Share registrar help

Moondarra

I hold power of attorney for an ageing parent. During an estate transfer, they were to receive a considerable shareholding via a well-known registrar. However the registrar sent the shares (somewhere?) against our instructions, then told us they'd sent thelm to the lawyer, then told the lawyer they'd sent them to us.
This took some time to discover. They then wrote, "apologising" yet the letter contained no less than 29 errors, some trivial, some material.  We asked whether they had put a "stop trade" on the certificate, but it took them two years to do so after they realised the shares were missing.
The registrar continued to fail to follow our simple instructions, (such as "Please provide tracker references for important documents instead of using second class untracked mail") and five years later insists that WE indemnify THEM against their error.
They told us that we could go to the FS ombudsman, but the ombudsman told us that registrar services lie outwith their jurisdiction.  We have asked them numerous times "What is the arbitration route for this issue?" Clearly not the Ombudsman. And  "Who is the independent overseer of your practices?"

So my question to the forum is- does the forum know the answer to the two questions in bold above?  Thank you. 

eskbanker

Companies performing unregulated activities aren't even obliged to have a complaints process, never mind a dispute resolution one, and likewise may not have any independent oversight - who specifically are you referring to?

DRS1

Have you tried contacting the Company Secretary of the company concerned?

wmb194

Moondarra said:

I hold power of attorney for an ageing parent. 

During an estate transfer, they were to receive a considerable shareholding via a well-known registrar. However the registrar sent the shares (somewhere?) against our instructions, then told us they'd sent thelm to the lawyer, then told the lawyer they'd sent them to us. 

This took some time to discover. They then wrote, "apologising" yet the letter contained no less than 29 errors, some trivial, some material.  

We asked whether they had put a "stop trade" on the certificate, but it took them two years to do so after they realised the shares were missing.

The registrar continued to fail to follow our simple instructions, (such as "Please provide tracker references for important documents instead of using second class untracked mail") and five years later insists that WE indemnify THEM against their error.

They told us that we could go to the FS ombudsman, but the ombudsman told us that registrar services lie outwith their jurisdiction.  We have asked them numerous times "What is the arbitration route for this issue?" Clearly not the Ombudsman. And  "Who is the independent overseer of your practices?"

So my question to the forum is- does the forum know the answer to the two questions in bold above?  Thank you. 

Which registrar? You followed its complaint process? What was its reasoning for rejecting the complaint? How much money for the indemnity are we talking about?

E.g., Computershare:

https://www.computershare.com/uk/complaints-policy

Murielson

Who is the registrar and, apologies, but why has it taken you 5 years to try and follow up and do something about it?

Have you been pestering them, have you approached the company whose shares are/were held?

Don't most registrars operate online now, certainly the ones I use do nowadays?

Moondarra

Thank you everyone. All very thought-provoking. 

 I've been pestering them for 5 years, two of which were dormant because we had been told by the registrar that the lawyer had the shares, and six months lost messing around with ombudsmen, despite the Registrar knowing they weren't under the ombudsman's jurisdiction.

I've been through their "complaints" bin, and have written to the CS of the share issuing company. However everything returns to the registrar, who keep telling us we must indemnify them because once they send £15,000 in the post, second class, it's our responsibility, even if we specifically told them not to do it.

I'm going to try their NED responsible for Risk and Control, as they state in their Annual Report that their largest risk is their own maladministration!  (I have a trail of examples - they are unable to follow the simplest instruction. 

My feeling is that the next step would need to be via a claim at the court. But they have very deep pockets and I'm sure the £15,000, too large for the small claims court, would be hoovered in legal positioning long before it reached the court. 

Moondarra

PS it would appear not to be possible to handle physical share sales on line without a paper certificate - or an indemnity which affords open-ended payments. 

wmb194

Moondarra said:

Thank you everyone. All very thought-provoking. 

 I've been pestering them for 5 years, two of which were dormant because we had been told by the registrar that the lawyer had the shares, and six months lost messing around with ombudsmen, despite the Registrar knowing they weren't under the ombudsman's jurisdiction.

I've been through their "complaints" bin, and have written to the CS of the share issuing company. However everything returns to the registrar, who keep telling us we must indemnify them because once they send £15,000 in the post, second class, it's our responsibility, even if we specifically told them not to do it.

I'm going to try their NED responsible for Risk and Control, as they state in their Annual Report that their largest risk is their own maladministration!  (I have a trail of examples - they are unable to follow the simplest instruction. 

My feeling is that the next step would need to be via a claim at the court. But they have very deep pockets and I'm sure the £15,000, too large for the small claims court, would be hoovered in legal positioning long before it reached the court. 

This has always been the way: registrars make it your problem if the certificate is lost. 

I was envisioning hundreds of thousands of pounds so the fee on replacing a certificate for shares worth £15k shouldn't be *so* bad: what price for the indemnity/indemnity waiver the registrar is asking? 

If I'm not misunderstanding, for £15k Equinti wants £87 + £50 admin fee = £137.

A company Google throws up called Portsoken wants a minimum all inclusive fee of £205.

If these are roughly in the ballpark I'd be minded to pay them and damn the impertinence.

https://equiniti.com/uk/help-and-support/lost-certs-docs/letter-indemnity-charge

https://www.portsoken.co.uk/insurance/lost-share-certificate-indemnity/lost-share-certificate-indemnity-faqs

poseidon1

Moondarra said:

PS it would appear not to be possible to handle physical share sales on line without a paper certificate - or an indemnity which affords open-ended payments. 

One of the many disadvantages of paper share certificates which were the bane of my professional life in dealing with certain deceased estates, where certificates regularly went missing or out of date. This incurred irritating costs  and delays in dealing with multiple  registrar indemnity requirements.

All stockmarket investors should switch to digital holdings preferably via a low cost investment platform who can also provide year end tax certificates of investment income for self assessment purposes.

As indicated below there are moves to wholly digitise the UK shareholding system, which can't happen too soon in my opinion.

https://www.latham.london/2025/07/digitisation-taskforce-unveils-the-end-of-paper-share-certificates/#:~:text=On 15 July 2025, the,exercise their rights through intermediaries.

Moondarra

Thanks again everyone.
 I understand the modest cost of the indemnity. (Apologies for the pitiful shareholding - not everyone is South of England rich!). However the indemnity does nothing for the shareholder, only for the idiots who went against our instructions. The shareholder remains liable for the open-ended cost of the registrars defence of spurious claims  from anyone who finds the missing certificate. 
The registrar keeps telling us we are shareholders, and we have a paper copy of the register and receive dividends, but the shares cannot be sold digitally without a certificate, without buying a the indemnity.