9

There is a Barclays bank account in my name that is overdrawn that I haven't touched in about 5 years.

I went to the bank with my passport, and they said that it wasn't coming up on the system with my name and branch it was opened at. They said this could be because it had been inactive for so long and was therefore closed. All fine except I'm 99% sure that this account is a few hundred pounds overdrawn, and I can imagine that is not good for my credit rating.

How do I find out the details of this account so that I can clear it and close it?

  • Things I know:

    • My name,
    • Branch where it was opened,
    • Every address I've ever lived at.

  • Things I don't know:

    • Account number,
    • Exact balance,
    • Year opened,
    • Which address the account is registered to.
Improve this question
3
  • 1
    Contact the bank and ask them (a) what proof of identity they would need, and (b) whether they still have the money at all or if it has been moved to a government Abandoned Funds service or something of that sort. In the US, I would expect the latter.
    – keshlam
    Jan 5, 2015 at 15:19
  • 1
    In the UK, do you have any ability to check your credit report? In the US, I could get my report from the three bureaus. If it's affecting your credit, the credit report will include it and may be useful with helping sort things out at the bank. If it's not affecting your credit, well, sounds like it doesn't matter much.
    – Joe
    Jan 5, 2015 at 15:47
  • @keshlam If the overdrawn funds have been moved to an abandoned funds service?
    – user12515
    Jan 5, 2015 at 18:33

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
15

Get a credit report on yourself, if the report shows the outstanding debt then you can do something about it by writing to the bank.

However keep in mind that a bank might write off a debt if they consider it not worth the cost of chasing it down.

You could also try the lost bank account service: https://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/

Improve this answer
4
  • Thanks, filled out details on mylostaccount, I guess I just wait now (although I didn't even got a confirmation email...). Also applied for Experia to get a credit rating and it doesn't seem to mention any outstanding credit? So maybe it's been written off?
    – Sam Kellett
    Jan 5, 2015 at 16:29
  • 1
    You need to use all three credit bureaus. Try annualcreditreport.com to get your three credit reports free once a year. Beware of other sites with similar names that want to charge you--you don't have to pay a dime to get your credit report yearly.
    – ErikE
    Jan 5, 2015 at 21:04
  • 1
    Thanks, although that site seems to be US only (or am I being blind?).
    – Sam Kellett
    Jan 5, 2015 at 23:36
  • 1
    Experian has updated my report after I added my entire address history and it has found the lost bank account. Thanks for the help!
    – Sam Kellett
    Jan 6, 2015 at 13:49

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .