Accessing savings from old TESSA accounts

Klawa

I am helping my elderly parent to sort out her finances and I have found statements relating to quite a large sum of money in a Sunbank TESSA account dated 1999. I understand that Sun Bank was renamed The Mortgage Works (TMW) in 2004 (and subsequently merged with Nationwide in 2007) so I phoned both Nationwide and TMW to establish how my mother might access her savings – or to get some evidence if I am told that she has already done so, and to confirm if her TESSA accounts have been closed.
Unfortunately I didn’t make any progress as I was passed from one person to another including being passed back to someone at the Nationwide who had never heard of Sun Bank. Can anyone advise how I might be able to investigate what happened to these savings accounts? My mother would be disappointed if her savings are still sitting in some dormant account waiting for her to claim them. Thanks

jimjames

Has she had any statements recently or moved house? It would seem very unusual for someone living in the same house for years to not receive annual statements for an account that exists. Is it the sort of sum you could forget you have? No need to draw interest out etc?

Tessas have not existing for probably 15 years so in all likelihood with no statements either I'd suspect the account was closed some time ago or transferred to another company.

Vortigern

Try this account tracing service:
http://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/aboutus.htm

The TESSA may have been transferred to a TESSA Only ISA (TOISA) and then to a standard ISA. Good luck with your search.

xylophone

Sun Bank was purchased by the Portman Building Society before being renamed The Mortgage Works - it was the Portman that was itself purchased by Nationwide.

I remember the Portman/Nationwide takeover as I had a Portman account at the time - there was a bonus paid as I recollect- I also recollect long queues in branches if you needed to effect any transactions after the changeover.