Question about shares given to my brother 20 years ago.

Petra_70

Hi, funny question this. I didn't know where to put it,, but as it's regarding his place of work, I thought this may be the appropriate place.

My brother used to work for a particular employer (from 1990 to 2000,) and around 1995, all 200 employees were given a few shares in the company; not many, just 10 or so, worth about £25 at the time. He was given a share certificate, and filed it away.

He left the company 5 years later.

3-4 months back, he gave his new address (where he moved to 5 years ago) to the company he had his pension with when he was with the employer he was with from 1990 to 2000, because it occurred to him that they didn't have it. THEN he found the shares certificate out a few weeks later, and rang the company to see how to apply for the shares or what they might be worth. They said, he needs to write in with his new address and will be asked to fill in forms and suchlike, and that the shares were worth about £210. They said they will need bank details to enable them to pay the money from the shares into the bank, and his N.I. number and a few other things.

Well he didn't do this as he kept forgetting.

About 3-4 weeks later, a company called PROSEARCH wrote to him and said 'we are a specialist tracing company and have been instructed by *said company* to assist you in getting your shares..' (or something like that.) Anyway, they said the shares are worth £37.60! They enclosed a form for him to fill in all his details; bank details, NI number, address, landline, date of birth etc...'

My brother just chucked it in the bin, as he couldn't be bothered, and wasn't giving his bank account details and other personal and sensitive information to this random company who claim to be 'specialists at tracing people,' when they obviously got his new address via the pension company after my brother gave it to them a few weeks before.

They said 'you only have til 31st August to claim.'

Then a few weeks later, they wrote again with the same wording, but the deadline was 30th September.

And last week, they wrote AGAIN, with a new deadline...31st October, saying....'make sure you get your shares blah blah blah!'

Why are they so desperate that he applies for them?

And why did the company say they are worth about £210 and now he is only being offered £37.60? (But they say the indicative value is £130...not sure what that means...Are they trying to convince him that the shares are worth £130 when equiniti said they were worth £230!?) At the end of the letter though, it does say £37.60 will be what he will get.

Do you reckon this company is taking a cut/making some money out of all this, and that is why they keep badgering him?

And could it be a scam/fake/fraud?! I mean, the company my brother phoned, who have his shares, say HE needs to apply; and yet a few weeks later, he was approached by a company telling him to get his shares... why??? :huh:

Any ideas anyone?

Thank you.

Scorpio33

Well a share in a company will have a listed price, but will only be worth what someone is willing to pay for them.


I suspect this company is trying it on, but I could be wrong. Do you know the name of the company?

TadleyBaggie

Prosearch are well known on MSE, see this long thread about BT shares:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2618369

Personally I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

Petra_70

Hi Scorpio.

The company writing to him is PROSEARCH

Petra_70

TadleyBaggie wrote: »

Prosearch are well known on MSE, see this long thread about BT shares:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2618369

Personally I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

Thanks Tadley!

We crossposted. The post before mine was Scorpio's when I was answering their post. And I just clicked submit reply and went off to the kitchen for a bit. Sorry... I didn't mean to ignore your post.

I shall go have a look at this link. THANK YOU!

Petra_70

I have read some of this thread now, AND searched PROSEARCH on the internet, and it looks like it is as we suspected: a SCAM to make money from you.

Pretty disgusting.

Some people on that thread are saying people are stupid if they fall for it, and normally I do think people who fall for scams are a bit daft... However, my brother enquired with equiniti - directly - as to he could apply for the shares, and they said he needs to write to them with his new address etc.....

And then suddenly he got this document/letter from PROSEARCH to apply for the shares, with my brother's old company's name in the top left corner of the letter. So it would have been VERY easy to have fallen for it. It does look very authentic, and as I said, he had only phoned a few weeks before about the shares.

How on earth did PROSEARCH know he had phoned? And how did they get his new address? Could they have gotten it from the Pension company? He did give it them a few weeks before...

Anyway, the fact that the amount he was going to get was WAY less that Equiniti quoted, and he had not even applied yet, made him suspicious and hesitant.

Just as well.

Many thanks folks.

Scorpio33

I mean the company where the shares are held in, as that will give you an indication of today's current value.


Agreed re PROSEARCH, bunch of con artists!!

Sir_Lunchalot

Prosearch are a subsidiary of Equiniti .......


Your brother needs to communicate only with Equiniti - if he still has the share certificate, there can be no charge for changing his address. You will be able to find out the value of his shares from many websites - usually including the company's own.


Prosearch will have been hired by the company to track down people whose address has changed. It's not exactly a scam, but they do charge a lot for their services, and you can do it yourself a lot cheaper. Search agents like Prosearch, or the Heirhunters you see on TV, like to get in touch with people like your brother as they get the maximum income for the minimum of work.