HELP! Feeling Overwhelmed: Unclaimed Funds - BoQ
I’m not sure where to start, but I’m hoping someone might be able to help me — or at least give me a little hope. It's a longer and more complicated story, but I'll just give the important info -
I recently searched for unclaimed money in my name and surprisingly found at least a few hundred dollars connected to shares from an account I had when I was 14/15 years old, and living in Western Australia.
- 2005: Moved from the NT to WA and joined a local bank, State West Credit Union.
- 2006: State West announced it was merging with Home Building Society. We were offered/given shares and kept our accounts.
- 2007: Mid-year, I moved back to the NT and opened a Commbank account for the convenience of banking Australia-wide.
- 2007: State West/Home then merged with Bank of Queensland.
I contacted Bank of Queensland to ask how to claim the shares/funds. They’ve asked for ID, share numbers, account numbers, and proof of my WA address from 20 years ago. They also require me to complete a “Change of Address” form before they’ll provide a statement of my account, for a $49.95 fee per share — and I don’t even know how many shares I have.
I don’t have any of the things they’ve asked for...
A LOT of life & trauma & change has happened in 20 years - just in the 18 months we lived in WA, we had 4/5 different addresses. And in the last year I was in a very serious car accident while travelling Australia. My partner, who was driving, sadly passed away, and everything we owned was in the car and destroyed.
Trying to prove who you are when you have no old paperwork is incredibly frustrating. I was only recently able to replace my passport.
I’m struggling financially and honestly feeling overwhelmed by this whole process. Has anyone dealt with claiming old shares or unclaimed funds when they didn’t have account/share numbers or documents from old addresses? Are there records I could try to access, or an ombudsman/service that could help me understand what evidence the bank should reasonably accept?
If circumstances were different, I probably wouldn't even bother claiming the money because of the hoops they're making me jump through - but I really need the money right now.....
Any practical suggestions would genuinely mean a lot - Thank you.