Dormant Account Reclaim Fund General Info

jmr007

Hi
I'm currently trying to prevent the Halifax from closing down my (declared dormant) account and sending it to the reclaim fund. I hope I'm going to be able to prevent this happening so I'm not looking for advice in this respect. However, I wonder if anyone knows what actually happens when the Halifax does this to someone and they actually do send the money to the reclaim fund?

Do the Halifax close the account and send the money (all of it?) to the reclaim fund? Once there I think 60% of it goes to good causes and the rest is held by the fund in case anyone wants to file a claim. 

Here's the bit I need help with. In order to sleep at night I would like to know if I would still get all of my money back. Common sense suggests that because only a fraction of their total fund ever gets claimed I can hope to actually reclaim all of it despite 60% immediately going to good causes. This is because their overall fund pot is huge. In my case my account holds thousands of pounds so this is a serious issue for me and I need to be able to sleep at night until this is all resolved!.
This is my first ever post, sorry it is so long. Thanks for any replies.

MovingForwards

You reclaim the money

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-dormant-accounts-scheme/government-response-to-the-consultation-on-expanding-the-dormant-assets-scheme#:~:text=Dormant assets remain their owners,any money owed to them.&text=industry's first priority is to,the Scheme is voluntary.

jmr007

Thanks! What is really frustrating about all this is that the Halifax have been sending me account updates in the post to do with interest rates etc. So I assumed everything was OK with the account. Just under three years ago they asked me if I wanted to keep the account and I said yes over an automated system. However, they have now locked and are threatening to close the account. They know my email address and phone number. They didn't ever try to email me or phone me about this issue. They could have asked me about the account or advised me to make a transaction via email or phone but they just silently waited and waited until now to spring this trap.

jmr007

I hope it's OK to quote the reply from the reclaim fund. I asked them what happens if the Halifax decide to close the account.

Here's part of the helpful reply from the reclaim fund in case anyone is interested.

A founding principle of the Dormant Assets Scheme is that customers can always reclaim their dormant account balances (in full) and the Halifax website does support this; to reclaim your account, please follow the details on this link: 

I can't post links on MSE yet, sorry

Banks and Building Societies who participate in the Dormant Asset Scheme annually transfer dormant account funds to Reclaim Fund Ltd (RFL) once the accounts concerned have been dormant for a period of 15 years. When this transfer takes place, RFL in its role as a not-for-profit reclaim fund receives the funds without the associated customer data such as account holder name or account number. When a customer comes forward to reclaim their funds, this is done directly with their original bank or building society. 

Hopefully, this means I can still get my money back even if Halifax decide to close the account. It does mean wrangling with them again after the event though. The Halifax people who answer the national 0345 help number are not to be trusted. They said I could simply unlock the dormancy by phoning a special number and dialling in some info. This appeared to work after they transferred my call to that number. Their automated system said the account was open again. However, when I tried to pay money in via  Lloyds bank transfer (with the same account that put all the funds there in the first place) it bounced. So I called Halifax again and they said not to worry, just try again in 24 hours to allow time for the account to be unlocked. Of course, it still didn't work the next day and now they want me to attend a 1 hour security interview to unlock the account. 

missile

"dormant for a period of 15 years" : After 15 years, why would you want to keep this account open? Have you tried switching?

jmr007

I want to keep it open because it has many thousands of pounds in it. I haven't tried switching because I think it's unlikely to work. The account is locked. I tried to go in the branch last week with all my ID but they were closed for two days. When they did open again they still wouldn't let me attend because the relevant staff were isolating from coronavirus. I think that may be why they were closed for two days last week.

missile

I understand you want your money, just do not understand why it has been dormant for so long and why you would want to keep it open. You must have another bank account(s) why not try a switch? It may not work, but surely it's worth a try?

jmr007

Thanks for the suggestion but If the account is locked then it is locked not just for me but also locked for any external bank or building society. I think I will be able to get the account unlocked before the deadline. I set up the thread to try and understand the implications of not getting it unlocked in time. I think I'm less concerned about this whole situation now.