Equiniti - is this a legitimate letter?

bluesky9938

Looks like Equiniti is not respectable/responsible Attempts to phone have been met with the recorded telephone message. another crooked banking scam

Randomly_Talented

After doing a little research, i found that EQUINITI is contacting past "Friends Provident" share holders, hope this might shed a little light for some posters on this thread.

Go to "Friendslife" website, and follow these instructions.

click "investor" at top of page
click "shareholders services"
select "Equiniti/Prosearch letters.

Hope this helps !

:money::T...............> :beer:

i-luv-free-stuff

on a slightly related topic i recieved a letter off first group asking if i wanted equinti to purchase share on my behalf with the dividends of my original shares. now i only have 241 shares which were given to me when i worked for the company so is it worth doing or is this really only for wheeler dealers in shares?
i know absolutley nothing about shares and stuff by the way!

Reaper

i-luv-free-stuff wrote: »

on a slightly related topic i recieved a letter off first group asking if i wanted equinti to purchase share on my behalf with the dividends of my original shares. now i only have 241 shares which were given to me when i worked for the company so is it worth doing or is this really only for wheeler dealers in shares?
i know absolutley nothing about shares and stuff by the way!

At a very quick calculation I guess the dividends are about £45 per year so it doesn't matter much what you do. If you think FirstGroup will do well and if the dealing costs are low (no point if it costs you £10 to buy more shares!) then go ahead.

If you don't rate them or have something else you want the money for then ask for cash instead.

i-luv-free-stuff

cheers reaper
my last dividend came last week and was £18.37 but i think first group will always do well as they are in bidding for various rail franchises.
the dealing costs are 0.5%with a minimum of £1.50
stamp duty reserve tax 0.5% ??? not sure what that is!

Reaper

i-luv-free-stuff wrote: »

cheers reaper
my last dividend came last week and was £18.37

FirstGroup pay 2 dividends each year, this one is the smaller of the two.

but i think first group will always do well as they are in bidding for various rail franchises.

Having worked for them you know them better than me, but if you want the alternative view I would point to their Brighton-Bedford service which has just been voted the worst in the country (and sadly the one I use) and the withdrawal of their win for the East Coast line last October.

the dealing costs are 0.5%with a minimum of £1.50
stamp duty reserve tax 0.5% ??? not sure what that is!

That is very reasonable but still a bit of a bite out of £18. Whenever you buy (but not when you sell) shares the government taxes "stamp duty". That is what the extra bit is for.

i-luv-free-stuff

thanks again for your input reaper.
so in your opinion you reckon i should just take the dividend? it get paid into our bills account so we never see it really anyway.
cheers for reading!

winhouse

Hi I have received one too for my father who died 10 years ago. How can we find out if it is legitimate. I have looked on the website and it looks ok. I am like you weary about sending personal details to them?

GustyGardenGalaxy wrote: »

My mother has just received a letter from Equiniti - it's correctly addressed and has her name on it. However, I'm suspicious, especially regarding the part that says:


"If we receive no response within 28 days of mailing, EFSL may instruct a professional agent to locate and make contact with the individual, who may incur a fee for being reunited with their investment but they should be assured that the fee is not payable in advance."




My father died a few years ago and did have some shares, but nevertheless, I'm suspicious about this, especially as this is the first time my mother has heard from Equiniti.

The full letter is as follows:


Dear Occupier

RE: MRS XXX XXXXXXXX

Equiniti Financial Services Limited ("EFSL") is seeking to re-establish contact with the individual named above for whom we are currently holding an investment.

If you are the individual named above, it is important that you make contact with EFSL in writing within 28 days of this letter providing proof of identity and address in the form of a recent utility bill, dated within the last 3 months, which must be either an original or a copy certified by your bank or solicitor. Documents will be returned once we have confirmed your identity but there may be a delay so please do not send in your passport or driving licence. When returning documents please use the enclosed envelope quoting the above reference number, upon receipt of your correspondence, EFSL will provide further details in relation to this enquiry.

If you are not the individual named above and you are able to do so, we would be grateful if you would pass this correspondence on to the individual named above so that they may contact us or provided us with a forwarding address so that we may make contact.

Please note that should you choose to telephone or email EFSL, we will be unable to provide any further information regarding the investment until the appropriate proof of identity documentation has been provided.

If we receive no response within 28 days of mailing, EFSL may instruct a professional agent to locate and make contact with the individual, who may incur a fee for being reunited with their investment but they should be assured that the fee is not payable in advance

Yours faithfully

Sam Halford

Equiniti Financial Services Limited



(note: all of the above grammar errors are in the original letter!).


Any thoughts please?

Randomly_Talented

winhouse wrote: »

Hi I have received one too for my father who died 10 years ago. How can we find out if it is legitimate. I have looked on the website and it looks ok. I am like you weary about sending personal details to them?

If you read my previous post, and follow instructions, i think it will make some sense to you.good luck !

Ivor1971

Randomly_Talented wrote: »

After doing a little research, i found that EQUINITI is contacting past "Friends Provident" share holders, hope this might shed a little light for some posters on this thread.

Go to "Friendslife" website, and follow these instructions.

click "investor" at top of page
click "shareholders services"
select "Equiniti/Prosearch letters.

Hope this helps !

:money::T...............> :beer:

Thanks for this - it now makes sense!