advice on mylostaccount.org.

In February I contacted mylostaccount.org.uk, which can take up to 12 weeks to get an answer. At the end of April they responded saying "Following extensive investigations carried out on your behalf, we regret to advise you that, Abbey have not found an account in the name of" and was advised to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service. At this point I thought as "Abbey" no-longer exists, this does not bode well...

In May I contacted the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), they rejected the paperwork as I did not have a "final decision" letter from Santander. At the beginning of June I went back to the local branch of Santander to explain where I was in the search for my mum's lost account and requested a "final decision" letter. They directed me to Santander Customer Complaints in Milton Keynes; they could not help as they only deal with live accounts. They suggested I contact Santander Complaints Department. I sent them an email and copied FOS. FOS did respond and said I had to give Santander eight weeks to reply.

On August 27, having heard nothing from Santander, I resubmitted paperwork to FOS. The paperwork was accepted and it was assigned to person with initials JW. JW wrote to me on September 16 stating he was on the case and will request further information from Santander. He asked I use a specific reference in all correspondence.
Santander sent me a letter dated October 1 stating they had been asked by the Ombudsman to investigate and respond to my complaint. By the tone of the letter Santander clearly seemed irritated, stating they no longer have a record of 'my' Tessa Account (not my mother's) and as a financial institution they follow the Data Protection Act guidelines which state records must be kept for up to 6 years. Santander also made reference to transactions on another account my mother held which was closed in 2002 (how can they do that if they only keep records for six years???) I sent a copy of Santander's letter to FOS on October 15.

I tried to contact Customer Complaints as Santander using the number at the top of the letter (01908 741219), it rings for one minute then disconnects….

The person with the initials SF from FOS wrote to me on October 20 saying he was now on the case and he wanted sight of the passbook. SF asked I use a different reference in all correspondence. It took a few days to convince mum the passbook would be safe and it was sent to FOS at the end of October.

The person with the initials PL of FOS wrote to me on November 3 to return the pass book, to say he was now on the case and to request details of name and address changes since the account was opened. PL asked I use yet another reference in all correspondence. I responded on November 11.

This week I have received two letters from PL at FOS both dated December 2. In the first he acknowledges receipt of the letter sent November 11 and confirms his enquiries are continuing. The second letter is his assessment of the complaint, this is his conclusion
Due to the time which has passed there is limited information available. I believe that Santander has conducted a detailed search of its records to locate the missing Tessa Account. However, it has demonstrated that it has been unsuccessful in locating the Tessa Account.

On the balance of probabilities, in light of the available evidence due to the time which has passed, it is my opinion that it is more likely than not that the balance of the Tessa account was transferred to another savings account upon maturity in 2001 and the Tessa account subsequently closed.

I am of the opinion that the account may have been closed in circumstances that have since been forgotten. It follows from this that I am unable to recommend that any outstanding balance is owed.
Because of this I am unable to recommend that this complaint be upheld.

I appreciate that this is likely to come as a disappointment to your mother. I know that this is not the outcome that your were hoping for. But I hope that my explanation has been helpful in setting out why I have taken this view.

However if your mother disagrees with how I have reached my conclusions, please reply by December 16 - telling me your reasons, and enclosing any evidence that you have not already provided and that you think is important to the case. Could you please let me know, if you plan to reply but do not think you can make this deadline.

As a reminder, your mother will also have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review the case - as the final stage in our process. But if we do not hear from your by December 16, we will assume that your mother has decided not to pursue the complaint further.

Yours sincerely

+++ End of conclusion ++++

Now we as a family are really concerned with what has happened to the funds in my mother’s Tessa account as Santander have not provided evidence to confirm where the monies from the original account have been transferred.

Has anyone else been successful in locating funds in similar circumstances?

elektra

not had any experience of trying to locate lost accounts but I did have a Tessa with Abbey.

My Tessa never matured, it just changed name to TOISA and eventually I changed it to a Direct ISA.

However I did receive a statement every year. Did your mother keep any of these ?


see this thread - another persons experience with Santander


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2836066

mr.magoo_4

My mother does have Tessa statements, the statement for 2001 shows the matured balance that we are trying to locate.

Thank you for the link which I will follow. I have also seen similar posts in a different forum that I need to read.

I have read that there is a 15 year rule on reclaiming monies from lost acccounts..

Thank you to all who have taken the time to take an interest in my post.

pqrdef

There's no 15-year rule. Nor do the Data Protection rules say they can lose track of dormant accounts after 6 years. Long-term deposits are supposed to be dormant. Looking after people's money is what banks are for.

People of your mother's generation were accustomed to believe that so long as they had the passbook they had an ironclad receipt and had only to produce it. What other evidence is she supposed to have?

A new law says that when the owner of an account can't be traced the money has to be handed over to the Government. This doesn't prevent the rightful owner from coming forward later to claim their money. It doesn't say the bank can lose track of who owns the money - it presupposes the contrary. But it does give the banks a powerful incentive to lose their records, because then they don't have to hand the money over to the Treasury.

Might be time to write to the Daily Mail.

opinions4u

I know we are dealing with Santander here, so anything could have happened.

But I think the FOS are probably right when they say "it is my opinion that it is more likely than not that the balance of the Tessa account was transferred to another savings account upon maturity in 2001 and the Tessa account subsequently closed."

pqrdef wrote: »

People of your mother's generation were accustomed to believe that so long as they had the passbook they had an ironclad receipt and had only to produce it. What other evidence is she supposed to have?

Closing statmements or letters that were probably long ago shredded or binned.

A new law says that when the owner of an account can't be traced the money has to be handed over to the Government. This doesn't prevent the rightful owner from coming forward later to claim their money. It doesn't say the bank can lose track of who owns the money - it presupposes the contrary. But it does give the banks a powerful incentive to lose their records, because then they don't have to hand the money over to the Treasury.

