Members of the public are being urged to contact their banks as it’s thought some people’s entire balance may consist of old pound coins.
Money saving expert Martin Lewis OBE said that many people just don’t check whether their bank holds their balance in notes or coins. “Ordinarily we do nothing to check how the money is stored, and the bank just sends the money to pay our bills by direct debit. But if it’s being sent in old pound coins companies will refuse to take it as of next week and your entire life savings could be worthless.”
A spokesman for Nat West said “Most people have sensibly ensured that their balance is held in £50s, £20s and £10s but we know some of our customers do have their entire balance in old pound coins. Obviously we have too many accounts to check them ourselves but as long as we’re asked to we will change people’s bank accounts into notes but only until Friday of this week. Ultimately it’s the responsibility of the customer to check.”
However the picture is not completely gloomy for the consumer as Martin Lewis points out on his website. “If you have a loan or a mortgage that was lent to you in old pound calls you legally don’t have to pay it back. Your bank or loan provider have to show you a screenshot of the exact noted and coins that were handed over on request.”
