Dormant Bank Accounts
What to do if you think you have money in a dormant account
Visit your local branch where our staff will be able to help you reclaim the money.
To locate any funds, it will help us if you bring:
- Your account details, for example, a copy of a statement or a passbook.
- Identification such as your current valid passport or UK driving licence, plus a bank statement or utility bill dated within the last 6 months as proof of your current residential address.
Based overseas?
Customers who reside overseas must write us a signed letter of authority to help claim any money. In your letter, please provide as many details as possible about the account in question.
You must also provide a certified copy of a current valid passport for identification purposes, and a certified copy of a Bank Statement (with transactions on it) or Utility Bill (electricity, gas, water) dated within the last 6 months, as proof of current residential address.
Please note, we are unable to accept PO Box or C/O addresses. Please do not send us the original items. The certification can be undertaken by an Embassy/notary public. The certified copy must include:
- the wording 'true copy of the original seen'
- the signature, name and position of the person undertaking the certification
- the date
- the stamp of the Embassy/notary public undertaking the certification
- full business address of the certifier
Your signed letter of authority also needs to state dispersal instructions for any funds.
Dispersal instructions: For payments to a nominated account please supply us with:
- the bank name and full address
- the full name and address of the beneficiary account holder(s)
- the account number and sort code
- any SWIFT/BIC/BSB/Routing numbers (where appropriate)
- any IBAN numbers (where appropriate)
Please note that overseas payments will incur charges. Please refer to our fee information document for up to date charge details.
Please send your letter to:
Batching Team
Ulster Bank Dormancy Reclaims
1 Hardman Boulevard
Manchester
M3 3AQ
Please note:
- We do not accept certification from an employee of the Police Department.
- We are required to independently trace and contact notaries to confirm that they have carried out the certification so please ensure you choose a notary whose details can easily be found online.
- For all foreign language documents please provide a certified copy of the original, along with a complete translation into English.
If we can't find your account...
Your next step may be to head over to www.mylostaccount.org.uk, a free service bringing together the three tracing schemes of UK Finance (UKF), the Building Societies Association (BSA) and National Savings and Investments (NS&I), to help you trace your lost accounts and savings.
Unclaimed Assets Scheme
We participate in the Unclaimed Assets Scheme established under the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008.
- The purpose of the scheme is to enable money in dormant accounts (i.e. accounts that have been inactive or dormant for fifteen years or more) to be distributed for the benefit of the community while protecting the rights of customers to reclaim their money.
- Under the scheme, balances of dormant accounts may be transferred to Reclaim Fund Ltd (RFL). RFL is a not-for-profit reclaim fund which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
- If you have a dormant account, your rights in relation to the account and entitlement to the balance remain unaffected. RFL does not hold customer information or records in relation to transferred dormant account balances and you should continue to contact your branch if you have any queries or complaints in relation to your account.
- Both we and the RFL participate in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The transfer to RFL of dormant account balances will not adversely affect any entitlement you have to compensation from the FSCS.
Dormant account FAQs
What is a dormant account?
At Ulster Bank, we class a bank account as dormant if it has not been used for 5 years or more.
Do I need to know my account details to access funds in a dormant account?
Naturally, the more information we have about a potential dormant bank account, the easier it will be for us to locate and organise the appropriate distribution of any funds. Therefore, being able to provide specific account details is beneficial.
If you don't have these details, we will strive to identify the account via other sources of information, if at all possible.
Does Ulster Bank close dormant bank accounts?
No, we won't close a funded bank account without a formal instruction to do so. However, we do participate in the Unclaimed Assets Scheme, as described above, which sees funds held in dormant accounts for over 15 years distributed to community & charitable causes.