People with bank accounts have been urged to act06:59, 09 Jul 2026Brits could be missing out on their own funds which may be at risk of getting transferred to non-profits before they get the chance to reclaim it. BBC money expert Laura Pomfret highlighted the multi-billion pound issue of unclaimed UK bank accounts and urged people to act.‌This issue comes in when people have multiple bank accounts and may have forgotten about one two. This can easily happen in a variety of life situations like forgetting to update your details in the fray of moving house or splitting from partners or saving for projects that don’t end up coming to fruition. These then turn into ‘lost accounts’.‌Although BBC Morning Live host Rav Wilding was left baffled by the concept that people had more than one bank account, Laura assured it’s “actually super, super common”.‌Laura added: “There's billions of unclaimed financial assets lying in old UK bank accounts, pensions and investments. £2.1billion was reunited with people just in the first half of this year so people are finding them.”To spur people into action, Laura also pointed out that if an account is dormant, or has not been used, for 15 years it could mean that the bank is allowed to transfer anything in the account to a non-profit cause under the Dormant Asset Act 2022.‌Alongside this, while you’ve left the accounts unchecked it could still be accruing interest, overdrafts, charges or fees that may need to be addressed.If you think you may have a dormant bank account, Laura recommended starting by contacting the bank you think it was with. This can be over the phone or in-person, and you may need to bring ID or proof of address to prove you are the true owner of the account even if you don’t have the account number or sort code.Laura continued: “But if you don't know who the bank or Building Society is, there's a really good website called mylostacount.org.uk . This is a free online service where you can find UK-based personal bank, building society, and national savings and Investments, or nsni accounts.‌“You'll answer a series of questions, including whether you think the account was in your name or not your dated birth current addresses previous addresses, and who you think the account was with.”Once the service has reunited you with your account, it will be up to you to liaise with the bank to get your money back. Later in the programme, Rav questioned if there’s a “correct amount of accounts” people in the UK should be banking with. But Laura assured this relies on each person’s unique circumstances.Article continues belowThe money expert revealed she personally likes to keep things ‘simple’ with just a few different pots each with a different purpose. Rav on the other hand claimed he’d had the same one account “since I was born”.Holly Hamilton, who was on the show’s expert panel for the day, revealed she was in the same boat as Rav and had used the same account since she was a student. On the other hand, Dr Oscar Duke shared his timely insight: “I was told I had a dormant one just the other day, I got an email; 24p plus interest!”