London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

My forgotten bank account paid out 60 years later

My forgotten bank account paid out 60 years later

When six-year-old Carol Allison spent a year in Edinburgh with her granny, she was taken every week to the bank to deposit a shilling into her account.

More than 60 years later, she found the forgotten bank book while tidying her house in the city's Stockbridge area.

She took it along to her bank, and found that the £2.50 she had deposited was now worth £250 - and that the money was still there for her to collect.

Carol is urging others to reclaim money from old accounts.

Where an account has not been used for 15 years, the UK's banks and building societies send the money to the Reclaim Fund.

It has received more than £1.4bn from dormant accounts, and only £100,000 has been reclaimed.

Carol Allison (right) and her brother Gerard Paton when they were children visiting Edinburgh


Carol, who is now 74, lived in Manilla in the Philippines when she was young. Every three years, she would travel home to Edinburgh with her mother, Anna Paton, and brother, Gerard.

They would spend a year at their granny's house in Northumberland Street, Stockbridge. Her father, James Paton, would join them for part of the year.

During one of these trips, when she was aged six, her grandmother, Helen Ivory, would take them to deposit pocket money in the Trustee Savings Bank - which later became TSB. Carol paid in a shilling - now worth five pence - every week.

"I remember the big shiny wooden counter at the bank and granny introducing us to the teller," she said.

"He would fill in the book by hand and then we would take our books back to granny's again.

"It was a very grown up thing to do and on the way home she would stop in the bakers to buy us frosted cakes for our afternoon tea. We would never eat them in the street, we wouldn't even think of that, we would wait for the afternoon tea."

Carol was given the bank book when her grandmother died, aged 80, in 1969.

Carol's granny, Helen Ivory, was born in 1889


It was forgotten about until it was rediscovered - along with two other bank books - while she was tidying up in her house. The other books date back to the 1980s.

The mother-of-four told BBC Scotland: "I thought I would try one.

"I was really pleased and thanked my grandmother, under my breath, when they told me I had £250.

"They said it had continued to gain interest all that time. I'm now going to see how much has accrued in the other two now, it's very exciting."

A total of 35 banks and building societies in the UK are signed up to the Reclaim Fund, which was launched in 2011.

This not-for-profit arms length government body has given £800m to charity, and has kept £600m to cover customers reclaiming their money.

Carol Allison at the building in Stockbridge which housed the bank where she deposited money as a child


Chief executive Adrian Smith said the money was donated to charities dealing with social investment, children and financial inclusion.

He added: "It is very important for people to know their money is never lost, they can always get it back.

"The money goes back to accounts that are 50, 60, 70 years old - they go back as far as records go back.

"We look after the money, which we give to charity, but we always must have enough to meet claims. I would always encourage anyone who thinks they have a lost account to apply."

Anyone who thinks they have a lost account can fill out a form online. You do not need the original bank book to reclaim money if you have the address you were living in and the name of the bank.

It was announced this week that the dormant assets scheme will be expanded to include the insurance, pensions, investment and wealth management, and securities sectors.

That will unlock a further £880m, in addition to the money in the Reclaim Fund.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×