The amounts involved are tiny. The balance sheet impact not worth worrying about. The reputational damage of taking such evasive action potentially huge. It's actually a horrible scheme that serves no benefit to anybody. The politicians get seen to be taking a swipe at the bank, but all they have achieved is a new wave of legislation and a few more "rules" for banks to follow. Oh, and a few more hoops for long lost (and probably dead) customers to jump through.

Might be time to write to the Daily Mail.

It may trigger a search by somebody more important. But I doubt it will find anything.

mr.magoo_4

Hmmm, interesting comments... Thank you...

I accept that my mother has been foolish with not dealing with this issue earlier, but that cannot be changed...

My mother is certain that she did not touch the money after it matured as she has no paperwork from Abbey/Santander to say where was transferred.

It occurs to me that perhaps I followed the wrong advice by approaching Santander, mylostaccount.org.uk and FOS. After all they are "bed fellows".... perhaps I am being too cynical…

I think my questions now should be

What rules were applied to a matured TESSA if the owner took no action?

Where does the onus lie to prove ownership of funds?

opinions4u

mr.magoo wrote: »

Hmmm, interesting comments... Thank you...

Sorry if it's not what you wanted to hear.

My mother is certain that she did not touch the money after it matured as she has no paperwork from Abbey/Santander to say where was transferred.

That doesn't mean her memory is perfect. I helped my Granmother with her accounts 3 or 4 years ago. Substantial sums. I cannot, for the life of me, remember the whats where and whys about them.

It occurs to me that perhaps I followed the wrong advice by approaching Santander, mylostaccount.org.uk and FOS. After all they are "bed fellows".... perhaps I am being too cynical…

Way too cynical. Not always a bad place to when dealing with financial decisions!

What rules were applied to a matured TESSA if the owner took no action?

It would become a TOISA (Tessa Only ISA) and remain open.

Where does the onus lie to prove ownership of funds?

If it was within the last six years I would say it lies with the bank. Longer than that and I think it is up to the customer to produce something significantly compelling.

Two final thoughts:

1) Pay £10 for a data subject access request under the Data Protection Act. At best it will uncover something exciting, at the worst it will irritate them and take up manpower.

2) A real long shot and highly unlikely - ask the question about staff fraud. Could an inisder have plundered the account?

Message for others: If you're not getting a statement once a year, ask your bank why.

mr.magoo_4

opinions4u wrote: »

If it was within the last six years I would say it lies with the bank. Longer than that and I think it is up to the customer to produce something significantly compelling.

Two final thoughts:

1) Pay £10 for a data subject access request under the Data Protection Act. At best it will uncover something exciting, at the worst it will irritate them and take up manpower.

2) A real long shot and highly unlikely - ask the question about staff fraud. Could an inisder have plundered the account?
.

Thank you for your comments. To be honest I did not expect tracing a "lost account" to be so difficult...

I will look into the "data subject access request" as I think it is a good idea...

Well, only two weeks ago there was an item in my local paper. A Nationwide employee helped himself to over £50,000, over £32,000 from one account.... I will look into that too....

mr.magoo_4

Will this do?

The Data Protection Officer
Santander UK plc
PO Box 1109
Bradford
BD1 5XS

Dear Sir/Madam

SAR (Subject Access Request)

My mother's name and address

Tessa Account: xxxxxxxx
Instant Saver Account: xxxxxxxx

I formally request that you forward me a true record of any Data held by your organisation relating to myself for any and all accounts held currently or in the past with your company. This should include, but not be limited to all transaction lists, account statements, changes of accounts and agreements.

This request should include any Data held for more than 6 years as under the Data Protection Act there is no time limit for information requested.

If you do not hold Data for a period longer than 6 years I also request confirmation of this in writing along with your methods used for disposal of such information to comply with the Data Protection Act stating the name and contact information of your registered Data Controller and Code Compliance Officer.

I enclose the statutory maximum fee of £10. You have 40 days from receipt of this request in which to return to me the information requested, securely and in legible condition.

Please note that the above address is the one registered with your organisation and which you have previously found to be acceptable.
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Yours faithfully,


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mr.magoo_4

My mother has received a response from Santander,

Santander
PO Box 109
Bradford
BD1 5ZJ

Ifyou have any questions
please call: 0845 654321
fax: 01908 338132

Dear Ms XXXXXXXXXXX

Thanks for your recent enquiry.

Santander is not normally required to hold past trasaction details on your account for more than six years. Unfortunately, we're therefore unable to give you all the details you've asked for.

Please find enclosed the requested statement statement for the above account.

If you have any further questions pleas give us a call on the number above.

Youres sincerely

A.N. Other

Business Manager


The "requested statement" refers to my mother's savings account, the TESSA is not mentioned. Where do I go form here?

dunstonh

The "requested statement" refers to my mother's savings account, the TESSA is not mentioned

TESSAs havent existed for over a decade. So referring to it as a savings account is logical. Indeed, its possible the employee doesnt even know what a TESSA is.

The lack of data is surprising. Lloyds, for example, can go back to the days of handwritten statements and each account number is unique and can give the date of opening and closing. However, ex building societies are a different beast to the banks.

Technically, they have done no wrong and broken no rules. They are correct that they can destroy records like they have.

When a TESSA matured in 2001 it would have been available to transfer, to encash or roll over into a TESSA ISA. I believe that usually involved transfer to a new account number rather than staying on the old account account number. Prior to maturity letters would have been issued reminding of the options and asking what to do with the money. These would have been followed up with chasers. Was there anyone around back then helping your mum with her finances?

I know this is an obvious question but have you checked her other bank statements on other accounts to see if a transfer in was received around that time?