Stockbroker failing to carry out orders

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rocksider

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I held shares thru my brokers nominees account under the crest system. They were instructed to sell the shares , confirmed in writing they had done so and lodged the proceeds to my account. However, before this confirmation, i was told they werent sold as i didn't have the shares or the certs to sell and no funds were ever transfered. At the time I disputed this but didn't argue too much and assumed I did something wrong. Subsequently, I was charged for an indemnity (which arrived with the letter confirming the sale) which I received but didn't sign. Now, between the order to sell and the date of the indemnity cert. the shares collapsed. Am I a fool or have I been screwed? Any help would be appreciated.
 
Hi

I'll try to help - first of all, if the shares were held in a nominee account, there shouldn't have been a share cert. Was this the case? Do you have a share cert for the company? An indemnity is issued when a cert has been declared lost or stolen - was this ever the case?

A broker can confirm a sale but never settlement in the case of a share cert. However, if the stock was held in a nominee account, settlement shouldn't have been an issue.

How was the sale order placed? Was it a telephone transaction? If so, you need to request a copy of the call with your broker?

I assume the confirmation you got was a contract note - is that correct? They have to be issued within 24 hours of an order been executd.

I worked as a dealer for a few years but am confused by the post - i've never heard of an indemnity on a nominee account?? Basically, the share cert should already have cleared before the shares were even lodged in the nominee account, never mind sold.
 
Your confused!
Yes they were definitely held in a nominee account. No, I have never received any share certs. It was the broker who said to me that they couldn;t sell the shares as I didn't have any to sell.(in a phone call ). When I said I had acquired them using that same broker , I was told "ok we will send you out an indemnity form and we will get them". My account was subsequently debited for this fee 12months later. I have the original letter from the broker stating the shares were held in a nominee account under crest. As you say and this is new info for me for which I am very gratefull, Why then Was I sent an indemnity form? (I also have a copy of this) within two days of the shares collapsing.
Also, why also was I sent a letter with the indemnity form telling me the shares were sold and the proceeds transferred to my account(which they weren't).
I have since been advised that there are shares registered in my name today in the company(which there shouldn't be if they were sold). Whether, they are the same shares or not , I do not know.
I feel the broker forgot the shares were held in a nominee account or didn't check, or worse! Am I entitled or able to find out exactly what happened to my shares in the nominee account as I still have the original contract notes for their purchase?
Many thanks for your help, as I am very confused.
 
Just to answer your other questions.
I never received a contract note for the sale. It was a letter signed by the broker. Also, the order to sell was by telephone.
 
Did you ever get any dividends? Did you ever get a statement from your broker? Did you ever get an end of year statement from the auditors to confirm your holdings?
 
No dividends ever paid. Current statement from broker does NOT show shares. Old letter from broker with statment from nominee company showing shares held as nominee under brokers nominee company.
 
is this with a recognised broking firm, or one of the offshore boilerplate operations?
 
This is with one of irelands top stockbroking firms. I have now established through computershare that the original share certs were sent to the nominee holding company of the broker. The certs were subsequently declared lost and new certs issued since. This corresponds with the time my account was debited for the indemnity charge .(although I never signed any indemnity).
 
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