FORGOTTEN SAVINGS IN N.Z. POST OFFICE

Grey River Argus, 21 February 1949, Page 8

FORGOTTEN SAVINGS IN N.Z. POST OFFICE

About a week ago, a British schoolmistress, who had returned home from a visit to New Zealand, accused us through the press of being dishonest, corrupt and generally rather sharp in our financial dealings. She could not have known of the fortune of over £lOO,OOO left in the Fost Office Savings Bank by New Zealanders so careless of their money that they had forgotten to claim their accounts. They have managed to forget about this money in spite of the most strenuous efforts by the Post Office to trace and remind them about it. The unclaimed deposits range in size from a few shillings to some very substantial figures. When an account has remained unused for 25 years, the Department attacks the problem of trying to trace the depositor. If the original owner is dead his relatives can, if they produce proper evidence, claim the account. In one notable case the evidence of a claim produced by relatives consisted of a large family Bible containing the signature of the deceased depositor. If no trace of the rightful claimant can be found the amount is then transferred to the Public Fund. Even then a relative or owner can still claim the account if they produce lawful evidence. Efforts are also being made by the Post Office to trace the owners of a number of school savings accounts which have not been operated for two years. There are also a numbei’ of service allotment accounts, the owners of which have not yet been traced.