Change of Address: Shareholders may not get communications about dividends or other corporate activities if they neglect to update their address with the firm or registrar.
Shareholders who have passed away: Unclaimed shares may result when a shareholder’s legal heirs or beneficiaries are not aware of their ownership..
Non-Receipt of Dividends: Unclaimed dividends may result from shareholders who do not pay dividend warrants or who do not give bank information for direct credit.
Inactive Accounts: Shares that are dormant or inactive Demat accounts may go unclaimed.
Transfer of Ownership: Shares that are given or transferred without the necessary paperwork or follow-up procedures may not be reclaimed.
Shareholders may lose sight of their investments as a result of corporate mergers, name changes, or reorganization.
Changes in laws, rules, or compliance standards can occasionally be confusing or make the claim process more difficult.
Non-Response to Notices: Unclaimed shares may be considered lost if their owners fail to reply to corporate notices or regulatory correspondence.
Shares that were inherited without the required paperwork or legal procedures can go unclaimed.
Shares that remain unclaimed may also be the result of lost, broken, or misplaced physical share certificates.
Investors should keep their contact information current, keep accurate records, be aware of their investments, and reply quickly to correspondence from businesses and regulatory bodies to prevent unclaimed shares.
In the Early days, investment in shares was carried out through physical share certificates. The investments made in a company in the form of shares or debentures by the investors were allotted in physical form. These shares/debentures being in paper form were difficult to store and easily destroyable and losable. It was hard to keep them securely in the paper form as the investors would eventually end up losing them or dismantling them due to various reasons such as shifting from one place to another, wear & tear of the share/Debenture certificate. There could be multiple reasons as listed below for such unclaimed shares in physical form.
Lost Shares
Dismantled Shares
Torned Shares
Forgotten Shares
Death of Original Shareholder
Unclaimed Shares
