Lauren Sandland was seventeen when she discovered she had £2,000 in a secret bank account.
The money was given to Lauren on the day she was born – and her mum has spent almost two decades paying into it for her seventeenth birthday.
“It was amazing,” Lauren, from Falkirk, Scotland, said. “I really couldn’t get my head around it at first.
“My mum told me she received a voucher on the day I was born and had been paying £5 a month into the account ever since.”
Now 18, Lauren recently withdrew the money and bought her first car after using her wages from a part-time job to pay for her lessons. She says it's helped her achieve one of her milestones.
“I’ve left school now and am just starting a job at Waitrose, so this is my first step towards adulthood,” she said.
"If you were born between 2002 and 2011 it's worth checking if you have an account as £2,000 is a life changing sum."
Until recently, Lauren was one of around a million people unaware they have money tucked away in a child trust fund – essentially money that was invested on their behalf on the day they were born.
Have you recently discovered a hidden windfall? Get in touch: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
These accounts were set up for all children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 with a live Child Benefit claim.
At the time, parents were given vouchers worth between £50 and £1,000 to invest and any vouchers that weren’t redeemed were invested on the child’s behalf by the government.
OneFamily, who Lauren’s mother invested the money with, said the average account at maturity has £2,000 in it.
The young person can control the account from the age of 17 and withdraw, reinvest or spend the money when they turn 18.
Some six million young people in the UK have a child trust fund, the figures show, but as many as one in six accounts either remain dormant or have been forgotten about - often because people move home and don't update their address.
“It’s such an expensive time, so it helps to get you on your way,” Lauren said, admitting it would have taken her months to save up enough to buy a car.
“It was also a really positive moment between me and my parents. It’s like them saying that they believe in me; a present to welcome me into adulthood.”
Find out if you have a forgotten account
Even when the child trust funds are unclaimed, the money isn’t lost.
It’s safely held until the young person gets in touch with their provider. This means account holders continue to receive the benefits of their fund and keep their tax-free status.
Families who are unsure on who holds their child trust fund or want to track down their savings can sign up to the CTF Register for free here or by visiting gov.uk/child-trust-funds .
We've got plenty more on forgotten child trust funds, here.
