Peculiar Post Office Savings

Sensory

My mother recently received two tax certificates for two accounts in the post, both for Year to 5 April 2013. The problem is, she can't seem to remember anything about these accounts, and after searching through her document history, she can't find anything relating to them either (no statements or any other letters).

For one account the gross interest was ~£160, with ~£32 income tax deducted. The other account had ~£2 of gross interest.

Multiple phone calls to Post Office Savings resulted in nothing but frustration due to their systems being down, and they said to phone again tomorrow.

Is there something suspicious going on here?
(I'm not ruling out my mother having just forgotten though.)

saintalan

Are you sure these are not NS&I accounts that until last year were run through PO Passbooks?

Cheers

Alan

Sensory

Apparently the only NS&I account she had was a cash ISA from 9 years ago which was closed. Any vague recollection regarding anything to do with NS&I and the Post Office stem from years ago, and as far as she's aware most of the money went into helping my sister purchase property.

These tax certificates just seemingly arrived from nowhere.

badger09

Sensory wrote: »

Apparently the only NS&I account she had was a cash ISA from 9 years ago which was closed. Any vague recollection regarding anything to do with NS&I and the Post Office stem from years ago, and as far as she's aware most of the money went into helping my sister purchase property.

These tax certificates just seemingly arrived from nowhere.

Presumably the tax certificates show the relevant account details?
In which case it should be easy for Post Office to trace the accounts?

Sensory

badger09 wrote: »

Presumably the tax certificates show the relevant account details?
In which case it should be easy for Post Office to trace the accounts?

Hopefully yes, although repeated attempts today failed as apparently their system was down.

I just wondered if there was potentially anything to be concerned about. My mother thinks it's just a mistake, perhaps leftover interest from an account she thought she closed long ago, but it's £160 of gross interest accrued in one tax year, on an apparently forgotten account.