Desperation or wot?

[poddster]

http://www.news.com.au/money/banking/cash-grab-inactive-bank-accounts-to-be-seized/story-e6frfmcr-12...

If you have a bank account that has not had any activity in the last three years you better get active in it or Swannie in desperation will get his grubby paws on it and rip you off.

[not_an_eloi]

stranger things 'ave happened    B-) 

[poddster]

stranger things 'ave happened    B-) 

Shouldn't that read "stranger things 'ave 'appened"

:^O

[the_hawk*]

OMG !!!

I wonder if it could become a habit?B-):-D

I seriously doubt it will become a habit 😛

I could ask you to hold your breath waiting but some may think I was being unkind :^O

[poddster]

For a fleeting moment there I thought that your "getting of wisdom" had finally arrived in your autumn years.

There is still hope though B-)

[jean2579]

In NSW any funds left in a Real Estate Agents Trust account, either from a property sale or from rents collected for 2 years or more, has to be transferred to the State Government. This has been law for a very long time.

[cherples]

What gives you the misguided impression that banks are getting the benefit of an account held by a person?

In fact the account holder is the one who benefits from the interest that is accumulating on the deposit, regardless of the account being active or inactive.

The banks take out fees each month.

You need a good balance to get more in interest than fees.

$100 sitting in an account would be gone inside 2 years by account fees.

[newstart2380]

The money can be reclaimed from ASIC but the process can take months.


If the account has been inactive for three years it is highly unlikely that a wait of a few months is going to be a great hardship to the holder.

And speaking for myself,  if the money is just sitting there I'd rather the Government were getting the benefit from it than the banks!

Of course, I suppose there is always the danger that a new, incoming Government;-) might up the ante and make the money impossible to reclaim 

OH Ellie you always seem to be able to change a discussion NOT about politics into one. You are surmising of course that any new Gov would do this or are you just starting a rumour ? :^O

[newstart2380]

Forgot to add, I have changed and all my accounts (bar one Gold saver account) to a credit union, no fees, no charges and they pay me to have my money there. The gold account I left with a bank pays a small 1% monthly BUT if I make a deposit of at least $200 on the first of every month BINGO a bonus 3.65% so in todays low interest paying market I am getting 4,65% in the saver with no fees or charges.

I don't understand why with internet banking and we the customer do most of the work from home or office we need cheque accounts or any account that attracts any sort of fee. It took me 5 mins to open the saver but they did ask several times why I was closing the cheque account.

[happyroo_bunji]

I really don't understand the sooking that is going on here.  Its always been this way, its just the timeframe thats changed.  You would only need to make a small deposit every 2 years to keep the account active.

If you have so many accounts that you can't keep track of them, thats your fault, not the governments

[lyndal1838]

Does the 3 years rule apply to Superannuation accounts too as the 7 year rule did?