Read our FAQs

​At Georgeson, we work with companies who have lost touch with people who may be entitled to cash or company shares – usually where someone was previously an investor or customer of that company.

We are working on behalf of a company that is attempting to make contact with you or you could be due an entitlement that you may not be aware of. Our clients may have lost contact with a customer or an asset may become 'lost' for a number of reasons, including:

• People move house without providing an updated address
• People change their name through marriage or divorce
• Executors or beneficiaries of an estate are unaware of an investment or policy when a family member passes away
• People develop a complex range of savings and investments that they subsequently lose track of.

​We have access to public records, such as the electoral roll or BT OSIS. Our experienced in-house research team will have located you at a new address, under a new name or as a possible beneficiary to a deceased estate and are now making contact with you to positively identify that you are the person we are looking for.

​As part of our work, from time to time we need to make contact with people or organisations who we consider may have valuable information that may assist us in tracking down the person that we are looking for. Neighbours often keep in contact with each other and can help us with our search. You can rest assured that we do not give out any information other than your last known address.

​Georgeson is part of the Computershare group. We have been appointed directly by a company to complete a programme of work to make contact with their customers or reunite them with entitlements that they are due. If you have any concerns or require any further information then please contact us.

​The company we are working on behalf of has written to you in the past, but you have not responded. Previous correspondence may have been sent to a previous address that you have subsequently moved from or you may have simply not responded.

Where applicable, the service fee goes towards the cost of the time and resource Georgeson has spent locating and contacting you and others who have not claimed their entitlement. We employ a dedicated research, call centre and processing team. Details of the fee (if applicable) you will be charged following a successful claim can be found on the claim form you should have received.

Asset reunification is the process through which people are located, contacted and reunited with unclaimed or 'lost' entitlements as a result of forgotten investments, savings or matured policies. A lost asset can take the form of a dormant bank account, unclaimed shares or a matured life assurance policy that has not been claimed.

People can lose track of their investments, savings and matured policies when:

• They move and do not notify the company of a change of address
• They change their name as a result of marriage or divorce and do not notify the company
• They forget about their savings and investments
• They make investments without telling their spouse
• They are unaware that their deceased relative had investments
• Companies are acquired, merge or change their names. 

It is best practice and good corporate governance for companies to return lost assets to keep their records up to date and to ensure that their customers receive the assets they are entitled to.

If companies do not keep their records up to date they may incur unnecessary costs or inadvertently aid fraudulent claims or identity theft, for example by mailing shareholders or customers at a historic address.

Certain types of assets (e.g. Dissenter monies resulting from a takeover after April 1987) will need to be passed over to the UK Courts after 12 years from the acquisition, as detailed in the Companies Act 2006 Section 982. Georgeson is appointed to run a tracing campaign to find lost holders entitled to these monies before they are paid to Court.

​We would appreciate any help you can give us to find this person. If you have a forwarding address for them, please let us know so that we can write to them again. We will then ask you to destroy the letter you received. If you don't have an address for them, but know the name of the estate agency that managed the sale/purchase of the property, again please contact us to let us know as we may be able to contact them via the appointed agents.

A scheme of arrangement is a court-approved agreement between a company and its shareholders or creditors that may affect the structure of the business. For example, if a company is merging with another or being taken over, under a scheme of arrangement the shareholders do not have to send back a form of acceptance for the merger/takeover to take place. Once the merger/takeover happens, the original shareholders are automatically sent either shares in the new company, cash or a combination of both.

If you have received a letter about this, it may be because you did not cash your original entitlement and the asset is still owed to you.

This is where one company takes over another or where companies merge together. Shareholders are sent documents outlining the proposal of the acquisition before it happens and are asked to send back a form of acceptance. Once an acquisition happens, the original shareholders receive either shares in the new company, cash, loan notes (a document proving what is owed to you) or a combination of all three.

If you have received a letter from Georgeson it is likely that you did not send back your initial form of acceptance and your entitlement has not been issued to you.

Please contact us so that we can update our records. You will need to provide proof of the change of name.

You will need to provide us with either an original or certified copy of the following so we can positively identify that you are the person that we are trying to contact:

• a marriage certificate
• a deed poll
• a decree nisi
• a decree absolute
• a civil partnership extract
• a change of name deed
• a certificate of incorporation

Please post them to us with your claim form in the pre-paid envelope provided.

If you are having problems providing us with the required evidence then please contact us.

​Please contact us so that we can update our records. You will need to confirm your previous address and provide us with proof of your new address.

​We will endeavour to ensure that your documents are safely returned to you. However, we cannot guarantee this, so please send us certified copies of official documents where possible.

​A solicitor, public notary or probate officer will be able to certify a document on your behalf. This must bear the appropriate seal or stamp of approval.

​We will only be able to email or fax a claim form under certain circumstances, so please contact us to discuss this. However, you must post the claim form back to us, completed in ink.

The executors of the estate should make contact with us in the first instance. Once we have positively identified that they are the person we are looking for all executors of the estate will need to sign the claim form and submit the original sealed Grant of Representation.

If no Grant of Representation is applied for or if you are unable to obtain the required documentation, please contact us.

​For legal reasons we require the signatures of all joint shareholders or executors. Please contact us if you think this is not going to be possible.

​If you live in the UK and choose to donate your entitlement to charity, it will be donated to a dedicated charity, normally ShareGift. ShareGift is an independent charity that distributes the proceeds of donated cash and shares to a wide range of UK registered charities. Please see your claim form for details about where your entitlements will be donated. If you would like your entitlement to go to a specific charity, we recommend you claim it and then donate it to the charity of your choice.

​For court of protection advice or advice relating to enduring powers of attorney please consult your solicitor.

​In this instance, please seek legal advice.

​The next of kin to the deceased.

​The next of kin will be the husband, wife or civil partner, a son or daughter (including step-children if formally adopted), a parent or a sibling of the deceased.

Below is the order of entitled relatives (Administration of Estates Act 1925 s. 46 & 47):

1. Spouse or civil partner
2. Issue (children, grandchildren or their descendents)*
3. Parents
4. Brothers and sisters of the whole blood, or their issue
5. Brothers and sisters of the half blood, or their issue
6. Grandparents
7. Uncles and aunts of the whole blood, or their issue (first cousins or their descendents)​​

* Includes legally adopted children, grandchildren or their descendants.

Your local registry office will be able to help with probates or you can find a probate here​. For death and birth certificates you can contact the General Register Office.

If you are unable to obtain the required documentation, please contact us.

We are only able to offer trading facilities within the following territories around the world:

Although we aim to always deliver a high quality of service, we are here to support you with any queries, complaints or items of feedback that you may have.

How can I log a complaint?

You are welcome to log a complaint or provide feedback via the following methods:

• Calling our Customer Service team on 0800 408 0093
• Emailing us at assetreunification@georgeson.com
• Writing to us at:
  Georgeson
  The Pavilions
  Bridgwater Road
  Bristol
  BS99 6AB

How can I check the progress of a complaint?

As a business standard we aim to have a final response sent to you within 5 business days of receiving your complaint. In some cases it may not be possible to resolve your complaint within this timescale and in this case we will write to you detailing our progress towards resolving your complaint within 5 business days of receiving your complaint.

What is your Complaints procedure?

Although we constantly strive to offer you the highest possible level of service, there may be occasions when you feel you have cause for complaint. When a complaint arises we will endeavour to resolve it to your satisfaction as quickly as possible.

For a copy of our Complaints procedure leaflet please click here.

If you require further information relating to our Complaints process, please contact us by the methods outlined above.