| Thanks for your help everybody, just to clarify a few things that people have asked.
The options are all fully vested now (25% per year over 4 years) so I 'own' them all without any time restriction. The price that I sold them at was confirmed as $37.994 (see, I told you it was as near to $38 as to make no difference). The schedule of brokers charges is very simple and their fees are nowhere near £500 - in fact less than $100.
I have two types of stock option 'approved' and 'unapproved'. The approved ones mean that I have already paid tax on them and I am not liable for any further tax, the unapproved ones mean that I pay 40% tax on the difference between the grant price and the sale price. These were a block of unapproved ones, hence the 40% tax.
The bank swear that no negotiation fee is applied (I've been through that before when someone sent me a dollar cheque).
It all confirms to me that someone, somewhere has cocked up.
I've got a cold at the moment, and unwisely went training last night, so I was too cream crackered to call the broker, but I will now I've got a bit more knowledge.
Ta all |