Heir Hunters

troyster_2

redpete wrote: »

If they give her much info then it would be easier for her to find out the full details and the company has wasted all their efforts.

What if one of the siblings signs up, gets the details, all will inherit their share once they know the details and then they can share the cost of the one inheritor's 30%.

Three of the siblings signed up immediately. Only my Mum and my Aunt have taken time to consider it. I am going to draft a letter in their names to negotiate for 20% commission instead of a third. It's worth a try.

troyster_2

Mojisola wrote: »

The firms aren't that stupid -

www.lostkin.co.uk/Pages/Why_We_Have_Contacted_You.aspx
"We will need to enter into a contract with each heir individually ... It is general practice not to reveal full information until all the heirs have agreed to the terms of business."

But surely they would eventually find out who the deceased was when the heirs that signed received their inheritance. Because these companies still go ahead even if only some of the heirs sign their agreement.

pauletruth

yup put your own claim in . you will need proof. as they know that you entitled you cant be cut out. if they tried that they would be in deep trouble.

Takeaway_Addict

I'm guessing that the % they ask for would depend on how much the estate is worth. The higher the % the lower the value.

Obviously if its worth a million quid 5% is a fantastic amount of money but if its £1000 30% may cover the costs.

troyster_2

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

I'm guessing that the % they ask for would depend on how much the estate is worth. The higher the % the lower the value.

Obviously if its worth a million quid 5% is a fantastic amount of money but if its £1000 30% may cover the costs.

Yes, that seems logical to me, as I know from experience that auction houses work that way.
However she is adamant that she has no idea of the value of the estate, she says it could be £1 or £1million. I find it hard to believe that they would put the work in without having a reasonable idea of the worth.

PasturesNew

troyster wrote: »

I find it hard to believe that they would put the work in without having a reasonable idea of the worth.

There are several ways to look at this. The list is published on Thursdays, since a huge will fraud a few years back the list no longer contains the values. The first thing they do with each new list is try to discover if there is a chance the person owned their own home. If they did, this is the type of event that will have 5 Hunters beating down your door on the Thu/Fri.

However, what about the rest of the week, the rest of the time? You have buildings and staff ..... so you still research all the others as a background activity "just in case".

Johno100

PasturesNew wrote: »

There are several ways to look at this. The list is published on Thursdays, since a huge will fraud a few years back the list no longer contains the values. The first thing they do with each new list is try to discover if there is a chance the person owned their own home. If they did, this is the type of event that will have 5 Hunters beating down your door on the Thu/Fri.

Just to add those estates published on the Bona Vacantia list are of a minimum value of £5,000.

troyster_2

Update
I managed to negotiate a commission rate of 25% for my Mum and Aunt instead of what the heir hunter company wanted (33%). It's not much, but a small victory. So for anyone else in the same position, please haggle and don't just accept their first offer.
They also released the name of the deceased after the agreement was signed. He had died in 1996 so that's why I couldn't find him on the Bona Vacantia list.
Thanks everyone for advice.

keyser666

troyster wrote: »

Update
I managed to negotiate a commission rate of 25% for my Mum and Aunt instead of what the heir hunter company wanted (33%). It's not much, but a small victory. So for anyone else in the same position, please haggle and don't just accept their first offer.
They also released the name of the deceased after the agreement was signed. He had died in 1996 so that's why I couldn't find him on the Bona Vacantia list.
Thanks everyone for advice.

So how much then?

troyster_2

keyser666 wrote: »

So how much then?

No idea (honest).
The company dealing with it said they don't know yet. We think he had a house, so it should be a few quid.