UNHAV©

UN ITED     HA LIFAX plc     V ICTIMS

 

NEWSFLASH  3rd August 2011 - See Below

 

WHAT !   NO HALIFAX plc SHARES !

YOU'RE NOT ALONE.

UNITE with THOUSANDS of EXCLUDED NON-RESIDENT,  FULLY ELIGIBLE HALIFAX MEMBERS

TO READ the SCANDAL of HOW 55,000 WERE CHEATED, CLICK HERE !

 

UNHAV Campaign Director, Brian Hazlehurst, originally from Liverpool, England,  economist, currently  a  legal/business translator residing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,  was  himself  an UNHAV, a Halifax  Building  Society demutualisation VICTIM. Upon Halifax's conversion into a bank, although a co-owner and fully eligible, Brian suffered gross exclusion from the free share distribution  scheme, receiving neither his rightful shares nor the FORM B cash equivalent. This cash in lieu could so easily have been paid directly into his UK Halifax account, just as occurred for millions of members resident, at the time, in the UK or a handful of so-called "permitted territories".

HALIFAX had the gall to inform Brian that he got zero shares, because the number of  investors  eligible for them, resident in Brazil, was "IMMATERIAL", which, as they belatedly informed him, meant "less than 1,000 members"! Note here the blatant inconsistency in that, for example, the miniscule no. of investors in Iceland, only 4-5, did receive shares.  

Brian Hazlehurst
Photo by Ricardo Beliel. 

Over 55,000 member-owners eligible for shares and not resident in UK at conversion time, were told a "cock'n bull" story, that the local Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) clearance fee would have been too "onerous" (read: expensive), or even informed that it was actually "illegal" to send shares to certain countries. The major "cock-up" Halifax is guilty of, and which, to this day, over 14 years later, refuses to admit and put right, is that FREE shares (nothing more than GIFTS), do not require any clearance whatsoever.

Halifax knows perfectly well that SEC clearance only occurs when a company wishes to offer shares a) FOR SALE and b) to the GENERAL PUBLIC, in another country.  Spelling this point out loud, why on earth would any country's stock exchange authority need to "protect" people from receiving a GIFT from a private institution that they themselves own !? Note that, in NZ, there is already a successful precedent based on this very same argument.

Taking the USA, for instance, Halifax denied to the 12,628 eligible members, 7,375,000 FREE Halifax shares, worth over £54 MILLION. Later, Halifax, in its written defence evidence, at a small claims hearing before Leeds County Court, Yorkshire, UK, argued that USA SEC clearance would have been required, and that the estimated fee of £10-15 thousand would have been prohibitively expensive for them to send shares to that country (10-15 thousand against 54 million is ridiculous!) Likewise, Halifax denied millions of pounds in shares to thousands more members in countries like Canada, NZ, Holland (a major EU country !), Malaysia ..... and a very long list of others scattered across the globe.

Note well that no cash equivalent was offered instead of the shares. And, in any case, who ever asked Halifax to send the shares outside the UK, where all the accounts were held? And, as if to add salt to the wound, those NOT even eligible to vote on the conversion (i.e. minors and those with tiny balances under £100) did receive a benefit from the conversion, and for free (paradoxically, Halifax paid a reward for being INeligible !) in the form of a  "Statutory Cash Bonus", paid, with absolutely no restriction, in countries all over the planet.

So, what insane reason can Halifax possibly have for allocating zero to its loyal, perfectly eligible member-owners (often spanning across several family generations), many of whom had held large investment balances and mortgages, AND had even voted in favour of the conversion as so strongly urged !?

UNHAV founder, Brian is determined to win his 14-year-long challenge to ensure Halifax pays up, turning ALL  UNHAVs  INTO  HAPPY  "HAVs".

Enjoying  equal  rights  as  mutual  OWNERS  of  the  former  Halifax Building Society, and for a whole spectrum of glaring legal arguments, the UNHAVs' claims to the hundreds  of  millions  of  pounds of unpaid shares should be recognized by the UK Financial Services Authority – FSA, the SEC and all regulatory agencies around the world.

 

 

 

NEWSFLASH


3rd August 2011

Success in the U.S. Class Action vs. Halifax means that  an $8.6 million settlement will be shared among the 12,628 claimants who had registered U.S. addresses with Halifax before conversion time (2/6/97). If you are in this position and have not been notified, at all haste, obtain a Proof of Claim form via www.gilardi.com or request one by calling 1-877-338-1208 toll-free.

A well-deserved round of applause for the U.S. legal team’s skill and tenacity in the Class Action that tookf  from 2003 to mid-2011.

In view of the precedent above, that is, clear recognition of the right to Halifax free shares, I now urge all 43,000 remaining claimants to pressure the UK Financial Ombudsman Service:

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm  into proper action in order to ensure that you receive your share compensation too, and, of course, at no personal expense. British justice only works for the rich or those making small claims.

If you can, request a declaration from the local Securities & Exchange Commission – SEC or Stock Exchange or Central Bank or other financial regulatory authority in the country where you were resident at Halifax conversion time, stating that there was no impediment whatsoever to receiving the gift of free shares in that territory.

I suggest that you complain to the UK Financial Ombudsman Service along the following lines:

With reference to the Halifax Building Society conversion in 1997, I claim my promised Halifax shares, which were a FREE gift to me as a qualified/eligible voting member of the building society, and these shares were definitely NOT for sale to the general public in (… name of country ...), where I happened to be situated at Halifax demutualization time. Thus, no securities clearance procedure and respective fee were required, that is, there was no reason whatsoever to justify Halifax not issuing me my shares. In any case, Halifax was negligent in its duty, as it could easily have offered to hold my allocation for me right there in the UK, or pay me the cash equivalent directly into my Halifax or other UK bank or post office account via the very same “Form B” procedure offered to millions of UK-resident members and all those  resident, at that time, in Halifax’s erroneously termed “Permitted Territories”. Furthermore, as a result of the successful U.S. Class Action, Halifax has now compensated the 12,628 claimants resident in the USA at that time. My claim is no different, and as the British legal system does not make it viable to take legal action against the rich and powerful, I expect the Financial Ombudsman Service to take decisive action to ensure my own right to full compensation from Halifax.

Please report your success in this campaign effort via the ‘CONTACT UNHAV NOW !’  link below.

WISHING YOU ALL A  VERY "HAVFUL" FUTURE

 

Your Mantra:     All  UNHAVs  Shall  Be  Happy  HAVEs !

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Revised 3rd August 2011