h.x.b.c Research

cameron06

Ive had the exactly the same letter this morning or rather my wife did whos name is only Black by marriage and my uncle had the same letter as me. Letter Ref HDRPblack4009. Mr Andrew Black Died 14/06/2005 @ Queen Margaret Hosp, Dunfermline! I decided to ring this place and got a young lady on the phone on a "switchboard" who said she knew nothing about the letter but said she would get someone to ring back but nobody did so I rung back my self. I foreign man answered and said hello. I couldnt understand what he was saying as English was poor. He didnt ask me any details as such in way of bank details but about my family but i decided that i wasnt going to tell him anything. Judging by all these Blogs on here , it is just a scam!!! What a shame as could do with a windfall right now lol!

luxor4t

My mother has an Ancestry account - but you can't raise any Scottish records on it... unless we're both doing it wrong.

dzug1

The said Andrew Black IS in the bona vacantia list for Scotland, so the estate the firm (whether scam or real) is asking about is a genuine estate with money to be claimed by genuine relatives. Not a big one though

BLACK ANDREW 13/12/1942 68 Donald Crescent, Thornton, KY1 4AR 14/06/2005 Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline, KY12 OSU 04/08/2006 £3,431.17 UH/185/05 (18856)


Problem with a name like Black is there's a lot of people with that name.

msjingles1

i had the exact same letter through but with a different reference number..aol are we throwing away..thought my luck was in..

madbadrob

OK before you all give wrong advice let me start by saying I do heir huntig for a living and whilst scams exist many of these letters are not. I will go check the Scottish list and see if that person is on it and get back to you

The problem I see with what has been posted is the fact they dont happen to know if you are related and are asking you if you are. That would have me worried

Rob

madbadrob

Have just checked the Scottish list and it is a genuine estate. The estate is valued at 3400 pounds (rounded down) however after the costs associated with making this claim are taken into consideration the estate will be worth around £2500 to the family. Scottish intestacy estates are different in obtaining the money to England and Wales and notoriousley expensive.

Here is a guide of how to spot a scam and to stay away.

If they ask you for any money up front tell them to go away no real probate genealogist will ask for money up front.

If their commision is above 20% I would advise you to stay away. Most firms charge between 10% and 20% in the main however on some cases this can increase.

Ask them questions genuine firms will be happy to answer any and all questions.

If the OP or anyone else wants to contact me privately about this I am happy to answer their questions.

I am not this company btw

Rob

John_Pierpoint

But if the heir hunting company gives too much away, then the family might get together and claim the money themselves?.
Is there a lower limit for the Scottish Bona Vacantia process; the English one has a cut off at £5k?
I would think that with a surname of Black it must be almost impossible to unravel the estate (given that there might be a dozen or more beneficiaries), more so given that in Scotland the intestacy rules go back to the deceased's great grand parents and then roll forwards.

Turning to England, presumably were I in this situation, the Bona Vacantia office would not accept a partial solution to the estate ? For example perhaps there were 4 uncles/aunts of the child less only child deceased; and I could prove I was the only descendant of one of the aunts; could I claim 25% of the estate?

cameron06

dzug1 wrote: »

The said Andrew Black IS in the bona vacantia list for Scotland, so the estate the firm (whether scam or real) is asking about is a genuine estate with money to be claimed by genuine relatives. Not a big one though

BLACK ANDREW 13/12/1942 68 Donald Crescent, Thornton, KY1 4AR 14/06/2005 Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline, KY12 OSU 04/08/2006 £3,431.17 UH/185/05 (18856)


Problem with a name like Black is there's a lot of people with that name.

Dzug1 How did you obtain the information you have got and what are the ref nos you are refering to?

dzug1

That info is on the Treasury Solicitor Scotland's site:

http://www.bonavacantia.gov.uk/output/advertised-estates.aspx

There's a link there to a list of numerous estates in which you will find Andrew Black's. The reference is the Treasury Solicitors official one for the estate

The heir hunting company will use their own reference on letters to the Blacks they have been sending - obviously a different one on each letter - hardly surprising

They may be being paid by the TS to do this - or they may be acting off their own bat. For an estate of this size the latter seems doubtful

It's turning out to be a whole lot different scenario than the scam originally suspected

madbadrob

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

But if the heir hunting company gives too much away, then the family might get together and claim the money themselves?.
Is there a lower limit for the Scottish Bona Vacantia process; the English one has a cut off at £5k?
I would think that with a surname of Black it must be almost impossible to unravel the estate (given that there might be a dozen or more beneficiaries), more so given that in Scotland the intestacy rules go back to the deceased's great grand parents and then roll forwards.

Turning to England, presumably were I in this situation, the Bona Vacantia office would not accept a partial solution to the estate ? For example perhaps there were 4 uncles/aunts of the child less only child deceased; and I could prove I was the only descendant of one of the aunts; could I claim 25% of the estate?

Firstly you have been watching Heir Hunters and your belief of 5000 comes from there. The information on their is not totally correct. Prior to Feb this year BV used to produce two lists. The weekly list and the monthly lists. The weekly lists were always valued at over £5000 and the monthly lists were all valued at £500 or more. The minimum value for BV to get involved as always been £500.

Yes the Scottish lists have lower values than UK lists.

You are correct that the families could get involved in fact I have one estate at the minute where the family have made the claim but the fact I have a number of that family signed to my company they are losing out because they have to pay the costs associated with the claim and my commission on top.

Claims in Scotland can be through the great grandparents or their issue however its not as straight forward as that. Only the nearest entitled heirs to the deceased have a right not every family member

Rob