Illegal share dealing by Link or not???

SusieQ123

My parents had national grid shares in joint names. These shares were dealt through Link Asset Services. In February 2018 my Dad died. Mother informed Link and was told not a problem as it was joint named shares. In November 2018 mother tried to sell shares and duely received a cheque and was under the impression that all the shares had been sold. In January 2019 mother died. I telephoned Link bereavement department and was I was told there were no shares managed by Link. Today I received a share statement from Link informing me that on the 16 April 2019 my parents (both dead) had jointly bought £1399.52 of shares. On telephoning them I understand that Link initiated this because my father couldn’t sign a form. (He was dead at the time). Question - Does anyone know if this was a this a legal transaction by Link? Thanks all.

eskbanker

While I'm not sure it's helpful to be using terms like 'illegal', there's obviously more to this than meets the eye - I'd suggest putting your concerns to the bereavement team in writing and getting a clear written statement of exactly what the shareholding was throughout 2018 and up to now, plus details of any and all transactions and how they were funded (i.e. where did the £1399.52 come from?).

If it transpires that you've been misinformed at some stage, or that Link have otherwise done something inappropriate, then complain formally....

steampowered

Sorry to hear about the bereavement.
imagine it would depend on the Terms & Conditions that your parents signed up to.

It sounds very strange that Link 'bought' shares. Do you know why would have done this?

It would be more common for Link to 'sell' the shares, which they will be entitled to do if necessary to cover the fees that will be associated with the account being open.

Sounds like you need to try and get your hands on a statement showing what happened with the account (shares and cash).

Uxb1

Well it seems simple to me.
You write a formal letter and send Link an original of both death certificates and say that as they were both dead at the time of purchase this is clearly fraud and tell them to get on with it and properly investigate.

AnotherJoe

Do you know where the £1399.52 came from?

Can you see it coming out of your parents bank account in a statement?

bowlhead99

When my uncle passed some years ago, it turned out that at some point before his demise he had sold more shares with the broker than he actually owned, due to some confusion over his paper share certificates.

For example they had sold (say) 10000 shares for him and credited him with the proceeds of sale (either in cash or by buying shares in a different company for him). However, it turned out that at the point of sale he only actually owned (say) 9000 shares, not 10000, so when he gave them the share certificates it didn't actually settle the position - he still owed them 1000 shares.

Later (quite a bit later, as he didn't have spare cash to settle up and instead just put his head in the sand about owing them some shares, rather than fixing his liability by clearing the position), he passed away. He still had the 'negative 1000 shares' on his account and the broker bought 1000 shares in the market to clear his deficit, and then he (well, the estate) owed them the cost of buying those shares.

After checking the history and paperwork with a fine tooth comb it did seem to stack up, but had certainly seemed unusual at first.

Maybe it is something like that, or perhaps it might be that a firm order has for some reason been placed a long time ago to buy shares if they reached a specific price or if a certain amount of dividends were received. All kinds of unusual activity on an account may have a proper explanation if you seek it out. I would be polite but firm - rather than bandying around accusations of illegality - when trying to get an answer on why they were trying to buy any shares for your parents at that point in time.

Once you have an answer, you can of course complain and say it doesn't seem legitimate and there were no valid instructions from you to go ahead with it, so they must correct the position and compensate you if the estate suffered losses as a consequence.

SusieQ123

Hi everyone, many thanks for your replies. I did not intend the accusation of ‘illegal’ but rather the question of if. I have done as you all suggested and have written to the bereavement team. On a tel con it appears as though the shares were cashed in as requested by my mother but when no signed form arrived from my father and after a lapse of a couple of months without a response link decided to re-invest the shares again off their own back so to speak, so Link already had the money from the shares they sold. This transaction happened after I had contacted the bereavement team team and been told there were no shares. I have to say Link Assets are being remarkably Unhelpful and obstructive about this and not one accusation has past my lips. We are in discussions now about share prices, costs etc. about which I know nothing. Many thanks for all your help.

jimjames

Was it reinvested dividends?