FCA urges young adults to check for unclaimed Child Trust Funds

Thousands of young adults could be sitting on a forgotten pot of savings as they head back to college and university. As students return to college and university this month, the FCA is urging young adults and parents to check whether they have a forgotten Child Trust Fund waiting to be claimed – potentially worth thousands of pounds.Figures from HMRC show that 760,000 matured Child Trust Funds, worth an average of £2,000 each, remain unclaimed. That means hundreds of thousands of young people could be missing out on money that could go towards new laptops, textbooks, rent deposits or the everyday costs of student life – or setting them up with savings for their future.Some companies, including those advertising on social media, are offering to 'find' and claim Child Trust Funds on people's behalf – often for a hefty fee or a cut of the final payout. The FCA has seen cases where customers were charged £400 to locate the account and even seen some firms charging a monthly subscription for a one-off tracing service. But missing funds can be traced for free without losing a penny to a middleman. Chris Knight, director of insurance at the FCA, said:'A Child Trust Fund can be a welcome