Sujata Vihire had initiated mutual fund investments immediately after receiving her first salary, upon suggestion from her brother. Few years later, she moved out of her rented premises to a new home. Though she carefully relocated all her belongings to the new house, she forgot to inform her mutual fund house about the new communication address. The dividend warrants issued under the mutual fund scheme lay quietly in the abandoned letter box.
Another businessman, Pawan Hodkar, found a neighbourhood bank's facility rewarding and decided to switch his bank account. He noted the change in his income tax returns but failed to consider the dividends and the redemption proceeds of the amount he had parked in a mutual fund scheme through the account.
These aren't just a handful of cases. As per estimates, such unclaimed dividends stack up to Rs 510.56 crore belonging to nearly 27.7 lakh mutual fund folios, as on November 30,2014, based on the disclosures made by fund houses.
