How to reclaim your past MF dividends?

Have you shifted your residence in the past and not updated your mutual fund house about the same? Have you forgotten about the mutual fund investments that used to give you dividends years ago?
Chances are your old dividend cheques might have been delivered at the old address with the MF house. But don’t worry. You haven’t lost that money. There are ways to claim it back. Here’s how you can go about doing so.
Pull out the old papers you have of the mutual fund investments. Take down details such as the name of the scheme and the folio number allocated to you. If you remember since when you have not received or encashed the dividend, note down that as well.
These details need to be sent to either the mutual fund house or to the registrar of your scheme. The name of the registrar, too, would be mentioned on the scheme papers; if not, log on to the mutual fund house’s website. Presently there are four mutual fund registrars — CAMS, Karvy, JP Morgan and UTI Technologies. The mutual fund house or the registrar would then check with the bank if your dividend has been disbursed via electronic clearing service or is pending, and take appropriate steps.
When you receive the dividend amount, there would be a fund management fee charged for that amount, depending on the number of years it has been pending. Sebi allows mutual funds to charge a maximum of 0.5% as fund management fee.
The net asset value applicable to such dividends (these have to be invested in money market instruments for the period it was lying idle) would depend on when it is claimed.
If you claim the dividend within the first three years of not encashing it, you would get the NAV prevalent at that time. After three years, the money is transferred to a pool and the NAV that existed at the end of the three-year period, when it was being invested in the money market instruments, becomes applicable.
Some fund houses may ask for an indemnity bond confirming the possession of the dividend with the investor, when he claims back the dividend. The other alternative would be to switch over from the dividend option to the growth option (one can switch except for the first three years in tax-saving mutual funds) and stick to it in all the future mutual fund investments.
Remember, dividend is like your own money coming back to you as mutual funds declare a dividend out of the amount by which your investment has grown. For example, if you invested Rs 5,000 in a mutual fund, which grew to Rs 6,000 over a period, the dividend is given out from the Rs 1,000 by which your investment has grown. Had you not been given a dividend, the money would again have been invested and helped you gain more.
Moreover, fund houses give dividends at their own whims and fancies. Instead, take the growth option and give yourself a dividend whenever you want the money and let it grow during all the other phases.