In April 2023, a valued Estatetrace client, one of the UK’s largest building societies, began a proactive repatriation campaign to re-engage with customers of dormant accounts.
The client explained: “As a building society we’re run differently from a bank. We don’t have external shareholders to satisfy, instead, we’re here for the benefit of our members so everything we do is about putting our customers first. Like all financial institutions, sometimes we lose touch with our customers; perhaps they have moved house and have stopped responding to communication or sometimes they may have passed away and we are yet to be notified. We wanted to ensure we have a proactive process of establishing and retaining contact with our customers or their estate executors to benefit their families and loved ones.
“Having identified improvements we could make in this area we set up a dedicated team to manage the repatriation project which was completed in stages over 18 months. Initially, we used an address checking firm with some success, however, where the issue was more complex or there was no response to our communication, we needed a different solution, one that only an enhanced tracing firm could help with.
“Following an RFI (request for information), we selected Estatetrace. As well as meeting all the criteria we felt that the Estatetrace team, led by Andy Davies, was as keen and passionate as we were to put our customers first and find people who had become inactive.”
Supporting the repatriation project
Andy Davies, FI Relationship Manager, Estatetrace confirms: “Estatetrace provides enhanced tracing for the financial services industry. We assist firms to track down ’gone away’ customers or the representatives of deceased account holders to help repatriate assets, preventing them becoming lost in the system. Each customer will undergo their own individual investigation to find and verify their correct address, or to confirm if they have passed away. In this way, we enable customer focused financial institutions to re-engage with customers or their families.”
The client continues: “We worked closely with Estatetrace to shape the project, particularly in terms of managing priorities. The project has been an incredible success resulting in millions of pounds been repatriated with our dormant customers or the families of those who have passed away. In many cases this has been hugely rewarding as often families of late customers have no idea about the existence of funds belonging to their loved ones.
“In one instance, a lady had passed away and we were able to get in touch with her daughter with Estatetrace’s help and repatriate £20,000 she was unaware of.
“Our bereavement team has also had several letters from executors and family members thanking us for our efforts to notify them of funds they did not know existed.
“We are proud that we have done everything we can to trace inactive customers. Although locating many of these customers is challenging, doing the right thing for our members is part of our purpose to support people in their real lives. This project has helped us introduce more robust processes so in the future we can be even more proactive in tracing customers who don’t respond to communication to ensure funds are repatriated faster in the future.”
Andy Davies confirms: “The client has been diligent in tracing inactive account holders. We are delighted to have been able to support them in this worthwhile repatriation project which underlines their commitment to putting customers first.”
For more information about how Estatetrace can help your financial firm please email [email protected] or connect with Andy on Linkedin.
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