Woman shocked by £28,000 call over cousin she'd not seen in 20 years

'I was sceptical at first. It’s not the type of phone call that I would expect – I was definitely suspicious.'

A retired teacher has been left shocked after getting a phone call informing her that she's inherited £28,000 from a family member she hasn't seen in 20 years. Joan Williams, 82, received a call from Finders International - who feature on BBC show Heir Hunters - after her cousin Allan Reay, 74, died alone in a nursing home.

Allan, who died in 2022, had not made a will and had no known next of kin to inherit his estate, which was worth £28,000. This means Joan, who had not seen Allan in over 20 years, was a beneficiary of his estate and would be given the money.

Joan, who is originally from Marshe-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, but now lives in France, was left shocked at first but has decided to use the money to go on holiday. She said: "I was sceptical at first. It’s not the type of phone call that I would expect – I was definitely suspicious.

"As I live in France I asked my son, who lives in the UK, to look into it and it was soon confirmed that Finders International is a reputable firm that works extensively throughout the world on cases just like this. I inherited a windfall I wasn’t expecting and was utterly surprised.

"You just don’t expect something like that to happen to you. My husband and I plan to spend it on a holiday or maybe even a cruise."

Allan was an only child, never married and had no children. He lived with his parents Rhoda and Henry Rhea in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, and stayed in the property after they died in 1968 and 1990.

Joan’s memory of Allan was that he was a chatty, amicable person and she said they had exchanged Christmas cards over the years. She said: "My father and Allan’s mother were siblings – but I hadn’t seen Allan for many decades, although we had exchanged Christmas cards over the years.

"I am quite startled at the entire process and how Finders tracked me down in France, along with several other relations of Allan’s from both sides of his family."

According to Finders International’s interrogation of the governments list of unclaimed estates, there are currently 6,000 unclaimed estate in England and Wales. Simonne Llewellyn, CEO of Finders International said: "While this might be unexpected, it’s not totally uncommon.

"People lose touch for all sorts of reasons, and while we don’t know what Allan’s wishes were, had we not found these ten beneficiaries the money would have eventually gone to the treasury."