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Old stocks and shares Certificates

We have been receiving significant number of inquires regarding lost asset tracing services.
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Tracing the companies from an old share certificate can be difficult, especially when the company involved has changed their name, or are no longer listed on the stock exchange.

Start with the share registrar named on the old share certificate they should be able to tell you the history of the company while they where the registrar. Capita, Lloyds TSB, and Computershare are the main registrars in the UK. They should be able to track the history of the company.

However, companies not only change names, they change registrars, they get taken over, they get sold again, sometimes they go bust and disappear for ever. Sometimes the same trading name appears as the brand was the only asset left to sell by the administrator. The new company in those circumstances has no connection with the one whose the share certificate you hold.

If the registrars can't help, the London Stock Exchange, will be able to tell you if a listed company has been taken over, changed its name or still exists.

Check out the pages on tracing lost assets and the list of useful contacts.

Tracing a pension scheme

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Tracing a lost policy,Account or other Asset

Bodies that might be of help in tracing lost policies, or old pension plans with previous employers, old and dormant bank accounts,  etc. If you have discovered an old share certificate then you can try and trace the firm.

We have been receiving significant number of inquires regarding lost asset tracing services.
Can you help us by filing out this 4 question survey.

If after exhausting the information and resources below without success it may be worthwhile to employ a professional firm to investigate and trace for you.  However, it should be realised that this is likely to be expensive and possibly only worthwhile if you are confident that somewhere there is policy, pension or bond that is likely to be of value.

Your first port of call to seek some guidance should be an Independent Financial Adviser.

Contacts:

• Association of Friendly Societies (www.afs.org.uk): 020 7216 7436
• Mutual Societies Registration: 020 7066 4916
• Unclaimed Assets Register (www.uar.co.uk): 0870 241 1713
• The ABI (Association of British Insureres) www.abi.org.uk

The Pension Service,
Tyneview Park,
Whitley Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1BA

More information here:

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/atoz/atozdetailed/pensiontracing.asp

Pension Schemes Registry 

This is a database of all
approved company pension schemes going back to 1975. It may also be
able to help with schemes operated before that date.

It can put you in touch with the present pension trustees of your old scheme who will then help you claim any benefits.
http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/

Do you have lost National Savings (Premium Bonds and Post Office accounts?

National Savings and Investments also offers a free tracing
service to help you find lost and abandoned accounts.

Tracing Service
National Savings and Investments
Blackpool FY3 9YP
Telephone: 0845 964 5000
http://www.nsandi.com

Building Societies

To track down a dormant Building Society account, or to trace a society that has changed name or been acquired by another, the Building Societies Association (BSA) can help.

http://www.bsa.org.uk/

Tracking down life insurance policies.

We have been receiving significant number of inquires regarding lost asset tracing services.
Can you help us by filing out this 4 question survey.

Insurance policies like old bank accounts and Post office accounts become lost or dormant or simply forgotten like bank accounts.

Endowment policies attached to mortgages are sometimes abandoned when people move house these policies often become paid up. Earlier premiums remain invested and will produce payouts on maturity although smaller.
Many of these insurance and life polices remain unclaimed.

Although Life companies do often try to trace lost policyholders by contacting a policyholder's original bank, solicitor, GP or other parties involved in the transaction they can still find it difficult to trace the policy holder or beneficiary.

Previous employers, parents or a mortgage lender may also be contacted. When large sums are involved, insurers have used private detectives, specialist investigators and advertising. However, millions in matured funds still go unclaimed.

If you have lost track of your old pension or Insurance company then the The Association of British Insurers (ABI) can help you track down them down although it cannot help you find a policy that you may have lost.
http://www.abi.org.uk/

How to track your lost pension

Company pensions can also be forgotten and lost especially if you have changed jobs leaving behind a few years service on each occasion.

Your original employer may have merged, been taken over, gone bust but with the pension fund held by independent trustees.

Tracking down these abandoned pension funds schemes and the pension trustees responsible for looking after them can be difficult.

The Pension Schemes Registry can help. This is a database of all approved company pension schemes going back to 1975. It may also be able to help with schemes operated before that date.

It can put you in touch with the present pension trustees of your old scheme who will then help you claim any benefits.
http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/

Personal pension plans were introduced in 1988 but are still forgotten and the benefits built up can go unclaimed on pension age.

If this does happen and you do not claim your pension the policy proceeds are transferred out of the pension provider's fund (unit-linked or with-profits) into a deposit account.

You can claim this at any time, you are entitled to the full value of the funds as well as any interest while the funds have been held on deposit.

The Pension Tracing Service

Why trace a pension scheme?

The Pension Tracing Service has access to a database of over 200,000 occupational and personal pension schemes and can be used, free of charge, to search for a scheme.

If you would like us to trace a pension scheme for you, phone 0845 6002 537 (Textphone 0845 3000 169) for an application form or complete our online form. Or write to us at:

Pension Tracing Service
The Pension Service
Tyneview Park
Whitley Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1BA

More information here:
http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/atoz/atozdetailed/pensiontracing.asp

A list of useful contacts to assist in helping to trace lost policies, pensions,bank accounts etc can be found on our Lost Asset resources page.

Check out the pages on tracing lost assets and the list of useful contacts.

Lost Abandoned forgotten or Dormant Bank Accounts.