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Press release£4m 'LOST' CASH REUNITED WITH SAVERS12 November 2002In October 1998, Mr Richard Brown was made redundant. His employers gave him a lump sum, so Richard and his wife Lesley decided to buy a large, very run-down 150-year-old house in Nottinghamshire. Over the course of the next year, Richard and Lesley restored the rambling house, turning it into their dream home. At some point while they were renovating the house, Richard lost his National Savings and Investments Five Year Index-linked Savings Certificates. This was no small loss - the Savings Certificates were worth £10,000. For more than three years, the Savings Certificates remained lost. Then one day in September 2002, Richard was visiting the new National Savings and Investments (NS&I) website and noticed that NS&I was running a free Tracing Service. He downloaded a tracing form, filled it in and sent it off. National Savings and Investments found Mr Brown's records and were able to trace his investment, to his enormous relief. In his own words, "You wouldn't like to think you'd lost £10,000." (see notes to editors). In the 12 months since NS&I, the government-backed savings and investments provider, launched its completely free Tracing Service, more than 3,700 of its customers around the world have been reunited with £4.2 million in lost or forgotten savings and investments. And there is no time limit on claiming dormant holdings - all funds held by National Savings and Investments are the property of the customer and capital is 100 per cent secure. Tracing facts
Easy for customers Gill Cattanach, National Savings and Investments Commercial Director, said: "It seems all too easy for people to become separated from their savings or investments. We are making it that little bit easier for people to find out if they have any lost or forgotten savings with National Savings and Investments. "The NS&I Tracing Service is a free, simple, straightforward way for our customers to be reunited with money that has been saved or invested with us." Moving house Research by NS&I has found that when people move house, one in seven (nearly 15 per cent) forgets to give their financial providers their new address. Around 2 million households moved into rented accommodation between 2000 and 2001 according to government figures, and 1.5 million mortgages were approved between September 2001 and September 2002 according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Because the average household comprises 2.4 people, potentially this means around 900,000 people will have forgotten to give their financial provider their new address when they moved into their new accommodation. Over the years, this has led to an increase in the number of dormant accounts and the amount of money that has become lost or forgotten. Using the Tracing Service The National Savings and Investments free Tracing Service exists to bring people and their money back together again, and it is simple and straightforward. Customers need to complete a Tracing Service request form, which can be obtained by:
Customers simply fill in the request form and provide as much information as possible, including any former addresses, the accounts, certificates or bonds they believe they have, and any other relevant information. The completed form must then be mailed to the Blackpool Freepost address provided. Customers are then sent an acknowledgement and can expect to be notified of the results of the trace within one month. ENDS Notes to Editors
Media team The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.
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