Junior ISA - find a lost account?

FrankRizzo

Hello

A number of years ago, my elderly mum opened a Junior ISA for my nephew and my brother does not know what bank this was with.

My mum can’t remember either as she often gets confused between her bank accounts and there history - she changed bank as she was not happy with the service etc. So this has confused the situation even more.

My brother advised that he doesn’t get statements for this Junior ISA which is a bit odd. EDIT: He can’t remember if he was present at the time when they opened the account as it could have been about 8 years ago, but he was sure it was a Junior ISA.

Does anyone know if there is a way to track down bank accounts for an individual?

If we try and open another Junior ISA would this help trigger the flagging of the old account to allow us to identify it?

Any help appreciated!

Many Thanks

xylophone

Is your mother sure that she opened a JISA?

https://www.gov.uk/junior-individual-savings-accounts

Parents or guardians with parental responsibility can open a Junior ISA and manage the account, but the money belongs to the child.

It may have been an ordinary child savings account like (for example)

https://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/kids/kids-saver.html

Was the child very young when this account was opened?  Did she register herself as Trustee?

She might try Gretel?

• Gretel – This free catch-all service launched in April 2022. Because Gretel is a relative newcomer, some big financial institutions are yet to sign up, so you may not get a match straightaway. But it will continue to search for lost accounts on your behalf, and will let you know if your details match a lost account with a company that joins in future.
  
  To start a search, just fill in your name, address and date of birth. Gretel will then do a 'soft search' on your credit report (don't worry – this won't affect your credit score and lenders can't see it) to check your identity and match you with previous addresses where you may have accounts registered.
  
  You can also now use Gretel to search for lost assets on behalf of vulnerable or deceased loved ones.
  
  Gretel says it uses bank level security to keep your data safe, and won't sell any of your data to third parties – it only uses it to try to reconnect you to any lost accounts.
  
  We don't have much feedback on Gretel yet, so if you do decide to try it, please share your experience in the MSE Forum.

Can I reclaim assets of deceased relatives?

Yes. When using any of these searches, you'll be asked whether the claim is for an account of yours and, if not, the name of the account holder. At the point when this information is passed on to the account/investment provider, it will then contact you to confirm your identity, and work through ensuring the cash gets to the right person.

FrankRizzo

Thanks so much for your help - I should have said - my brother can’t remember if he was present at the time when they opened the account as it could have been about 8 years ago. Since it was an ISA I would have thought he must have been there as surely the bank wouldn’t let my mum open it for my nephew. My brother is rubbish at this type of stuff so I’m not surprised it’s ended up like this.


Thanks for the Gretel info - unfortunately it says my nephew can’t use this service until he is 18. Since it’s a Junior ISA I take it wouldn’t be much use to do this under my mums name - it would stress her out as she thinks everything is a scam.

Who can use the service?

Anyone who is over the age of 18 and resident in the UK can register to become a user of Gretel. Executors, Administrators, Attorneys and Deputies may also use Gretel to search for assets which are due to Estates or for living investors whose financial affairs they're helping to manage.

Keep_pedalling

He must have opened the account, we fund 3 JISAs for our grand children, but our children had to open them.

xylophone

Well, you could try your brother's name?

Otherwise, if your mother is convinced that this account was opened in branch, assuming she does not go far from the local

neighbourhood,  which banks or building societies are or were local?