Tracing Lost Money

sgx.saint

Hey,

Looking for some advice with regards to tracing money on behalf of a deceased relative.

My grandfather died in October 2002 and being a small family my mother inherited his assets and all his money spread across several accounts and investments.

All money was accounted for at the time, however it came up in conversation this week that my grandfather had being pay a monthly standing order out of his main bank account to another account for a period of several years.

My mum has said that she spoke to his main bank at the time, I believe Natwest to try and trace where this money had gone but they apparently were unable to help her.

She now no longer has the paperwork to refer to as it was several years ago.

However I thought it might be worth one last shot trying to find the lost monies.

I did complete the BBA Lost Accounts form to see whether that turns anything up and I am still waiting to hear back from some of the banks.

Is there anything else I could do to try and source these lost monies?

I was considering a SAR to Natwest but wasn't sure whether they would hold my grandfathers records for such a long period of time or whether they would provide that information to my mum (next of kin).

Would appreciate your input.

jonesMUFCforever

Your post is confusing.

You say that all funds were accounted for but a conversation made you think a standing order was going out somewhere.

Do you have one old statement/ What is the narrative under that s/o? How much was the standing order for?
A lump sum for say £50 £100 etc may suggest some type of savings, in the old days odd amounts like say £20.52 may be some kind of life cover (with/without investment) as then it was common to pay by standing order.
A SAR imo would not reveal anything that you do not already know after all this time.

sgx.saint

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

Your post is confusing.

You say that all funds were accounted for but a conversation made you think a standing order was going out somewhere.

Do you have one old statement/ What is the narrative under that s/o? How much was the standing order for?
A lump sum for say £50 £100 etc may suggest some type of savings, in the old days odd amounts like say £20.52 may be some kind of life cover (with/without investment) as then it was common to pay by standing order.
A SAR imo would not reveal anything that you do not already know after all this time.

All funds were accounted for bar this one standing order payment which was being paid out monthly, it was for £10 a month and was paid for a period in excess of twelve years at least.

My mum never pursued to find out where these monies had gone after getting nowhere with the bank and after factoring in her emotional state at the time.

It could be a bill payment though my mum accounted for all bills and life insurance at the time and could find no records for insurance or other products which would correlate to this constant monthly payment.

The reference was also informal, the payment reference was his first name and his wifes first name.

A SAR would reveal the sort code and account number though surely of the recipient financial institution which would be a starting point right?

macman

Even if you do, what makes you think it was to another account in his name, rather than just a regular payment for some goods or service?
So if it was for a regular order of £10 of jellybeans a month, then it's not going to be recoverable. It could be almost anything-some form of insurance or membership, that he no longer used or needed, but failed to cancel?

sgx.saint

macman wrote: »

Even if you do, what makes you think it was to another account in his name, rather than just a regular payment for some goods or service?
So if it was for a regular order of £10 of jellybeans a month, then it's not going to be recoverable. It could be almost anything-some form of insurance or membership, that he no longer used or needed, but failed to cancel?

You're right, it could have been for anything, it is just as likely to have been for insurance or membership or at the same time just as likely it could have been a small savings payment.

The point really is that if there is a chance this money still exists and was not for goods or a service then I'd much rather see it in the hands of my mother than sat in a holding account accruing interest for someone else.

My post is asking for advice regarding how I would go about tracing this payment not about the logic or rationale behind the reason we want to trace it, as much as I appreciate the input, I am really looking for guidance on the best methods or practices for tracing monies in this scenario.

If I find the sort code and account number then this would be a massive step towards finding out whether this was simply a monthly membership payment or whether it was infact into another account in his name, perhaps for a rainy day.

silverjay

The mylostaccount website might help you with this.

sgx.saint

silverjay wrote: »

The mylostaccount website might help you with this.

Thanks, already completed the form for lost accounts, still waiting to hear back from the institutes.

Was curious as to whether there were any other methods of tracing it.

stclair

If you have POA you could just ask NatWest if they could search for the account for you if you know the account address.

However due to the age of the account they may not be able to access it within branch.

sgx.saint

stclair wrote: »

If you have POA you could just ask NatWest if they could search for the account for you if you know the account address.

However due to the age of the account they may not be able to access it within branch.

Not sure if my mum has POA or how that applies in this case but it might be worth writing to Natwest in the first instance to find out whether they can help and what would be required to progress this query.

stclair

sgx.saint wrote: »

Not sure if my mum has POA or how that applies in this case but it might be worth writing to Natwest in the first instance to find out whether they can help and what would be required to progress this query.

As the account holder is deceased the executor of the estate would more than likely have to make the enquiries as the bank are not just gonna tell anyone the information. Did it go to probate?

Maybe the bereavement team might be able to steer you in the right direction:

http://www.natwest.com/global/bereavement-guide.ashx

macman

sgx.saint wrote: »

Not sure if my mum has POA or how that applies in this case but it might be worth writing to Natwest in the first instance to find out whether they can help and what would be required to progress this query.

Any POA your mother held ceased to be valid upon the death of your grandfather.