Old saving acc from the 90s

Andi_B

Hi sorry if this has been posted before but can’t actually find the right answer. I’ve been clearing out my mums house and came across this saving account booklet. My questions are.

Is this now NS&I?
it was last used in 1996 and left £1.28 in it. Is it worth chasing? With inflation and interest? 

How do I go about reclaiming it? I have been on NS&I’s website they have forms to fill out but they were under investments not savings? 

Any help would be grateful thanks. 

wmb194

Andi_B said:

Hi sorry if this has been posted before but can’t actually find the right answer. I’ve been clearing out my mums house and came across this saving account booklet. My questions are.

Is this now NS&I?
it was last used in 1996 and left £1.28 in it. Is it worth chasing? With inflation and interest? 

How do I go about reclaiming it? I have been on NS&I’s website they have forms to fill out but they were under investments not savings? 

Any help would be grateful thanks. 

Yes, NS&I. Even if the account still exists - possession of a book doesn't mean an account wasn't closed by other means - I wouldn't hold your breath for it to be worth anything as NS&I rates aren't usually great.

Use the form you found. In order to make a distinction between no risk to capital/principal and at risk these terms are considered these days as separate concepts - IIRC semantics introduced by the FCA/FSA in the early 1990s - but technically savings and investments are interchangeable terms as an investment is simply doing something where you expect a positive outcome. You'll sometimes come across building societies from decades ago talking about their savings accounts as investments.

https://www.nsandi.com/help/lost-touch-with-nsandi/track-lost-investments

[Deleted User]

Hi,

is that £1.28 a typo?

If not, then worth more as sentimental value, or maybe a collector on ebay.

ColdIron

Andi_B said:

it was last used in 1996 and left £1.28 in it. Is it worth chasing?

Only you can put a value on your time. Me? I'd cut out a coffee and double my money

Rudyson

It might be worth enquiring, There's always the possibility she had another account with them, or premium bonds.

Brie

Simple compounding assuming it was getting 10% (which i sincerely doubt) might have it all the way up to maybe £12 by now.  This is based on the old line of 10% simple annual compounding doubles ones money every 8 years.  

If you can do it all online then might as well see what miracles they have instore.  If it's going to cost you even one stamp to post something....well maybe not.  You might be able to email them and tell them to give it to charity.

km1500

yes, NS&I are well-known for their 10% savings rates......

BooJewels

I cashed in an old school savings account of my fathers that had a few shillings in it from the 1930s.  My aunt had done the same with one of her husbands she'd found and got about £180 with a slightly higher balance than the book showed and compounded interest, so we decided to give it a go. 

My uncle's account had clearly transferred elsewhere over time, where Dad's had ended up as an NS&I account.  I got the grand total of 20p settlement from it - as they apparently don't pay interest on balances of less than a pound.

I wish I'd kept the book for sentimental reasons, it was certainly worth more than 20p to us - and the hoops I had to jump through cost several lost of postage - although I did also get 2 quid from his Premium Bonds too (as a separate transaction). 

The problem is, NS&I won't tell you in advance how much there is - just that there is something you can claim.  He's had £25k in there at one point, so £2 was a bit less than we were hoping might be there.

Swipe

I had a Britannia (now Co-operative) savings account from the early 1990s which had been dormant for about 20 odd years and late last year they sent me a letter saying fill in a form or you'll lose it to a charity. I went into the branch and withdrew it and closed it over the counter. I was shocked they could do this but they can do it by law under the Dormant Assets Act 2022. It's been a thing since 2008 apparently for accounts with no transactions for 15 years https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/5/enacted.

Eco_Miser

@Swipe you don't actually lose it to the charity. It's still yours to claim back.

I got a letter recently from Tesco Bank telling me an account I thought had 32pence in was about to go dormant. I took a look online and found it had over £20 in interest I'd forgotten about, paid after almost emptying the account.

Wildsound

If you do decide to chase it and it turns out it still exists, please let us know how much was in the account!