is this a scam....

MX5huggy

Watch BBC 2 at 14:15 Heir Hunters is on, should be on the iPlayer after. I think they do know the value of the estate as they only chase the ones worth abit.

floss2

MX5huggy wrote: »

Watch BBC 2 at 14:15 Heir Hunters is on, should be on the iPlayer after. I think they do know the value of the estate as they only chase the ones worth abit.

No they don't. The Government only release limited information. The investigation companies base their decision on a hunch - influenced by things like the average property price for the area.

TotallyBroke

rogers1892 wrote: »

thanks for all the advice guys....

i had a look at the company website which is fairly basic, I can't find a company number listed anywhere which made me wonder. My mum has received a letter from the company asking her to verify various details, the company knew her brother had died, new when her parents were married and died, so they do know an awful lot. I've told my mum to procede with caution and to certainly not sign anything yet.....

I wouldn't care, but the company are tracing my mum, her siblings (5) and her cousins (13) so it'll have to be a pretty huge inheritance to make a difference once it's shared!!

Thanks again for the advice!

GAry

Have you spoken to any of the others that are being contacted to see if they have already spoken to anyone. This may be a first step.

rogers1892

TotallyBroke wrote: »

Have you spoken to any of the others that are being contacted to see if they have already spoken to anyone. This may be a first step.

Quantock Reasearch got in touch with 2 of my mums cousins, who to be fair aren't the sharpest tools in the box. Her 2 cousins promptly sent all their info off without question, the promise of riches clouding the part of the brain that deals with rationality. My mum is the first of the siblings to be contacted, asking for contact details for the others. (One of the cousins put Quantock Research onto my mums tail). I've told my mum to do nothing, send nothing, agree to nothing, until I've at least had time to get a grip on all of this. Thing is, I;m not sure what questions I should be asking this company to verify if they are who they say they are.......I've checked on Bona Vacantia to see if I could recognise names that could be the possible deceased, but again, not sure if it would be listed there......The company haven't asked for any payment, and they clearly state that they take an agreed percentage of the claim, but my concern is for things like ID fraud. They've already asked to confirm various details about my mums deceased brother, they alreay knew of his death, but wanted details about his marriage?? This could all be very ligit, and I'm over-reacting, but better safe than sorry??

nuttywoman

Funnily enough, my hubby got a letter from the Pensions Recovery Unit of the DWP in Newcastle. They were forwarding a letter from the Prudential concerning an old ins policy and that he maybe the person they`re trying to locate. They state they have`nt given them any of his details and its up to him if he wants to reply.

naijapower

In my opinion....caution. Proceed with caution

rogers1892

Hi...

I contacted Quantock Research via email, asking if there was anyway we could verify their credentials.....here is the response.....

Dear Mr Rogers,

Thank you for your recent email on behalf of your mother.

Unfortunately, I am unable to give contact addresses for
our previous clients whose comments are noted on our
website.

However, I can provide the contact details for a solicitor
who will be able to confirm that ours is a legitimite business.

The firm are :-

Porter Dodson,
Solicitors,
The Quad,
Blackbrook Park Avenue,
Taunton,
TA1 2PX.

The solictors contact details are xxxxxxxxx

Her telephone number is xxxxxxxxxx.

I trust this information will be helpful.

Kind regards.

Debbie Downes,
Quantock Research.

Seems to be legit??

RAS

Hi

The Probate Office have a note about inheritance scams on their web-site. Might be worth e-mailing them and asking.

Susan_Frost

Just watched heir hunters on sky this afternoon and they said it was the first listing which did not state the extent of the inheritance. Looks like the law/situation changed and they used to give it out and now they dont.

I agree that the investigators should get their money. Yes they take a risk on people not signing, but, hey, without them there would not have been any inheritance.