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HOLA441

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/australia-seizes-360m-from-dormant-bank-accounts-and-all-50-u-s-states-are-doing-this-too

Do you have a bank account that you don't actively use or a safe deposit box that you have not checked on for a while? If so, you might want to see if the government has grabbed your money...

DON'T USE "SAFE"-DEPOSIT BOXES ANYWHERE, and ensure you have a standing order transferring £1 every month or so into all accounts you own. My wife nearly lost her largest HSBC account - they just sent out a letter saying the account was "potentially-dormant", despite the other account in her name being used on a daily basis. Can anyone else hear the sound of the scraping of the bottom of barrels?

"San Francisco resident Carla Ruff's safe-deposit box was drilled, seized, and turned over to the state of California, marked "owner unknown."

"I was appalled," Ruff said. "I felt violated."

Unknown? Carla's name was right on documents in the box at the Noe Valley Bank of America location. So was her address -- a house about six blocks from the bank. Carla had a checking account at the bank, too -- still does -- and receives regular statements. Plus, she has receipts showing she's the kind of person who paid her box rental fee. And yet, she says nobody ever notified her.

"They are zealously uncovering accounts that are not unclaimed," Ruff said.

To make matters worse, Ruff discovered the loss when she went to her box to retrieve important paperwork she needed because her husband was dying. Those papers had been shredded.

And that's not all. Her great-grandmother's precious natural pearls and other jewelry had been auctioned off. They were sold for just $1,800, even though they were appraised for $82,500."

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HOLA442
In the UK the time period varies with the bank. Barclays are the worst (i.e. shortest dormant period) for terminating accounts, while Royal bank of Scotland just invented some new charges and wiped out the balance.


All money was claimed back, and accounts closed.


Banks don't want our money any more.

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HOLA443
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HOLA444

...Non-story.

I would disagree. This process is pretty stressful, takes a long time to sort out (the bank will have deleted all records of you being a customer), may require reactivating a UK mailing address or ID, and is pretty nasty if you happen to be an expat (i.e. having to visit a UK branch in person).

The articles main horror story was abut the contents of a safety deposit box (which is presumably rented) being destroyed/sold off without notification, which is a serious issue of trust. This may also be part of a wider effort to destroy free services to long tail users, which might make sense from the point of view of some banks.

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HOLA445

I don't know about safety deposit boxes but I do know the bank does not delete records at all, they just put a flag on your account to say it's dormant. Then if you want to reactivate, you just pop into branch with photo ID and that's it [i am currently working for a bank so I do know what I'm talking about for once :D ]

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HOLA446

I don't know about safety deposit boxes but I do know the bank does not delete records at all, they just put a flag on your account to say it's dormant. Then if you want to reactivate, you just pop into branch with photo ID and that's it [i am currently working for a bank so I do know what I'm talking about for once :D ]

Then you should know that if the account is not "reactivated" in a certain time, then the funds are STOLEN for "good causes" i.e. anything the government thinks is a good idea.

You work for a bank? Then you are either delusional about your processes, or a troll.

I shouldn't need to "pop into a branch with ID". How f***ing DARE you say that, as if it's a matter of little consequence! That's NOT YOUR DAMNED MONEY. It's the customers' money, now, and in the past, and in the future. You have perfectly illustrated, by your attitude, what is wrong with the banking system.

And you certainly don't know about safety deposit boxes, that's obvious. Google Operation Rize, and see how hard they tried to stop people getting their property back.

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HOLA447

I don't know about safety deposit boxes but I do know the bank does not delete records at all, they just put a flag on your account to say it's dormant. Then if you want to reactivate, you just pop into branch with photo ID and that's it [i am currently working for a bank so I do know what I'm talking about for once :D ]

The people I spoke to on the phone and in the bank had no clue, or ability to reactivate my account. The money had been taken by central government, and we had to fill out lots of forms and wait months for a response to my query to get it back. Much of the information in the bank correspondence and online is outdated or inaccurate. So much for the connivence of online banking.

Link is currently http://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/ You know, because you lost your account. You childish forgetful citizen you!

I missed a very short re-activation window at Barclays (i.e. I have my mail forwarded out of the country), so this was always on the cards.

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HOLA448

That should never have happened, I mean, a bank keeps account holders records for 5-6 years after they have CLOSED an account. Obviously it was down to sheer incompetence of the bank concerned [and its staff] but I do know that generally reactivating a dormant account is a very simple procedure, its one I have carried out personally on numerous occasions.

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HOLA449

I think you may be confusing the process of removing the dormant indicator (quick) with getting the money back after it has been stolen for "good causes" (applying for its' return from the government - and how slow is that).

Lloyds Banking Group use the phrase "Dormancy Candidate". HSBC use a letter to notify the customers. What if the customer has forgotten to notify a change of address? Or the letter gets lost in the post?

Much as though I hate to say it, don't forget this is not the idea of the banks. This is the government's idea, to dole out other peoples' money to their pet projects. The money from dormant accounts used to go into the banks' profits (or rather, they used to add it to the reserves, which is why it was easy to get it back).

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HOLA4410

I don't know about safety deposit boxes but I do know the bank does not delete records at all, they just put a flag on your account to say it's dormant. Then if you want to reactivate, you just pop into branch with photo ID and that's it [i am currently working for a bank so I do know what I'm talking about for once :D ]

I have read previously, from several sources, that banks are required by law (which is shapedby international banking convention/treaties or such like) to keep customer records for 7 years. Thereafter they are technically free to delete them. A bank may well choose to keep records forever, but it is under no obligation to do so. Given that lack of obligation, the cost of maintaing the records and the increasing trend for customers to complain about matters years after an event I would be surprised if they didnt routinely allow records exceeding 7 years in age to 'drop off' the history by being deleted.

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