Heritage Education Funds has recently proposed changes to their plans. Invitations and proxies have been mailed out to Plan Subscribers to participate in a vote to help decide IF they will proceed with the changes, or not. Heritage has extended this opportunity with the message, "You Asked. We Listened." Were they actually listening?
Here are links to an overview of the changes and to the official documents that were mailed out. Subscriber Vote on Proposed Plan Changes:
Note: IF changes are made they will only affect "plans that are expected to mature after July 31, 2014 and who typically have a 2016 Year of Eligibility."
What do you think of the proposed changes? Will you vote?
Here are links to an overview of the changes and to the official documents that were mailed out. Subscriber Vote on Proposed Plan Changes:
Note: IF changes are made they will only affect "plans that are expected to mature after July 31, 2014 and who typically have a 2016 Year of Eligibility."
What do you think of the proposed changes? Will you vote?
Vote no. I have been trying to get answers and no one is educated enough to answer them.
ReplyDeleteSome changes are good and lots are bad. Investing in equities when you have only a few years left on the plan like myself is a big no no. Too much volatility in a short term. I want to preserve what I got. also no attrition. Well I waited 16 years for my admin fees back and the attrition was supposed to be my income. now they want to make changes. What I hate most is majority rules. My fear is that majority do not understand how it will affect them at all. The changes will have a negative impact on plans that mature within the next few years. It looks like I may only get my principal back after waiting it out for 16 years. But I havent given up the fight yet.
i encourage everyone to contact ontario securities commission and ctv consumer report. Power in numbers. They have no right now after restricting us for many years in the end to deprive us again. We cant catch a break. I would have pulled out long ago if I could. Didn't want to risk my admin fees and was to much vested when I realized how this scam actually worked. The reps misrepresent the facts and how can changes to our money be make on a majority vote. Each individual has their own risk tolerance and time frame.
ReplyDeleteYou're right Anonymous! There are good and bad elements to the changes they may decide to make. The trouble is it's hard to know what the motive is for these changes and to trust that it really is the best for policy holders.
ReplyDeleteAs you may have read, we did not pull our money out either for the same reasons. We too are now worried about how our investment will be affected. As much as I would like to believe that the proposed changes will help us and others, it is our experience that they will NOT.
They just got back to me. Here is what they say: They don't have much details and info is limited as it is just a proposal, however the vote is binding. How can we be expected to vote on presumptions?
ReplyDeleteThey believe they are trying to achieve changes that will be favorable to everyone. That's a joke. How can it be favorable to everyone!! Given their track record I smell trouble. I really don't think I'm going to have the money I thought I would for my sons education now. When I think of it now I might have been better off losing the fees in the beginning as it looks like I'm not getting them all back anyway and who knows what if any return I will be getting.
This vote is ridiculous! I've been checking back to see if anyone else had posted a comment. I didn't vote because they can't even say if they are going to implement the proposed changes. I can just see them taking the feedback and twisting it all up for their own benefit... not ours. Plain old scared to give them ammunition.
ReplyDeleteYou stuck it out to get the attrition and bonuses... now they are going to vote them away??
ReplyDeleteIF changes are made they will "only affect plans that are expected to mature after July 31, 2014 and who typically have a 2016 Year of Eligibility."
DeleteThe documents clearly state that the changes are "proposed". So without knowing what they will or will not move forward on, is unknown. They apparently don't even know. With that said, how the changes, if any, may affect plans long term cannot be told at this time.
Unless there is an individual out there who can shed light on this whole scenario, we are all just flapping in the wind as per usual, hoping that we'll see our investment grow ;and, that they will not gouge us at the end, over a technicality. For examples of that you just have to read through this site for examples of how they operate.
I guess you never read the article. The majority of unitholders apparently voted in favor of the proposed changes. I don't know who would vote for presumptions. And now apparently all changes are being put forth. Another scam. And yes plans that are maturing after july 2014 are affected which looks like most of us.
DeleteSome changes are good. Greater flexibility yes but at what cost and why now.
I would have yanked my money a long time ago if this was the case.
How does this affect me. Well my plan matures next year. So they are now thinking of investing the income we have earned into equities. As a financial advisor I know that equities are not for investments less than 5 year time frame. Too much volatility. So I can actually end up losing the income that has accumulated to date.
Sales charges. Everyone gets them back now even if you forfit your contract so whatever attrition we banked on is lost.
Sales charges that were promised back in my contract in the first year is now prorated amongst 4 years and UP TO 100%. But apparently most likely about 90%. So I dont even get my sales charges back.
What is good is that more programs qualify.
You get your money back if you forfit.--Good for those who are just starting but not for us who hung on until the end
You dont lose your money if your kid fails his first year of university.
I dont know what prompted these changes but I can tell you that the osc was investigating heritage and there was a court date scheduled in May that they had postponed until june 6. The restrictions that were imposed on them were dropped on this day.
The intial investigation uncovered that the company was not disclosing all facts to its clients. The proper documentation was not completed and the know your client rule was not adhered to.
I personally contacted Heritage with regard to my children's funds. I had gone a high percentage in self-directed and a smaller percentage in group with Heritage. I expressed my disenchantment with the complexity and lack of logic behind their excessive requirements and costly procedure which did not exist with the self directed plans and threatened to go to the press with the reality check for future investors.
ReplyDeleteI frankly do not understand why this is not retroactive to all RESP plan holders!
What did the rep say, if anything, about you going to the press? or about not freely offering a self directed plan? We didn't know that was option.
