This concerns all people who have one or more savings accounts, in addition to their current account.
Relations with a bank are not always smooth, and some customers may face unpleasant surprises such as unexpected bank charges, poorly justified direct debits or rate increases. Other mishaps also sometimes catch customers off guard and put them in a difficult situation. This is what happened to a Tourangeau in May 2024. While he went to his bank branch in Tours to consult his Livret A, opened in 1975 by his parents when he was a child, he discovered with amazement that all of his funds cannot be found. In total, there was around 25,000 euros in his savings account. “These are the savings of a lifetime”he confided to our colleagues at La Nouvelle République.
The man then immediately asks for explanations from the bank, which tells him that his Livret A was closed in December 2016 since it was inactive. Since then, the account has been deposited with the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. This story, which may seem improbable to some, can concern anyone with one or more savings accounts. Because few people know it, but according to the law, a bank account type “passbook, securities accounts and employee savings accounts” is considered inactive “after 5 consecutive years without movement and without news of their holder”indicates the site info.gouv.fr. For current accounts, the deadline is 12 months.
To avoid this, customers simply have to contact their bank, for example every year or every three years, or carry out a transaction on their account. In all cases, banking establishments have been required since January 1, 2016 to notify their customers if one of their accounts becomes inactive.
Beyond ten years of inactivity or twenty years for a PEL, the balance is transferred and entrusted to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. To recover their money, because yes, it is possible, the beneficiary or beneficiaries can claim it directly from the Caisse des Dépôts.