Latest news with #TayoOlutunde
Daily Record
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Record
'I watched a TikTok video about lost savings accounts and now I'm £2,000 richer'
"Why would you not take your free money? Go find out how much you have." While many of us mindlessly scroll through social media, most of us take things we read and watch with a pinch of salt as we know that many things we see aren't legit. With people watching TikTok videos mainly for their random hacks and entertainment, many of us ignore the more informational uploads. However, one TikTok user who did pay proper attention to the videos he was watching is now £2,000 richer. After stumbling across a video about Child Trust Funds two years ago, Tayo Olutunde decided to do some investigating. Despite being unsure at first, the finance and accounting student was able to uncover a trust fund he never knew about. For children in the UK who were born between September 1, 2002, and January 2, 2011, the government created Child Trust Funds saving accounts, reports the Mirror. In each account, the child was given a voucher worth £250 - or £500 for lower income families. Additionally, if parents did not open a Child Trust Fund as they were unaware of the scheme, then HMRC would have created one on behalf of the child. For those hearing about this scheme for the first time, you aren't alone, as there are approximately 670,000 unclaimed accounts. The average amount of savings in these accounts is estimated to be around £2,200. This means there are thousands of young adults across the UK who have unknown savings they can have access to. Explaining his experience, 22-year-old Tayo said: "I found out about Child Trust Funds on TikTok… this was about two years ago. I was quite interested and I looked into it, but I thought, lets just leave it, as it sounded too good to be true. "Fast forward to now, and I spoke to my mum and she said, yeah, I do have an account." For the vast majority of people it shouldn't be too difficult to find out if they have a lost Child Trust Fund. However, it should be noted that extra paperwork is involved for those who have moved around a lot. Tayo explained: "I moved house quite a lot as a kid. I moved to Nigeria as well for a few years, then I came back to the UK. I did find the address and then I got access to it. It took about a month or two months of emailing and post. "I had slightly over £2,000 [in the account]. I spent £500 on it on a holiday last year to Milan with a load of my friends. The rest, I didn't really need it, so I invested it." He added: "Why would you not take your free money? Go find out how much you have. Even if you don't use it, you can invest it somewhere better." A Child Trust Fund can only be accessed when you turn 18, so those born in 2010 still have a few more years to wait. Additionally you cannot open a new fund, but you are able to continue to pay into your existing account. How to find a lost Child Trust Fund account For those who know the name of their Child Trust Fund provider, you can contact it directly to get more details about your account. However, for those who have lost track of their account or are unaware they even had one, you can ask HMRC to help locate it by filling out a form on Parents and guardians of those under 18 are able to ask HMRC to find the lost account, whereas young adults aged 16 or over are able to enquire about the Child Trust Fund themselves. To fill out the form, you will need your National Insurance number as well as yout Government Gateway ID. Alternatively, you can request details via post by writing to: Charities, Savings and International 1, HMRC, BX9 1AU. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. You will need to make sure to include as much detail as possible, including your full name, date of birth, National Insurance number and address of the account holder. This comes after the Share Foundation helped over 95,000 people find their own Child Trust Funds account, which has equated to a total value of nearly £200million. The charity is now calling for the government to introduce a new scheme which will automatically release the money sitting in the unclaimed accounts to their rightful owners. Gavin Oldham, OBE from The Share Foundation, said: "This is just one way to give young people from low-income backgrounds the best chance in transitioning to adult life and break the cycle of deprivation."
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
'I found £2,000 in lost savings account after watching TikTok video'
Tayo Olutunde discovered he has a Child Trust Fund, which is a saving account that was given to children born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011 We all know that not everything you see on social media is legit - so when Tayo Olutunde came across a video about Child Trust Funds on TikTok two years ago, he wasn't sure whether to believe it or not. But fast forward to now, and after a bit of investigating, the accounting and finance student is just over £2,000 richer after discovering a Child Trust Fund that he never knew existed. Child Trust Funds are saving accounts that were given to children born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011. For each account, the child was given a voucher worth £250, or £500 for those from lower income families. But if the parent didn't open the Child Trust Fund, then HMRC would have opened one on behalf of the child - this means many people may not realise they even have one of these accounts. Approximately 670,000 Child Trust Funds remain unclaimed by young adults, with the average account estimated to be holding £2,200 in savings. Tayo, aged 22 and living in Leeds, told The Mirror: "I found out about Child Trust Funds on TikTok… this was about two years ago. I was quite interested and I looked into it, but I thought, lets just leave it, as it sounded too good to be true. "Fast forward to now, and I spoke to my mum and she said, yeah, I do have an account." In most cases, it isn't too difficult to track down a Child Trust Fund, but if you have moved address a lot, then there may be some extra paperwork involved, as Tayo found - but it was ultimately worth the admin. He said: "I moved house quite a lot as a kid. I moved to Nigeria as well for a few years, then I came back to the UK. I did find the address and then I got access to it. It took about a month or two months of emailing and post. "I had slightly over £2,000 [in the account]. I spent £500 on it on a holiday last year to Milan with a load of my friends. The rest, I didn't really need it, so I invested it." Tayo added: "Why would you not take your free money? Go find out how much you have. Even if you don't use it, you can invest it somewhere better." It is only possible to access your Child Trust Fund once you turn 18. You can't open a new Child Trust Fund but you can continue to pay into an existing account. How to find a lost Child Trust Fund account If you know the name of your Child Trust Fund provider, you can contact it directly to find out more about your account. If you've lost track of your account, you can ask HMRC to help you locate it by filling out a form on You can ask HMRC to find a Child Trust Fund if you're a parent or guardian of a child under 18, or if you're 16 or over and looking for your own account. You will need your National Insurance number and Government Gateway ID to fill out the online form. You can also request details by post by writing to: Charities, Savings and International 1, HMRC, BX9 1AU. Try to include as many details as possible, such as your full name, date of birth and address of the account holder, plus your National Insurance number. It comes as a leading charity is calling on the Government to introduce a scheme that will automatically release money sitting unclaimed in Child Trust Funds to their rightful owners. The Share Foundation has helped over 95,000 young people find their Child Trust Funds with a total value of nearly £200million. Gavin Oldham, OBE from The Share Foundation, said: "This is just one way to give young people from low-income backgrounds the best chance in transitioning to adult life and break the cycle of deprivation."
