Are you tired of seeing the media beat-up about unclaimed monies in bank accounts being ‘taken’ by the Government?  They’re not ‘taking’ it. It’s up to each of us to manage our money, and now the MoneySmart website makes it quick & easy to find lost funds and claim them back.
- Firstly, we should all know where our bank accounts are. If you haven’t transacted on a bank account in 3 years, the banks are obliged to send it to the Government and it is held there for you to claim (most banks do try to contact you first). Better to be held by the Government under strict regulations than by a bank being eroded by fees!
- If by some chance we have forgotten or lost an account (by not advising when you moved or something) you can search here. They also have links to all the state governments unclaimed monies. Worth looking in case you’ve anything out there. (Bequests, uncashed cheques, etc) remember to search under any other names you have used.
- Yes, it is a long and detailed process to claim the money back, but I want them to do proper checks before they give my money to the wrong person.
It’s also a FREE process (so if you get a letter from a company offering to do the claim and charge a percentage – throw it in the bin and search yourself). The new legislation also requires the Government to pay interest since July 1 , 2013. It’s around the rate of CPI so a few percent, but it all adds up!
