Lloyds TSB hoping to return cash to customers

A bill set to make its way through parliament soon has prompted Lloyds TSB to trace customers with cash in unused accounts in an effort to reunite them.

The bank said it has appointed specialist search agency Tracesmart to track down customers with accounts that have been inactive for 15 years or more.

On average, it hopes to return £575 to customers, with one in ten accounts having a balance in excess of £1000.

Helen Weir, group executive director for Lloyds TSB retail banking said: "These accounts have been long forgotten and our aim is to reunite as many customers as possible with their cash.

"As customers change address, open multiple accounts and their circumstances change, despite our best efforts to keep in touch it's surprisingly easy for them to lose track. This is why we have taken action and appointed a specialist search agency to help us locate the rightful owners."

An estimated £15 billion is sitting in unused accounts.

Last year, a Treasury Select Committee report gained support among MPs with its recommendation banks make an attempt to contact customers with dormant accounts and if they prove to be untraceable, donate the money to local community charities.

The Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill resumes its passage in the House of Commons over the coming weeks.

Economic secretary Kitty Usher said: "Where there is money lying in lost accounts, the first priority must be to reunite it with its owners, and I welcome the efforts of Lloyds TSB and other banks and building societies to do this, whether collectively via www.mylostaccount.org.uk or individually on a bank by bank basis.

"This reuniting process is an important element of the proposed dormant accounts scheme in the UK and I hope that as many owners of these accounts are traced as possible."

Over the coming months, Lloyds TSB will trace the addresses and contact customers with inactive accounts with balances over £100.

If the balance exceeds £1000 and an address cannot be confirmed from this initial search, the bank will employ 'sophisticated electronic tracing techniques', and in cases, manual search methods to find the correct address.

In the case of deceased customers, the bank will contact the executor of the will. Once the address is confirmed, the bank will write to customers asking them to come in to any Lloyds TSB branch to identify themselves and claim their funds.