Consumers Risk Losing Out On Inheritance Due To Taxi Meter Charging

Thousands of consumers risk losing out on their rightful inheritances due to unscrupulous heir hunters charging time based fees, according to international probate genealogists Finders.

Time based charging, where consumers are charged on an hourly basis for heir hunting services, are payable regardless of the outcome of the search. This also means that there is a risk that the entire value of an estate could be swallowed up in fees.

Finders, the international probate genealogy firm, today warned of the need to preserve consumer choice when employing the services of professional probate genealogists. This should be founded upon the ability to receive a bespoke service which best suits their needs, Finders said today.

Commenting, Daniel Curran, Finders’ Managing Director said:

“Finders specialises in helping clients – lawyers, trustees, executors or administrators and personal representatives – through the often formidable task of identifying and tracing heirs and locating missing or unknown beneficiaries.

Choice of fee option is vital to a healthy and competitive market. A good firm of probate genealogists will be keen to find the best fit for the consumer, and will be able to discuss a variety of fee options and costing methods.

Contingency fee arrangements are currently the most popular fee option, as the genealogist’s fees are not charged to the estate, whether or not a missing beneficiary is located.

Other fee options such as time based charging can carry significant financial risk. Furthermore, if contingency fee agreements were not available, there would be cases where a search for a missing heir is simply not undertaken, and others where the estate of known heirs is used up in fees paid for searching for missing heirs. This would restrict consumer choice and ultimately the consumer would suffer.”

“We believe that probate genealogist should allow consumers to be in the driving seat when it comes to fee options. The overwhelming majority of the probate genealogy market offers contingency fees as one of a range of payment options, reflecting consumer demand for a choice of affordable options.”

To find out more about Finders please visit the Finders websites at www.findersuk.com & www.trace-people-online.co.uk

Please direct any queries to Samina Ansari on 020 7067 0325 or
sansari@webershandwick.com