Missing Shares

macadamia_2

My mother's solicitor has been looking after my mum's shares for several years. I've recently been trying to make some sense of the information I'm getting from the solicitor (dividends) and I'm worried.

We were told that mum's BAA plc shares were "lost" (ie, no more) as they had been taken over. I've just discovered via googling that that is not the case. I'm on top of this one and another shareholding which has been bought over ("lost").

The big problem seems to be that the agencies dealing with these shares (eg Equinti) will not speak to my mother as she is no longer named on the shares. Her solicitor changed all the shares into the solicitor's company name so that the solicitor would receive all the paperwork etc in relation to the shares.

In hindsight I realise this was not a good move. Does anyone have any words of wisdom please.

jamesd

Why is she using a solicitor for something that is well outside the work that really requires the skills of a solicitor? What sort of total value is involved? Is your mother mentally competent to control her own money or subject to restrictions on what she can do financially, perhaps due to Alzheimers?

Why is she using individual shares instead of unit trusts or other collective investments?

Normally the holding of shares and distribution of dividends would be done via a fund supermarket or similar investment platform. There are many inexpensive options for that.

macadamia_2

James - thanks for replying. My mother is over 80 and was being overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork involved. The solicitor suggested taking it all over. I'm an only child and live hundreds of miles away.
These were shares that my late father and his father before him had bought and there's probably two to three hundred thousand pounds worth.
I am concerned re the trust aspect now after discovering the issue of the BAA shares but all the shares have been transferred into the solicitors name I feel we have very little power to investigate much because companies are not going to speak to my mother on the phone as the shares are not in her name. Seems like a big mess.

Fenella

BAA was taken over some years ago. All shareholders will have been paid off at the time. (I was a small shareholder then).

macadamia_2

Fenella - I know that now but up until I found that out myself the solicitor was telling us that because BAA had been taken over the shares had "gone".

I have spoken with the agency dealing with the shares and they confirmed that the shares in my mothers name were transferred to someone else (the solicitor's name). They have told me that they were paid out. I have gone to the solicitor and told him this and he suddenly has found a cheque was received and he assumes it was posted to my mother. I'm obviously checking this situation out but I'm wondering what else has gone this way.

While I don't want to accuse anyone at this moment in time (I'm still making enquiries) I assume that it would be quite easy for a cheque to come in in the solicitor's name and that's the end of the story.

Are there any suggestions as to what I should do? Should they be taken away from the solicitor? Can I ask to look through (audit) his books in relation to my mum's investments. I've lost trust in him now.

talexuser

If he sent a cheque for BAA takeover and dissolve of the shares it would have been late 2006, £9.35 per share was the final offer price. Have a look through your mother's bank statements to see if an amount was deposited from Solicitor from October onwards.

macadamia_2

Talexuser - yes I'm in the process of asking for copies of all her bank statements (she doesn't keep them!) so I will be doing that.

Jake'sGran

The bank statements can be supplied by the bank that issued them but there will be a charge. They belong to your mother, not the solicitor!

If you suspect malpractice on the part of the solicitor you should contact their governing body. I don't know their full title but you will be able to find it on the internet. "Try "solicitors, bad practice" or something similar.