Lloyds TSB Shareview Hassle

braken2000

Hi,
I worked at Tesco for 4 years and paid into a share save scheme. Great i thought. So i leave to move onto pastures new and i recieve a share certificate for 959 shares. It has my name on it and all my paperwork has the same details (ref numbers etc). So my plans start to go wrong a little and i decide to cash in my shares to get some money together. I used their internet dealing service and recieved (after alot of hassle such as signing forms and paying cheques for replacement certificates that i never recieved) a cheque for £3070. That should be the end of it, however. I cash the cheque in and it is returned to me unpaid. I phone the company up and they say that i was 'never entitled to the shares' and as such they would not honour the agreement of sale.

Is this right? Can they do that even though i had a share certificate? do i have any rights to compensation? this has put me in serious financial problems now and i do not know what to do.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ON THE ISSUE
:mad: :mad: :mad:

Zippy123

Was your share save term for 3, 5 or 7 years?

If you had the 5 or 7 year contract it is very likely that they defaulted when you left.

If your term was not complete then in most schemes you will loose the shares. However you are due the payments back.

It could be that the share cetificate was made in error. If this is the case then errors do happen and if it has not put you at a financial disadvantage from what you were actually owed then I suspect there is little that you can do, except ask for the refund of the bank charges for the bounced cheque.

If they were free shares, most companies state that you have to be in the scheme for 5 years to get them tax free. You may still be able to get them but pay tax. Also if you have been awarded them less then 3 years ago then it is likely that you will loose them.

I am not a financial expert and am not offering financial advice or otherwise.

zzzLazyDaisy

Apart from a couple of exceptional circumstances, which don't appear to apply here, it is unlawful to stop a cheque, and there is no defence in law. This is because the recipient of a cheque is entitled to treat it as cash.

see article below (which is advising companies what the position is if a customer bounces a cheque, but the same applies the other way round)

http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/ltd-companies/bad_cheques.htm

Here is an example of a County Court Claim for a dishonoured cheque (ie bounced cheque)

http://www.compactlaw.co.uk/free_legal_precedents/preced2n.html#Dishonoured

If I were you, I would refer them to the Bills of Exhange Act and inform them that it is unlawful to dishonour a cheque in this way, and that if you do not receive a replacement cheque within 14 days you will commence proceedings in the county court (a claim can be made in the small claims court for sums under £5000).

See here for more info about the Small Claims Court

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_rights/legal_system/small_claims.htm

It may well be the case that your entitlement under your employer's share save scheme came to an end or was otherwise waived when you left their employment. But that is debatable, and depends on whether this was made clear to you,in writing, when you joined the scheme. If it was, then the employer should have documentary evidence of this. As things stand, they have led you to believe that you ARE entitled to this money, including issuing a share certificate and sending you a cheque. They may have made a mistake in doing so, in which case it is up to them to take the necessary steps to reclaim the money, including providing proof that you are not entitled to it, and giving you the opportunity to challenge what they say.

What it is NOT open to them to do, is to simply dishonour the cheque. That is unlawful.

You may wish to seek further advice from the CAB (if you see a solicitor, be aware that you cannot reclaim solicitors fees in a small claims action, even if you win. That, of course, applies to the company that bounced the cheque. I'd be surprised if they would want the publicity either!)

Good luck

Daisy

PS... usual disclaimer applies... the above info is provided for discussion only and should not be relied upon as legal advice...

braken2000

thats a lot of food for thought. Im going to the CAB and might get half an hour with a solicitor. Ill report back, it sounds fishy.
p.s. i do not think it was a fixed term scheme