ComputerShare Nightmare

 A new year and a new "fun" story to share with you courtesy of Computershare.  Never heard of them?  (I know I hadn't)  Well they are: "a global leader in transfer agency, employee equity plans, mortgage servicing, proxy solicitation, stakeholder communicatio​ns, and other diversified financial and governance services." If that doesn't make sense, don't feel bad.  I don't quite get it either, but...

Here's the deal...they are the company I have to go through in order to get some stocks that were in my mother's name into mine.  And yes, I realize that I should have done this a LONG time ago.  My "excuse" is that I was dealing with a lot of other things that were more important (my dad, my family and my job) and the two stocks that were in my mother's name that I needed to change to mine were providing annual dividend checks to my mom of less than $80.  (One would send a check for eighteen cents to my mom every 4 months...can you see why I put it off?)  

By the end of 2023 I knew I had to do something and so I ATTEMPTED to fill out the paperwork (twice; one for each set of stocks) I was pretty sure I was NOT doing everything correctly, but I gave it my best shot and included my mother's death certificate as well as the short certificate from the county surrogates office showing that I was the executrix of her estate.  I got everything notarized (I didn't get a Medallion Guarantee Stamp which I SHOULD have, but I misread the instructions -- I confess to my error) and sent everything along with a letter which said:  

"To Whom It May Concern,

My mother (inserting her legal name), passed away in 2022.  In the ensuing year, I have been remiss in reaching out to you as I have been caring for my father, who recently died.  Only now am I able to fill out the forms and supply you with the information you require to transfer her X and Y stocks.

You will find enclosed the forms for both corporations (filled out to the best of my ability), as well as her death certificate and County Surrogate Court’s short form which certifies me as her executrix.  I am also her only beneficiary.

If you need any further information (such as a copy of her will) or have any questions, please contact me at..."

I send it off certified (so someone would have to sign) and waited, hoping if there was an issue they would CALL me.  

In mid-December I got a letter back (along with forms to re-fill out) regarding one of the stocks (NOT both), saying  

I did what was asked of me, went back to the bank and got one form notarized and the Medallion Guarantee stamp on the other and sent it back on December 11th (certified) with this note:  

"To Whom It May Concern,

I received your letter with forms that needed to be filled out as apparently what I sent in two weeks ago was not complete.  I hope you will find the enclosed to be in order. 

If you need any further information (such as a copy of her will) or have any questions, please contact me at..."

It's currently January 5th and I haven't heard anything back on this one.  Are they processing?  What are they doing?  I have no clue.

I DIDN'T get anything for the other stock, so I thought perhaps that was good, until...

After Christmas, I went to the shore and there in the mailbox, addressed to my mother was another letter regarding the OTHER stock.  Now, remember I sent initially sent BOTH sets of forms together in one envelope with a note that had MY address and contact information on it.  WHY was it sent to my mother's address?  For that matter, why was this ONE request (for two stocks) split up?

The letter was similar to what I had received previously:

The main difference was that this one requested the stock certificate, which I didn't have.  So, today I finally had some time to call the number listed above to fine out how to get a replacement certificate.

I placed the call around one this afternoon.  It took me a while to figure out how to get a person (always hit the 0 for operator).  I was told there was a high volume of calls and my wait time would be 15-20 minutes.  So I put the call on speaker and waited.  Twenty two minutes in I was connected with someone, or at least I THINK I was, because I was immediately cut off.

I called back, hit 0 and waited for another 20 or so minutes before I actually got a person.  I can't tell you his name because there was so much reverb and fading in and out that I never got it.  I kept telling him that I couldn't hear him.  He'd made some sort of adjustment and I'd get some information, which would often echo back to me.  (Or should that be back, ack, ack to me, e, e?)  After 20 or so more minutes on the phone with this person (during which I got placed on hold at least 4 times) I THINK they are going to send me the forms to get replacement certificates (which will cost about $100...more than what the annual dividend is).  Then I can send that AND the new forms that they send along with my check back to them and say a prayer.  (Maybe you will say one for me.)

While I admit that I have been negligent in following up on this and I DID NOT fill out the forms correctly, I have to say their forms and cover letter are enough to make your head spin.  The verbiage is NOT for the faint of heart.  And for a company that says (right on their website)that they have "Expertise: We have decades of experience as a global financial record keeper for 16,000 private and public companies."  I'm not feeling that.  The person I talked to (or attempted to talk to) on the phone did not instill in me any confidence that this would ever be resolved and their follow up leaves much to be desired.  And this is the global leader?

You KNOW there will be more fun follow up.  And you know I'll be sharing more about the expertise from Computershare.