Can I find out who a bank account belongs to?

antrobus

grayfly wrote: »

I've just discovered that the company I was paying an annual standing order to for storing my will went into administration back in 2012. I was not notified at that time and continued to pay the standing order. I have the bank account details of where the money is going and I would like to find out who has been receiving my money for the last five years...

The company concerned, of course. A company does not cease to exist if it enters administration. If you look up the company name on Companies House that should tell you who the administrators are.

grayfly wrote: »

It isn't a great deal of money but I would like to know if I could get it back or just put it down to a bad experience.

Why do you want the money back? Have you any reason to believe that your will has not been stored?

Armorica

grayfly wrote: »

Thanks again for the feedback.

I contacted my own bank to find out if there's anything they can do, basically no.

I know where the money was being sent to, a Barclays bank. They can't help due to data protection.

A quick search on Companies House shows that the Directors of the old company set up another company which is in a different sector. They don't do wills anymore, which is no surprise.

I will contact them to find out what happened, although I doubt very much they will respond.

Barclays Bank can't help you. They can talk to your bank without DPA being a genuine barrier.

As above, if you can name the company, we can look into why it doesn't appear to have gone into administration.

grayfly

I have now made a new will so the old one, where ever it is stored, is nullified.

My old will was made with and held by the Will Group. This was the account holder on my standing order. However, I lost the paperwork. My problem started when I contacted them to recover my will and was advised they didn't hold my will and perhaps it had been held by the Will-Group. A search of Companies House shows that the Will-Group was dissolved in 2012.

As has all been stated, no one can help identify the bank account I have been paying due to data protection. Barclays was very helpful and confirmed that if the account had been frozen or closed my payments would have been returned. So that account is still active.

My next payment, which I have now cancelled, is due in August. Perhaps the owner of the account will make contact to find out why I am no longer paying them?

It wasn't much money, It was just the principle that I didn't know who was accepting my payments and there didn't appear to be any way to find out due to data protection.

Lesson learned, keep documents in a safe place, know who you are paying.

antrobus

New information.

CH reveals that THE WILL-GROUP LTD was incorporated on 21 September 2010, and dissolved via compulsory strike-off on 1 May 2012, having never filed any accounts, or anything at all.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07382855

Property, cash and any other assets owned by a company when it is dissolved automatically pass to the Crown.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bona-vacantia-dissolved-companies-bvc1/bona-vacantia-dissolved-companies-bvc1

I suspect you need to contact Bona Vacantia.

I think you need to understand that bank accounts aren't bought and sold on the open market. So asking who a bank account belongs to, was always a pointless question. The account belongs to the Will-Group Ltd. As the Will-Group Ltd has now been dissolved the account is likely run by the Treasury Solicitor.

robatwork

I hadn't heard of "Certainty" before this thread so went looking.

Looks like they are a private company rather than government organisation. As such they can go into administration just like any other private company and the record of your registration could be lost. You pay £30 just to register that you have a will, not to store it.

https://www.nationalwillregister.co.uk/storingawill.aspx

They can't use the word "its" properly "or it's loss or damage only comes to light at the time it is needed ".

I'm unconvinced this is right for the OP.

Much better the advice alan gave earlier - lodge it with the London Probate office https://formfinder.hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/pa7-eng.pdf keep a record of this which they will send you back and ensure your executors/children know the details of where the will is stored. Britain is unlikely to go bust, and this is only £20. I did this quite recently so I know it works, and seems to be the more MSE way of storing a will.