Investors fail to claim £400m in payouts

Investors fail to claim £400m in payouts

Figures released by the Banking Automated Clearing Service have revealed up to £400m worth of share dividend payouts remain unclaimed in company bank accounts.

BACS said 60 million dividend cheques are sent to shareholders every year, but many are never cashed in.

Listed companies are under an obligation to set up an account for all unclaimed dividends. Shareholders have up to 12 years to claim these payouts, after which time the company can reclaim them.

Research, conducted by the clearing service revealed the majority of shareholders would prefer to have dividends paid directly into their bank accounts.

BACS spokesman, Murray Cohen, said setting up a direct payment was a fairly easy task: ‘All the shareholder needs to do is complete the details of their bank or building society account on the form that accompanies the dividend cheque.

‘Once the form has been returned all future dividends will be paid straight into shareholder’s bank account.’

Keith Hollender from the Unclaimed Assets Register added his support to the direct payment method.

‘Any solution to tackle the growing mountain of unclaimed assets has to be welcomed. Not only does the UAR give its support to shareholders receiving dividends via the BACS service, but would also encourage insurers to look into paying matured life policies in the same way.’

Last year the UAR, which manages a database of unclaimed assets, reported that up to Pounds 15bn lay unclaimed in the vaults of UK companies and institutions. Of that Pounds 3bn are monies unclaimed on shares and dividends.

The rest is made up of dormant accounts, national savings, pension funds and life polices. More than Pounds 300m lies waiting for national lottery winners to collect their prize money.

Links

BACS online

The Unclaimed Assets Register online

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource