Reunited, and it feels so good....

Simonne writes:
Ever felt like a mug when you’re still redirecting mail for the previous occupant of your flat years after they moved out? While the junk mail deserves the bin, there’s some correspondence that’s important.
Several years ago I forwarded windfall shares to a previous occupant of my flat. They’d moved out five years earlier. I only knew the importance of the envelope because I’d received similar post from the same company.
And a client of mine recently discovered they had £5,000 of windfall shares that they hadn’t known about, which nicely paid for a new kitchen.

Think back to the last couple of times you moved. Did you send out change of addresses to all of the companies? Can’t even find paperwork on the account or plan? All’s not lost. Even if you’ve only got a vague recollection of a pension you once held with a previous employer or an investment plan or savings account that’s long been forgotten.

You can get reunited with lost monies by visiting:
http://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/ which guides you through the process of tracing savings accounts you’ve lost track of. And http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/atoz/atozdetailed/pensiontracing.asp for lost pensions. Or, if you’re time poor, you can pay £18 to get a search done for you of any lost life policies, pensions, savings or investments by visiting: http://www.uar.co.uk/.

Why aren't banks clairvoyant?

Annoying, inefficient, expensive…… my reactions to absent-mindedness. Of which I’ve had a few moments lately (going upstairs and wondering what I went up for, waving my wet hands under the tampon machine in the ladies, forgetting to post a blog, you know the kind of thing).

I was reassured that the considerably-younger-than-me brilliant wit and comedian Sue Perkins admitted she’d had a direct debit going out of her account for insurance on a home she hasn’t lived in for six years.
“I should have informed them when I moved” she says, adding with surprise, “apparently there’s no clairvoyance with banking which is annoying”.
Hugely annoying, Sue, we're with you on that one.

Note to self to check all direct debits on bank statements. Maybe that’s what I went upstairs for.