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Original poster

Heir Hunters

26 replies

Vegetus · 17/03/2024 20:46

Has anyone on here ever been contacted by heir hunters? On Friday I received a call informing me a distant relative of my father had died without leaving a will or with no immediate family to claim his estate. Apparently me and 4 others have been identified through the companies research. It's a no claim no fee kind of thing so if I get something great if I don't it's a story to tell anyway.

Just unsure how common this is as everyone I've spoke to in real life only knows of this through the day time TV show!

OP posts:
Jeschara · 17/03/2024 20:49

Yes I was contacted by one, it was genuine, I made sure I looked them up online before I let them see me in person.
The estate was very small, bit it was a interesting experience though.

DrFoxtrot · 17/03/2024 20:50

Some friends of mine had this and some of the family were very excited about a possible windfall. They each ended up with cheques for something like £12.80 😂. They had to have ID certified before receiving the cheque and one family member spent about £25 getting it! So out of pocket in the end!

LuluBlakey1 · 17/03/2024 20:52

They take a cut. You can do it yourself without them.Talk to them, let them give you info and then say you have decided to do it without them. All perfectly proper.

Original poster
Vegetus · 17/03/2024 20:55

Jeschara · 17/03/2024 20:49

Yes I was contacted by one, it was genuine, I made sure I looked them up online before I let them see me in person.
The estate was very small, bit it was a interesting experience though.

Yeah the company is definitely legit and I found the relative on the unclaimed estate list so I was happy to sign knowing it isn't a con. After i signed the contract with the firm I had calls from another 2 heir hunters as well. I don't fully understand how the deceased is related to me.

OP posts:
Whinge · 17/03/2024 21:00

After i signed the contract with the firm I had calls from another 2 heir hunters as well.

If other firms are also chasing heirs that suggests it might be quite a sizable estate.

If you're not sure of your connection to the deceased I bet they will be able to fill you in. They do a lot of research, and it will be interesting to hear about your family history in such detail.

Original poster
Vegetus · 17/03/2024 21:05

Whinge · 17/03/2024 21:00

After i signed the contract with the firm I had calls from another 2 heir hunters as well.

If other firms are also chasing heirs that suggests it might be quite a sizable estate.

If you're not sure of your connection to the deceased I bet they will be able to fill you in. They do a lot of research, and it will be interesting to hear about your family history in such detail.

I think I will ask them for more information as my father died when I was 11 and his mother died when he was very young around 8. I know very little about that side of my family so it would be nice to find out some stuff.

On the monetary side whatever I get will be nice even if it's just a grand.

OP posts:
HaveSomeIntrospect · 17/03/2024 21:08

Please keep us updated

Bramblesblackberry · 17/03/2024 21:17

I got just under £2000 a few years ago. I didn't know how the person was related to me to start with, but it turns out it was Grandads cousin who died in her late 90s and didn't have children. It took a long time to sort in the end as she lived in America. There were alot of heirs from all over the world!

CharlotteStreetW1 · 17/03/2024 21:22

I work in probate and we use them quite often. Some estates are obviously worth more than others. We've got one case where the amounts are going to be life-changing.

Samsam23 · 17/03/2024 21:26

One came to my house to tell me a relative had died. We didn't use them though as the relative had lived in the same house forever. We contacted the Local Authority and then had to prove our relationship to the deceased before they released the body to us. We had to organise and pay for funeral.

MrsMoastyToasty · 17/03/2024 22:04

DM had a call on her landline from one looking for a John Surname. Unfortunately they had the wrong person, as my late DF was Jonathan Suriname, not John. (Not real names).

LeWifi · 17/03/2024 22:07

DM has been contacted by letter, it was months ago now. She does know of this distant elderly relative by marriage, she thinks there will be a fair few people to share any inheritance with though so doubts there will be much.

IsEveryUserNameBloodyTaken · 17/03/2024 22:14

I have.Contacted last year but I don’t think the company is called that.
Still awaiting an outcome but these things take time

Noodledoodledoo · 17/03/2024 22:15

We had someone contact us who unearthed a lot of family skeletons! My grandma ended up with about £8000 from it.

HoobleDooble · 17/03/2024 22:20

My husband and his sister were contacted by letter a few years ago, after some serious hunting on ancestry sites we found it was a cousin of their late father (his mum was the youngest of about 10 and the deceased was the daughter of the eldest) who they'd never heard of. We had to collect a cheque for £1000 each from a solicitors about 20 miles away who said there were 8 other beneficiaries and we haven't a clue who or where they are!

PastorCarrBonarra · 17/03/2024 22:27

My ex MIL and her sister inherited from a great uncle ages ago. She remembered talk of him when she was a child but had not met him because he had emigrated to Canada in the 1930s (he didn't return for her grandmother’s funeral or anyone else’s).

Purplebunnie · 17/03/2024 22:32

About 20 years ago before Heir Hunters was on the TV I received a letter can't remember if it was solicitors or not and had a small share. The person was a distant relative but older relatives were aware of their existence I've always felt a bit sad I'd never met this person but that I got a share of their estate

BlossomWood · 17/03/2024 22:38

Yes, my family was contacted last year by an heir hunter company, my Dad's long lost uncle had passed away with no Will in place and no immediate family. It's a sizeable estate and we declined their services. It's been a slow process and still ongoing.

QueenOfHiraeth · 17/03/2024 22:46

I and a couple of other relatives had a letter from one some years back. Apparently there are some other potential beneficiaries in Australia and Canada which is holding things up and we have heard nothing since

Tulip32 · 17/03/2024 23:43

My mum was contacted in this way regarding a very distant relative. She and her brother received just over £20,000 each.

Twistingskies · 17/03/2024 23:54

Yes I did last year. An uncle I knew nothing about.

It took me several months to finally fill the form in and I only did because they said I’d get a family tree.

I got a cheque from a very small estate which was shared between 20 of us but unfortunately no family tree. I have no idea who the other 20 are.

Polominty · 18/03/2024 00:04

My DH and my SIL both got a letter last year saying a distant relative had died in another country, initially they were asking for confirmation of family members. It was quite a tangled web and I think there was about 20 beneficiaries in the end. DH got about £3,000 and details of his distant family members which was a nice bonus. It took about a year for the money to come through.

Original poster
Vegetus · 19/03/2024 20:31

Bit of an update. Been contacted by 3 more firms by the phone since posting this and received a letter from another 1 this morning. The one I signed with passed me the number of another beneficiary who is my Father's cousin. She knew quite a lot about him and my grandmother so that was interesting if nothing else comes of this.

Quite a sad story really as my grandmother suffered a stroke and then commited suicide. She was only 40 the poor woman.

OP posts:
AfterTheWatershed · 19/03/2024 20:35

I loved watching Heir Hunters during maternity leave. Don’t know if it’s still on, my children are now teens. Should have been prime time TV.

Elvis1956 · 19/03/2024 20:36

Yes. One of my grandfathers brothers had died. Got a call hinting I could be very wealthy. I said I was interested, but as mum was one of 11 and granddad had a least 15 brothers and sisters, I wasn't going to hold my breath and place the order for the lambo just yet...never heard from them again