Martyn Jones

Labour Party | Clwyd South

MP BACKED BY GOVERNMENT TO DEMAND HONESTY OF BANKS-CONSUMERS ARE VICTORIOUS

Martyn Jones, MP for Clwyd South has made major progress today in his campaign for dormant accounts as the Government announces its commitment to resolve the scandal. 

Today’s budget announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, has revealed that the Government is committed to progressing forward with the means to retrieve money from dormant bank accounts.

The announcement also brings victory to four of Mr. Jones’ major campaign goals.  Firstly, progress has been achieved as the Government pledged today to agree on a common definition of an unclaimed asset.  Once a definitive understanding of such an asset is established, banks will then be held accountable to calculate and report the amount of money that actually resides in abandoned accounts, thus meeting Mr. Jones’ second goal.  The third goal is met as the Government expects the financial services industry to do more to reunite owners and assets, possible through a National Register, and finally the Government has fulfilled Mr. Jones’ fourth goal by placing a time limit on banks’ responsibility to report unclaimed assets. 

Mr. Jones has brought the issue of dormant accounts to the attention of the Government, and now, today’s Budget Report has revealed that the Government agrees with Mr. Jones on the grounds that forgotten funds must be returned to the rightful owner or to society as a whole. 

The Budget Report reveals that the Government has every intention to ensure within the financial services industry that customers are reunited with their lost money.  Reunification comes with the intention of taking place by the November 2005 Pre-Budget Report.

In response to the announcement, Mr. Jones said:

“The Government wants the full value of unclaimed assets defined by November.  This means that the banks have much work to do in the next six months in determining how they will set up the retrieval of lost funds, and I assure you all that I will be on top of the banks to make certain that the November deadline is fulfilled. 

“Today’s announcement confirms that the Government matches my firm commitment to resolving the scandal of dormant accounts.  It is a day of victory and progress for customers of the financial services industry and a day that demands honesty from the service providers.”