Issue with approved profit sharing scheme

[Hibiscus]

Hi,
I had some shares from a company I used to work in which were held in trust with an external company for 3 years as part of an Approved profit sharing scheme. When the 3 years are up the income tax which would have been payable on the shares is written off because the shares have matured. The external company (the trust) send you out a form requesting you to declare which broker you want the shares transferred to. If you do not declare any particular broker the matured shares are transferred to a stockbrokers by default where an account is set up for you. I had left my ex employer many years ago and changed address multiple times. The share transfer documents never reached me. I therefore never signed any transfer documents, nor agreed to any new terms and conditions. My other contact details never changed though. Last year I remembered about the shares. I went back to the external company who held the shares ( the trust) and was told that the shares had matured and were transfered out of the scheme to a broker by default. I contacted that broker who wants me to sign an account opening form and agree their terms and conditions. My understanding is that they have been helping themselves to my shares to pay for their management fees. I never agreed to them managing the shares in the first place nor agreed to any of their terms and conditions. I am refusing to sign up for an account with them and never gave them any consent to do anything with my shares. Shouldn't they have gone back to the external company managing my share (the trust) at the time and said they did not have the adequate and relevant information before taking the account in? How can they manage an account with the share owner consent? Thanks for the help.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Hi Hibiscus,

This reads like it’s entirely your fault to be honest. When you moved home the onus was on you to notify them. I’m not sure what else they were supposed to do as something had to be done with your shares.

Just sign the paperwork and take the shares or sell them.

The lesson being to stay on top of your affairs.

Gordon

 

[Hibiscus]

Hi Hibiscus,

This reads like it’s entirely your fault to be honest. When you moved home the onus was on you to notify them. I’m not sure what else they were supposed to do as something had to be done with your shares.

Just sign the paperwork and take the shares or sell them.

The lesson being to stay on top of your affairs.

Gordon

Hi Gordon,

Thanks for the reply. I will not sign the paperwork since I have never agreed to their terms and conditions. The onus lies on them to make sure that when they take an account in, that it has the necessary documents attached to it and all the consents required. There are consumer protection rights. Otherwise it means that anyone can transfer your shares to another company for that company to manage them without your consent.

 

[Thirsty]

left my ex employer many years ago and changed address multiple times. The share transfer documents never reached me

Just for fun, imagine you are your former employer - what did you expect them to do in this situation?

In any event, you own the problem, not your former employer.

to manage them without your consent.

I'm pretty sure, if you go back & check the T&Cs from when you signed up to the scheme; there was due provision made for this.

 

[Hibiscus]

Thanks for your input. I did not say the ex employer was responsible. In my earlier post I am saying the company who took over the shares had a duty to check they had all the necessary regulatory documentation before taking the account in. And they did not. They should have gone back to whoever transferred the shares and say.."sorry we cannot take that account".

 

[Hibiscus]

Just for fun, imagine you are your former employer - what did you expect them to do in this situation?

In any event, you own the problem, not your former employer.

I'm pretty sure, if you go back & check the T&Cs from when you signed up to the scheme; there was due provision made for this.

Pick up the phone or send an email for instance. Send a registered letter. Send a transfer letter by normal post and not making sure it has been received means things can fall through the cracks.

 

[Thirsty]

You moved several times, never notifed the relevant organisation; and yet you expect them to chase you round the houses?

If you want your money, fill in the forms & get it. They're hardly looking for you to sacrifice your first born child, so whats the big deal?

It's clearly money you don't need since you forgot it was even there; so even if they want an admin fee, it's hardly a show stopper.

 

[Hibiscus]

You moved several times, never notifed the relevant organisation; and yet you expect them to chase you round the houses?

If you want your money, fill in the forms & get it. They're hardly looking for you to sacrifice your first born child, so whats the big deal?

It's clearly money you don't need since you forgot it was even there; so even if they want an admin fee, it's hardly a show stopper.

For a contractual relationship to exist, you need two parties. If one does not want to sign up, or has not signed up, there is no contract. We are not living anymore in the middle ages or at the time where financial institutions could unilaterally decide for the customer. If you do not have the customer consent, then there is no contract.

 

[Sunny]

No offence, but these posts where people go on about contractual rights and trying to sound like Perry Mason are just annoying. You signed up to a scheme where it was clearly laid out what would happen the shares under the default option. You left the job and forgot about your shares. You only remembered them last year. It was your money and your personal responsibility to manage it.

If you had any sense, just sign up and do what you want with the shares and move on with your life. Or else spend months making spurious arguments about how your rights were infringed and still end up in the same situation.

 

[EmmDee]

For a contractual relationship to exist, you need two parties. If one does not want to sign up, or has not signed up, there is no contract. We are not living anymore in the middle ages or at the time where financial institutions could unilaterally decide for the customer. If you do not have the customer consent, then there is no contract.

Check the T&C's of the share scheme - more than likely you did consent to it (where you didn't instruct differently).