Yahoo Finance NatWest closed my child’s savings account without telling me
I recently noticed that my daughter’s Young Savers account, which was attached to my NatWest accounts, had disappeared from my online banking page. On calling the bank, I was told the account didn’t exist. Luckily, I managed to dig out an old statement, at which point NatWest agreed that it had existed but had been closed due to inactivity.
The £3,161.66 that was in it had been withheld by the bank. I received no notification of this and the bank was unable to provide even basic information as to why the account was closed, or why the funds were not repaid. If I’d not been on the ball, I suspect the lost funds would have simply gone unnoticed! Is the Royal Bank of Scotland so desperate that it needs to take money from a seven-year-old? PL, Hounslow, Middlesex
NatWest, along with many other banks, deems an account dormant if it has been inactive for five years or more. The logic is that the account may be vulnerable to fraud if the owner is not keeping a close eye on it. If the account remains dormant for 15 years, the funds pass to the government’s Unclaimed Assets Scheme and are distributed to charitable causes, though they can be reclaimed at any time by the account holder. The extraordinary thing is that NatWest alerts holders of inactive accounts just once, by letter, warning them that their account is being suspended. If they don’t hear back within nine months the funds are removed.
Once an account is dormant, it disappears from the central database accessed by call centre staff so they can’t see it. The bank says it is “looking at ways to improve how customers are contacted” and exploring revolutionary ideas, such as text or email. It has now repaid your daughter’s savings.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
