Free money. We all wish it existed right?
Wrong… OK, at least you can get your money back without knowing what you have. It certainly is … really worth millions of pounds!
We heard about another place you can get it for free – your old telecommunications company. So all you need to do is to follow the below steps to have extra money.
Money for free – Are you Kidding?
Well this is not real free money: it is money you already have, but you never know.
According to the UAR (Registration of Unclaimed Assets) run by credit company Experian, there are billions of pounds worth of unclaimed financial assets in the UK.
That’s great, but if it’s your money, it’s good to have it!
In fact, you can still catch the money after the government gets its hands on it, but it’s better to catch it before they do!
So, now more than ever, it is important to look at that account that you have not touched since childhood, but it may be 50 or more or any savings and securities that have been forgotten somewhere in the bank may go away.
Also, when someone dies you may be named as the beneficiary of their pension or life insurance policy, but you may not be aware of it. There may be money, you are waiting to catch it, so look.
Free money: Bank Accounts and Savings Accounts
Step One: Talk to your bank
A number of banks have already taken this initiative into their own hands.
For example, Halifax has delivered millions to thousands of customers, but there is still money to claim.
Step Two: Go online
If you do not know which bank your old account was in, or if you have any, go to Mylostaccount.org.uk.
It is a free online search service that will cause a stir through bank records for you. You will need to enter your details and it will let you know if there are any old accounts that you have forgotten.
When you visit a website, make sure it contains as much information as possible, including your old addresses that you can remember. As you have more information, they will find your old savings account that I set up for you when you were born.
Once you have entered your details, they will be forwarded to any of the financial institutions you have specified. This includes all sites for others in your area.
These companies will then search all their records and find the accounts if they exist. The whole process takes three months.
What if they find my lost account?
If this search finds your lost account, the money will not be recovered immediately.
There will be a lot of rigorous security checks to confirm who you say you are.
Initially, you will be expected to produce different identification documents – depending on the financial institution you are asking for.
However, once they are happy about your identity, you can get that free money.
Is there a deadline?
No deadline. By law, even if the money in these accounts is transferred to government treasures, the money remains the property of the account holders.
However, you get it a little complicated.
So if you can, it’s a good idea to find it while it’s in the bank.
Free Cash: Unclaimed Premium Bonds
Million over 60 million worth of premium bond gifts are going unclaimed across the UK, some of which may be yours.
The oldest unclaimed gift was drawn in November 1957 – the year of the first premium bonds gift draw.
Usually, people do not claim ownership because they have moved house, NS & I do not know the new address or the bonds were purchased for them when they were children, they do not know about them.
Online nsandi.com – Premium Bonds Gift Verification is available on nsandi.com on the homepage of the NS & I website. Place your premium bond holder number in the search bar.
By Phone – You can contact their hotline at +44 (0) 845 964 5000).
When writing to NS & I – You can write to NS & I quoting your name and address, any former names and addresses, date of birth and, if you know, the number of your premium bond holder. Write: Premium Securities National Savings and Investments, Glasgow, G58 1SP UK
Free money: Pensions and Life Insurance
Unclaimed pension savings are currently valued at $ 400 million. This is a lot of money you enjoy! So here are different places where you can see your – potential – lost pension.
Unclaimed Registrar
The credit verification service Experian will look for all types of financial assets you own, including unclaimed property registration, life insurance policies and any pension rights you have earned or forgotten.
It does not hide the forgotten bank or create community accounts, so you should use my lost account.
However, their search comes at a price. UAR will charge you a fixed fee for a search that includes VAT.
Pensions Tracing Service
You can find professional pensions by using the pension finding service online. Gov.uk.
Contact details can also be requested from the Pension Tracking Service by phone or post.
By Phone: Ring 0345 6002 537. From outside the UK: +44 (0) 191 215 4491. SMS: 0345 3000 169. Open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Learn about call charges
Mail: Pension Service 9, Mail Site A, Write to Wolver Hampton WV98 1LU
Registration of pension plans
You can also try recording pension plans, which usually have the original name of the company you retired from, so you can find out what happened to the assets and where they are now.
You can ring them at +44 (0) 1273 627 600
Association of British Insurers
If you want to find lost or bankrupt insurance policies or investment securities in corporate acquisitions (yes, there may be more assets in this case), the British Insurers Association runs a free search program on their website as far as you know the name of the original insurer who took out the policy.
Get completely free guides to pensions and investments
Free money: Stocks and Other Investments
Federation of Investment Trust Companies
The Association of Investment Trusts and the Association of Investment Management include unit trusts and open investment firms and have their own free records and helplines to help you track your investments.
Visit their websites and use search engines to find any funds you have lost or inherited without realizing it.
Providing by share gift
Sometimes, even if you find that someone has left some shares to you, they will not be worth anything now. Because the commissions are larger than the value of the bonds and shares, they are not even worth the sale.
If this is the case for you, or you think you really do not need them, you can give them to Share gift. Share gift specializes in collecting your small shares, which may cost more to sell than they are worth, and accumulate them until they are large enough to sell.
Proceeds from the sale are then added to the fund that Share gift provides to charities.
Free Money: From Your Utilities
You will lose free money from your last telecommunications provider.
Often, people move or leave their old telecommunications provider without asking for the money they owe.
Payment may be for advance tax payments or for advertising credits issued to you during your contract.
People are often unaware that they are indebted to their landline, mobile, broadband or paid TV provider.
Of course different companies have different ways to refund you (if you ask them).
You can get your money back up to six years ago, so contact your former telecommunications provider and request that money!
Gas and electricity
Do you regularly pay your gas and electricity suppliers?
Have you seen your reports recently?
You may have a good, fat surplus because you did not use as much energy as the providers thought.
Some of it is within your rights to ask you to credit. They will want to keep some if you suddenly use the loads this month, but if you owe hundreds, tell me, you can get some of it back.
More Ways to Have Free Money
While you’re at it, why not catch a few other bits lying on investments, pensions and blank coins? Here are some ideas:
Get down on your hands and knees. Travel through the corners of your home, virgins, jars, tins, and the back of the sofa and you will find that you are among the 88% of people who think they have at least one tenant.
Sieve for storage. Check your paper boxes to see if you have found old building community and bank pass books. If you find them, put the money inside.
Get involved in your bank. After you pop up a branch to fill out a special form, most banks will look for details of any accounts you have with them.
Search the web. Go to the unclaimed property register and look for financial assets that you may have lost – or you may not even know about (if you leave them with a relative). These include life policies, pensions, investments, accounts and savings.