Dealing with Vodafone shares after moving several times and no contact for years

Janet said:

I did the same - bought the minimum amount of Eircom shares (oh the innocence of me in those days!), ended up getting Eircell and then Vodafone shares. Started getting dividend cheques for silly amounts like 26p, tried to cash them when we switched to euro (or something like that) and most of them were out of date. I was supposed to contact Vodafone and get them re-issued, meant to read all of the stuff on the dividend reinvestment plan so I wouldn't have to deal with it all and since then, well, I basically didn't and all that stuff has been sitting in a box. This is a good incentive for me to try and figure out whether I even actually still have anything - certainly haven't had any post from Vodafone for many years (following at least three moves, although always with post forwarding for at least one year after each move). It was on the agenda for this year but I'm going to pull it forward to deal with it now. Spoke to Vodafone (actually I think it was Computershare I got put through to) just now to find out what information I need to find to give them the best chance of finding me in their system. Just in case anyone is in the same position and/or interested in knowing how that all works out, please let me know and I'll start a thread on it. Or if there is already a similar thread, would love to know about it. Thanks.

Click to expand...

I posted the above in the Vodafone/Verizon thread and since I've now been in touch with Computershare I thought I'd go ahead and start a thread - good way to record what's happening.
Please note that this thread is purely about dealing with contacting Vodafone/Computershare after years of no contact in order to get everything up to date. Anything to do with the upcoming Verizon transaction should go into the other thread linked above. But if, like me, you never did anything and have moved multiple times since 2001 then this is what you need to do first.

So, as background:
I bought eircom shares in 1999 in the minimum amount, which from what I found in my box of stuff last night meant I had 97 shares (nearly 300 spent, and got 140-ish back in the forced Valentia sale or something like that). When they sold Eircell to Vodafone I received 47 shares in Vodafone. I still have that share certificate (issued in May 2001). I think I cashed one or two dividend cheques the first year but then I moved, shoved everything in a box and 'meant to deal with it one day'. I've since moved twice more, the last time to Germany.

In 2006 there was a change in the Vodafone shares and apparently a new share certificate was sent to me at my address from 2001 and never returned. So, presumably, my ex-landlord just threw it out. We were quite friendly so although he didn't have to contact me (he could have, knew where I worked, where I had moved to and had my phone number!) at least he could have "returned to sender". But anyway.

I phoned Computershare and told the guy (who sounded somewhat cluelss) that I had found my share certificate from 2001. He told me it was useless and he wouldn't be able to find me in the system with it. I explained that I was told yesterday to find that certificate with a reference number starting with "c" and followed by 10 numbers so that they could search for me. He sulkily took that number (it's under the first barcode on the right-hand side of the cert) and lo and behold, my details were all there in seconds.

I had to confirm my address at the time and then answer security questions. The questions were whether I had sold any shares in the last six months via Computershare or trade any shares in the last six months via a broker and given that I told him at the start I had done nothing for over ten years, they didn't really give me much of a feeling of security.

How and ever. He took my new address over the phone but seemed to struggle with the spelling of Dusseldorf. Hopefully the stuff will get here.

There are "a lot of outstanding payments" and he is sending a summary of that and didn't really want to go into anything like how I can give him bank details etc. - it's all in there apparently.

Then he said he would send me the mailing regarding Verizon. I specifically asked that if there was information regarding the taxation impact, he send me what is relevant for Germany and Ireland but he just kept saying, "it's all in there". Very much an attitude of go away and don't annoy me, I've ticked the boxes for what I think you need and you'll get it in the post. So, I'll wait and see what arrives.

He did tell me that the new share certificate issued in 2006 gave 8 shares for every 7 held. So, for the 47 I did hold, I now, according to him, hold 41.

So Janet am I correct in saying that somehow they still have everyone's info. I moved several years ago and never gave change of address. Nothing from them in the last few years and can find nothing here

I was able to find my old share certificate and the ID number on that (it's a C followed by 10 digits) so it was fairly easy. If you don't have that they should be still able to search by your name and address but, depending on how common your name is, it could be a bit more difficult. Best thing is to phone them and see what they can do for you. I saw a figure of something like 450,000 Irish people still owning Vodafone shares due to the eircom deal and I suspect a goodly proportion of those are like us and have mostly ignored it over the years and moved without letting them know. They must have systems in place for dealing with it.

I have just spoken to them and they were able to locate me without a problem and are forwarding duplicate documents today.

I finally got one letter last Wednesday. Confirming my change of address. Luckily the mistake in the address was only small, so it did actually arrive. Instead of Str. (the abbreviation commonly used for Straße, the German word for street, which I always use when dealing with non-German people who might not know how to use the German ß character), he put spr.

Then, on Friday, I received a dividend payment instruction form. So I've gotten two letters I wasn't really expecting but still no sign of the letter with all the information on the dividends that are due to me nor of the Verizon deal package.

I'm reech, I'm reech!

Another letter in the post from Computershare today, my goodness but they seem to like spending money on postage.

Once I send back in the dividend payment instruction form (which I have waiting to be posted tomorrow when I can get out to buy some stamps), I will receive the princely sum of 37.26 euro. I'm also due to receive some sterling - I assume that at the beginning they were paying the dividends in sterling and at some stage managed to set up for euro payments. If I recall correctly, the few dividend cheques I did actually get at the beginning were in sterling so that fits in. Not sure what I'll do with the GBP1.41 they're sending. I'll need to check with the bank but I vaguely remember lodging an Irish cheque here once and being charged nearly 20 euro for the privilege (and that was without needing to take any exchange rates into consideration). Will have to see.

I'm a little bit disappointed that they have just given me the total and not a breakdown of what was due for each year but at this level of income it's not worth the hassle of chasing that up. This letter also reminds me that I can now manage my holdings online by registering on the secure shareholder website so I'll do that now and then be able to manage it as much as possible electronically.

Phoned Computershare today and was told that there is no record of me having been sent a pack. The (very friendly and competent sounding) guy this time told me he could see everything that has been actioned on my account, was able to say when I had phoned a couple of weeks ago etc. So apparently my feeling that the original clueless guy was, um, clueless, mightn't have been far off the mark. A pack should now be on it's way to me. The correction to my address, which I made a note of on the dividend payment instruction form, has already been put through so that's something, too.

I did receive my sterling cheque yesterday. Grand total of GBP 1.41, which is the dividend for August 2001 (34p), interim dividend for February 2002 (34p), normal dividend for Augst 2002 (35p) and interim dividend for February 2003 (38p). So it looks like I probably didn't actually cash any Vodafone dividend cheques after all, as the original share certificate was issued in 2001. Presumably there would have been a charge for lodging a sterling cheque in Ireland and so I just left it. The cost to me today for lodging a sterling cheque to my German bank account? EUR 7.50. Hahahahahaha. I'll spring the 75c for a stamp and send it to one of my cousins in England instead. Just want the thing cashed and off their records as outstanding, to be honest. Really wish I'd paid more attention way back when and just sent in that dividend re-investment scheme form. Has to rank high on the list of stupid things to do when you've forgotten about the joys of compounding!

I have been trying to contact computershare all morning re lost certs but no luck. If anyone has a number that would be great