Random letter arrived saying dad is a beneficiary to someone we've never heard of

[user1478639495]

has anyone else had this and could advise? dad received a letter this week saying that he is entitled to part of a ladies estate, him and his brother except his brother passed earlier this year. We haven't heard of this woman's name before, I have googled the solicitors who sent the letter an all looks legit, I've been in touch via email and again everything seems to be ok BUT we have been caught with a scam before and are extremely nervous of things like this, the other issue is we have 6 weeks to act but the letter arrived almost 3 weeks after it was sent so we are already short on time. They want bank details (acc no sort code) and form of ID.

Part of me thinks well how else would you notify you and what more can I do to check it's legit? the other part of me is thinking its so random its got to be a scam?

Advice stories welcome tia

Echoing what other posters have said. Even if the firm of solicitors are genuine, you have no way of knowing if the letter is genuine. This has "scam" all over it.
Look up the firm online, make sure it's the real website and then phone them.

The only way it can be a scam is if they want money up front or your bank details- as long as you don't do either of these how can you be scammed?
No legacy needs money upfront and if they need to give you money they can use a banker's draft.
The fact you have already been caught by a scam makes it far more likely this is a scam too- so you are right to be cautious.

I mean isn’t the obvious solution to phone them or visit the office?

Usually it would include ID, bank account and Tax Number I think. They try to get it all in one letter as solicitors usually charge per letter or email.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/unclaimed-estates-list

Does the lady’s name appear on the list in the link? Is it the unclaimed estates list so if on there then less likely to be a scam but still do your due diligence ie. Checking out solicitors before contacting.

Sounds like a scam.
You have never heard of the woman leaving the money.
The limited time to act on it is also suspicious.
They have asked for bank details.

The fact that it seems to come from a genuine firm of solicitors means nothing. Scammers can easily find and use a solicitor's name and address.
The e-mail account you messaged could be an account set up by the scammers with a genuine-sounding address.

You should phone the solicitor's office using the phone number you found on their website and speak to someone personally.
Also check that there are genuine online reviews for the solicitors.

Not necessarily. I was contacted by an heir hunter company, was very wary that it was a scam, but it turned out to be completely legit - a distant relative had set up a trust which had to be wound up, beneficiaries were essentially all his relatives including us.

I disagree with the advice about using the number on the firm's website, because anyone can set up a website. OP should contact the Law Society to check whether the solicitor has a practising certificate and get the contact number from them.

I say scam, only because of the urgency of the timeframe they have given. Classic scam tactic. They are hoping you are greedy and will ignore any red flags.

Actually ignore that comment. Probably different in UK. I live in a country where cheques were discontinued years ago.

Check The Gazette to see if the person who died has been listed on there. If solicitors dealt with the estate, they would have placed a notice asking anyone owed money by the estate to come forward.

Also, if you're worried about sending your bank details, ask them to send you a cheque.

www.thegazette.co.uk/

if they are asking for bank details and giving you just 6 weeks to respond, that sounds like a scam to me. Can you look up the firm on the solicitors regulation authority perhaps? And yes, phone them if you can. Can you also google the person's name who apparently died and/or ask other friends and relatives?

It could be a scam. The other thing it could be is a debt collector looking for someone with the same name as your dad.
Just make sure you check it out properly and don't give out your bank account details. Even if they don't ask for money it could be used as a mule account.

I had this a few months ago. I admit i was very wary of a scam. The email and letter they sent detailed my mum and grandmothers names. There full name not just there first name.

Mine didnt ask for any bank details and when I emailed to ask how it was going they said it would take around 18 -24 months to go through.

You could try the FCA they have a big new campaign going to check if a company is legit. I looked at various reviews from trust pilot and Google among others to see if it was legit and how good it was.

Hopefully that helps

Like others, I was contacted by a firm of heir hunters and had a similar reaction to you, @user1478639495. I can’t now remember whether they asked for such intrusive details, though - I must have contacted them in return to verify it, because it did turn out to be legitimate.

I would never, ever supply that information on the basis of a letter out of the blue.

(In the end it amounted to a few hundred pounds and was from the estate of someone I immediately guessed it might be - the initial approach didn’t give the name of the relative concerned)

We had this it was a relative 2nd cousin or something of Dh deceased dad, Dh followed up but the money went to another closer family member, there wasn't much tbh the house was sold for care home fees, if i remember right it was an heir hunter type company. So you can follow it up but maybe as a pp.said make the solicitors direct.

Eta the initial letter didn't say who the person was.

This.

Just ring the solicitors, use the phone number on their website. It's very easy to resolve.

My husband had this about 10 years ago it was a solicitors letter. Basically a great aunt of his dad's (dad was deceased) - the solicitor took a percentage but i think he was left about 6 grand (to his sister too) - if you/dh has siblings and they have the same letter its probably legitimate. dh had not heard of this lady either.

My mum was contacted like this by a firm of “fortune hunters” and we also thought it might be a scam. But fortunately a friends daughter worked for a solicitor and she was able to confirm that it was legit. It was only a small amount as it turned out there were a lot of beneficiaries.

I was left money from a distant relative who died intestate. The solicitor was one of these "Heir Hunter" types who search out all the relatives but also take a cut, there were enough family members to reassure me he'd existed but this doesn't seem to apply to you in this instance

I did take the letter into work and spoke to one of our company solicitors who was outraged that a fee was going to be taken, but this was over 20 years ago and I think was the very beginnings of the "Heir Hunters"

I agree. Don't give them any bank details. It sounds like a scam. Bank details and form of ID. Just no till you have done more research to make sure it's genuine

This happened to us years ago. A great uncle we had never met with no children died, so his estate was split between his nieces of which my Mum was one. However my Mum had passed so it went to my Dad as her surviving next of kin.
However there was no fee involved!

Right. havent RTFT so someone may already have said this. IMO this is a scam and I will tell you why. My late husband had an unusual surname, and my maiden name was unusual Since his death I have been contacted by genuine heir hunter firms twice. Both times it wasn't us they were looking for and neither time did they ask for bank details, or indeed any details other than saying we might have been entitled to inheritance money and could we be linked in any way to the person mentioned?
IMO any out of the blue communication that immediately asks for bank details is 99% likely to be scammy and should be dealt with with extreme caution if at all....that's keep your money safe 101.

well yeah but did thir first contact ask you for bank details?

Phone them on a number you’ve verified and request a cheque-don’t share any personal info or ID.