Dormant bank-account fees: how to check and challenge them
An account becoming “inactive” or “dormant” does not mean the bank owns the money, and there is no universal UK inactivity fee for ordinary bank accounts. What happens depends on the provider, the product and how long the account has been unused.
Check the account’s terms and latest statement before assuming an inactivity charge is valid. Long-term dormant balances can enter the UK Dormant Assets Scheme after extensive inactivity, but the owner keeps the right to reclaim the money. For ordinary current and savings accounts, any fee must come from the product terms rather than a general UK “dormancy fee”.
Dormant can mean different things in different contexts
A bank may mark an account inactive internally after a period with no customer activity, while the statutory Dormant Assets Scheme concerns balances left untouched for many years. Government guidance says bank and building-society accounts can enter the scheme after 15 years without customer-initiated transactions, subject to reunification efforts and the provider participating.
That is very different from a current account you have not used for 12 months. The practical effect of internal dormancy may be extra identification checks, statements stopping, online access being limited or the bank asking you to confirm your details. It does not automatically create a fee.
Practical check for this section: An old account has charged a £6 monthly product fee for eight months even though you have not used it. Compare that record with the account terms, whether the charge is a normal product fee or a specific inactivity fee, the date the account became unused and any notices sent by the bank. The point is to separate what you know from what you have only assumed. Calculate the total charge first, then compare it with the exact contractual term. Do not assume “dormant” automatically cancels ordinary account fees or that inactivity gives the bank ownership of the balance.
Do not confuse a product fee with an inactivity fee
A packaged current account might continue charging its normal £15 monthly account fee even if you stop using it. That is a product charge, not a penalty for inactivity. Likewise, an old foreign-currency or investment-linked product may have its own maintenance terms. Read the statement description carefully before deciding what you are being charged for.
Example: if an account costs £12 a month and you leave it unused for 10 months, £120 can disappear even though the bank never levied an 'inactive account fee'. The remedy is to downgrade or close the paid account, not to argue that the bank was prohibited from charging because there were no transactions.
Put the decision into a small worksheet rather than relying on the headline. Use An old account has charged a £6 monthly product fee for eight months even though you have not used it. as the test case and list the money at risk, the deadline or status, and the result of checking the account terms, whether the charge is a normal product fee or a specific inactivity fee, the date the account became unused and any notices sent by the bank. Calculate the total charge first, then compare it with the exact contractual term. Do not assume “dormant” automatically cancels ordinary account fees or that inactivity gives the bank ownership of the balance.
Dormant money remains reclaimable
The UK Dormant Assets Scheme is designed so customers are not deprived of their money merely because an account has been untouched for years. Government guidance says owners can reclaim what they would have been owed even after the balance has been transferred to a reclaim fund.
If you have lost track of an old account, contact the original bank or building society first. If you no longer know the provider, use the recognised tracing route such as My Lost Account rather than paying an unofficial tracing service that promises to find 'hidden bank money'.
Build the evidence file while the event is still fresh. For a case like An old account has charged a £6 monthly product fee for eight months even though you have not used it., keep statements, tariff or terms, closure or dormancy notices and the dates you contacted the bank. That is more useful than sending dozens of unrelated screenshots. Calculate the total charge first, then compare it with the exact contractual term. Do not assume “dormant” automatically cancels ordinary account fees or that inactivity gives the bank ownership of the balance.
Reactivating an old account can require fresh checks
Expect the bank to verify identity, address and sometimes the source of unusual incoming funds before restoring full access. If the account predates your current address, gather old statements, previous addresses and any account number or sort-code information you still have.
Do not send passports or statements to an email address found in a random search result. Start from the provider's official site or branch. Dormant-account scams work precisely because customers expect the process to feel unusual.
Worked decision example: An old account has charged a £6 monthly product fee for eight months even though you have not used it. Before acting, compare the best-case, expected and worst-case outcome using the account terms, whether the charge is a normal product fee or a specific inactivity fee, the date the account became unused and any notices sent by the bank. If the action is reversible, record what should happen next and set a date to check it. Calculate the total charge first, then compare it with the exact contractual term. Do not assume “dormant” automatically cancels ordinary account fees or that inactivity gives the bank ownership of the balance. This converts a vague banking problem into a sequence you can verify.
Challenge charges with the exact term and dates
If money has been deducted, identify each charge, the date it began and the contractual term the bank relies on. Ask whether the account could have been moved to a free alternative and whether the provider sent any notice before the charge started.
A strong complaint is factual: 'The account was unused from June 2024; you began charging £8 monthly in January 2026; I cannot find that charge in the terms supplied at opening. Please identify the term and refund any incorrect fees.' If the bank's final response does not resolve an eligible complaint, the Financial Ombudsman Service may be able to review it.
Set an escalation trigger instead of waiting indefinitely. For An old account has charged a £6 monthly product fee for eight months even though you have not used it., decide in advance what result or deadline would make you contact the bank, provider or other organisation again. Keep statements, tariff or terms, closure or dormancy notices and the dates you contacted the bank. If the charge conflicts with the terms or the bank failed to apply an agreed closure, complain with the monthly total and the relevant term highlighted.
Sources and verification
James Whitmore - Head of Research
Dormancy is mainly an access and record-keeping issue, not a licence for a bank to take your balance. Separate normal product charges from true inactivity charges and ask the bank to point to the exact term behind any deduction.
MyBankAnswers uses official provider and UK regulatory sources wherever practical. Information is general and does not constitute financial advice.