canada life endowment?

bwatt00

I need some advise anyone else on here got a canada life endowment is so whats there situation with it?
Here is mine i was about 21yrs old and was a first time buyer and not sure what all the fuss was at the time over remortgage and endowments but i was more lead to a endowment and it was less at the time and i was told it would pay off morgage and have a lump sum.
I dont think i was really offered anyother endowments at the time just the canada life one which was a different name back then as i found out that the financial advisor that sold me it was a agent or dealt with them so therefore the reason for me only being offered that endowment.
Well after many years and when it went in the papers that endowments where not going to make it i looked into it and started to complain but was getting nowhere with canada life.
But it was all to much for me and i left it and never took any further and did not complain to ombudsman as i was trying to save and was busy at work for a trip to australia for 1 year.
But since i came back home i decided to complain again to canada life and they said that they told me the answer before and will not take it further,well i was seeing a financial advisor at the time and he helped me with it and i said i was not happy and want to complain further as i beleive i was misssold it and was too young to know and was a first time buyer.
So i wrote to the ombudsman and they return all my stuff back saying why i did not complain within 6 months of complaining to canada life back then,well as i said above i was real busy at work and was saving money and planning a trip to oz for a year which i did and thats why i did not complain sooner till i got back which i wanted to complain further which i never before.
So that went back to them and i await the outcome.
But i need to know how i stand as my advisor say its one of the worse cases he has seen and he has seen others with less and got compo.
I got mine back in 1994 and as i said i was 21 at the time and not a clue about the different ones i could have got and had a low start endowment in the early years as i thought as i was young and money was a big issue it would help me, well this was for the first 5/6 years going up a little each year until the 6 year it was the full endowment amount and has been since.
Its now the 11yrs and my endowment is worth just over £4,500 and thats just crazy after paying 11 yrs and if that probably carries on another 11yrs it will probably be the same and by the time i am to my 25yrs i will probably only say have £10,000 in the endowment which is a joke the way is going i have a mortage of just £33,000 and the way this endowments going it will be shortfall of £20,000 maybe more.
My advisor could not beleive how crap my endowments been and said i should get out of it once i find out what the ombudsman says or gives.
And says i should cash it in and use that money and pay into my mortgage and change to repayment and with what i was paying into the endowment pay into the mortgage instead so making the total amount i pay now the same amount each month but then being able to pay off mortgage in the 14 yrs left.
He is very good at his job and has helped me a lot on stuff i needed sorted out but i always read about people should not cash in there endowments and i have seen mine how much its made and lost over the year and he said its not worth having and its with multiple investment.
I want to do the right thing here as the first advisor has already messed things up with selling me this so crap endowment years ago and i want to move in the right direction.
I am really drawn toward this info i got from new advisor as i kind of know him but i need to know i dont do something i regret and thought i ask some of you guys out there.
Things might change for the better with the ombudsman when he looks into it but really i think they will not be interested and it really bugs me as i have heard storys from other people who have only been a few thousand shortfall and have got something out of it, not the maybe £20,000 i could be of the £33,000 mortgage which is a big joke.
Any more advise would be cool

Scarlett1

I really havnt got any advice to offer you as I am only in the early process in making a complaint about my endowment, but I just wanted to say you sound like my twin.

I also bought mine when I was young in 1994 with Albany Life, now taken over by Canada Life, and like you have been paying into the endowment for 11 years, but mine is only worth £3,500 :rolleyes: and I have a £12,000 shortfall :mad: so much for paying the mortgage and getting a nice lump sum at the end of it

dunstonh

The advisor, asuming IFA here, would calculate the costs of keeping the endowment against the costs of other options and recommend the best option.

The option he is recommending earns him no money so there is no reason to doubt it. Plus he has all the facts to make that calculation.

There are some endowments which give higher shortfalls that there actually are because they project from the surrender value and do not include any terminal/final bonus that may have already accrued. This information can be found out by the IFA and I am assuming he has done that.