Selling Shares

[annie0000]

I have a small number of shares that I got through a sharesave in my previous employer. I want to sell these as cheaply as possible and without having an account that I need to pay for. I have already opened an account to trade with one company that didn't charge an annual fee - only to find that I need to buy the shares through them before I can then sell them!!

Surely it shouldn't be this difficult!

Does anyone know where I can sell them??

Thanks

[237SJ]

Why would you have to buy the shares if they already yours from a share option scheme?

[alavahalf]

There are plenty of execution only share dealers online .. here's just one
http://www.sharedealactive.co.uk/

[annie0000]

237 exactly! I googled trading shares - found one that did fixed cost trades and although you had to register, there was no annual fee or maintenance charge. Then when I went to sell my shares, it tells me that I don't have any in my account - i.e. I haven't bought any with them so I can't sell any either. :o(

[DTCwordfan]

the joys of internet scamming - what does your bank do? there's a thing called certainty and peace of mind as to risk.

[annie0000]

Thanks alahalf, but that one requires you to register and has a £50 quid fee attached. I have googled and as you say there are plenty but I am struggling to find one that doesn't have some hidden catch and requires you to set up an account. Just wondered if anyone knew of a simpler way rather than reading through screeds of terms and conditions. Thanks anyway.

[annie0000]

I'm not getting you DT? I have the share certificate etc. I am a legitimate customer - I can be screened for money laundering etc. I am happy to provide any details they want to show that I am genuine, however, I only want to do a one off sale. The shares are only worth a few hundred quid so I don't want to spend a quarter of that selling them. It surely can't be that difficult??

[johne1892]

When I had Sharesave shares I had a share certificate. When I opened an account I had to send them a copy of the certificate so they could 'credit' my account with those shares.

Then when I sold them at a later date I sent the actual certificate to them.

Still not sure why you want to sell them as cheapy as possible though ?!?

[annie0000]

btw - the one I am referring to above is part of halifax so not some back street operation.

[annie0000]

thanks johne - I mean I want the fee to be as cheap as possible, not the amount I get for the shares!!!

[johne1892]

Oh I see what you meant now....ha-ha.....sorry.....read it wrong!

[237SJ]

When I sold my last lot of `work` shares I did it through Lloyds Stockbrokers. I`ve just found the letter and it was 2004. I must have registered as a customer with them (there was no fee) and I can remember I just phoned them up and they gave me a price and it was done and dusted. I just paid commission. I must have then sent the share certificates through the post to them

[annie0000]

Hmmm thanks 237SJ - I thought that it was Lloyds - I tried to phone them today and got passed to a phone line which referred me to their website, the fee for a phone transaction was £45. What I did was sell the majority of the shares when I first got them back in 2006 using the supplied forms and I kept back 100. They sent me the certificate for those. I really just kept them to pay for a weekend away or something sometime when we weren't feeling well off. I've just booked to take the kids to Disneyland for a few days in October and I want to sell them to go towards it - I know that I will be able to do it, just didn't realise that it would be this complicated - thought the internet was meant to make life easier, not harder! Might resort to actual human contact and try at a branch of my bank if I can find one open when I am not at work myself. Thanks again.

[BenDToy]

If you create an account with iii (which is free) you then transfer the shares to their nominee account (also free). I believe you can then sell them for their fixed price of £10. If not then I have made an expensive mistake.