Delete
ReplyDeleteHi, I am a student and a recent victim of Heritage. They robbed me and my family of 10000 dollars, and like a lot of the other people here we did not see this coming. See, heritage has dirty'd the lens that society looks through and as create an honorable image about itself which it portrays to society. This is obviously not the case and it is time somebody cleans that lens and exposes Heritage's true colors. Myself and an investigative journalist are starting a film series called Exposed. The first episode, Heritage. The idea is simple, we make Heritage famous through a viral film. Then use that fame to expose them for what they really are and focusing societies attention on these scam artist. With enough attention we can demand for a change. Currently, we are beginning to gather proof of this scam. This includes: electronic signatures, documents, interviews with people that are wiling to stand up for themselves, interviews with Heritage, aggressive sales tactics/marketing schemes and related court cases. We need your help though, this blog is a great start and there lots of people here who are also victims. People that could help in bringing down these crooks. Email me, thejalger01@gmail.com
The rip off continues after the vote. Our Manitoba family for one is not afraid to go public -- never mind this anonymous business -- we just got ripped off for the 'fees' that were supposed to get refunded after sticking it out as the above people noted -- not withdrawing b/c we would lose the fees, and now they are stealing them anyway. We are not going down without a fight after 18 years with Heritage.
ReplyDeleteBennetta are you serious?! Why? This makes me sick. I convinced my hubby to stick it out with Heritage for the past 9 years thinking that maybe we'd be ok despite the trouble we had early on. So sorry to hear this... really really sorry. Kelly
DeleteBennetta are you serious?! Why? This makes me sick. I convinced my hubby to stick it out with Heritage for the past 9 years thinking that maybe we'd be ok despite the trouble we had early on. So sorry to hear this... really really sorry. Kelly
DeleteI too stuck it out for 18 years. I only got 35% of my fees back. They are telling me some stupid excuse that the fees are reinvested to enhance eaps. Unfortunately due to the changes the reality is there wasn't enough money to pay out the current eaps so they used some of our sales charges to do so. Im not sure how the osc can approve changes now to benefit people who can now opt out with a full sales charge refund but penalize the ones that have stuck it out. What are you doing about it Bennetta? Im writing to the osc first and then taking it to global new sean oshea as he has done a segment on them already.
DeletePlease make petition together
DeleteThe heritage RESP is very complicated
And maybe not fair for parents
And ask OSC to audit it
did you guys pursue this one as I am thinking to write a letter too
DeleteI too have had great difficulty with heritage. We started plans for 2 sons in 1994, and thank God that we could not afford to put too much away at that time.
ReplyDeleteWhen we could afford more we started some private RESPS with our investment company and then bought out the contracts with heritage. That but out always has been an option, that means thar your contract is paid up and remains with them to matures and of course you receive the Government grant and interest accumulates. There in lies the difficulty with Heritage when withdrawal time comes. My son's never chose univ. or the appropriate college program to get full benefit,and in fact by then some technical programs of certain length and time had been included. I was lucky for that however when it came time to take it out for the first one the amount that they would keep was shocking. The contract language was so complex and changes by voters (whoever they are?) had diminished
the dollar value so much. I challenged Heritage with phone calls and at the end of the day threatened legal action. They did return more than the first offer but not as much as I would like to have seen. I calculated how much had been put in as principal over the years, and interest on that and the govt. grants and the interest on that 1 other amount (cannot recall this right now) and figured that we were still ahead of the game. Also the cost of the program was not as much as the money we got out but we took it all then just to not have to deal with it again. Then came time to deal with 2nd child, which maturity date arrived in 2012, and the battle began all over again. We had tried to access the funds a few months prior to maturity as he was taking a technical program in the last year of high school. They would not allow this. Then we had a problem over the fact that things had been delayed 2 times after maturity, and he was still not ready to go to school.At that time which is in 2014 I once again was astounded at the dollar figures that we were told we would receive, I blew a gasket with them on the phone, and told them that things were not done yet.I live in BC and contacted the Better Business Bureau. It turned out that heritage had been reported before and as many of you others are aware the OSC had fined them etc. And the rest is all history. The BBC contacted them and discussed whatever and we compromised with an an agreement and I have been satisfied (only slightly) with what I have been told I will get back at the end of the day. That is if my son decides to go to the appropriate type of education program.
He is still in decision mode on that. The figures given were the same components as with the first son but that when we settled it was not allowed to continue earning interest that we would collect. If we pull it out, and can at any time now, we would lose the govt grant that would be returned to the federal govt. We would get principsl, interest and govt grant interest and some other amount that I cannot recall now as I do not have my documents with me. I still is more than
we started with and out in but not what I would have expected. How can our legal systems have knowledge if these types of scams and not just shut them down and demand pay back to all the wronged people. Yes they are cunning and course people at a most vulnerable time when small children are involved and parents just want to see their children have a bright future. Shame on anyone who works for them. Perhaps a Fifth Estate program investigation would be the way to attack this.
ADVICE TO PARENTS do not put any money into any of these scholarship companies. It is very easy to manage you own with banks or investment firms who charge no load and you address you questions in person and see their eyes and know if they are liars.
I am open for contact and will help any group effort to correct misjustice.
I guess my turn came now to realize that Heritage got the plan holder vote approved somehow and will rip off all plans that mature after 31-jul-2015 of the sales charge refund. Actually they are funding their EAPs with a portion of the sales charge refund that was supposed to be returned to the clients. Whenever they propose a plan holder vote ( retroactive changes to the plans that they sold) they need to prove to OSC ( Ontario Security Commission) that it is in the best interest of the client. According to their numbers I will be 2000 short in the enrollment fee refund plus instead of getting the refund when my child gets scholarship number 1 I will get it divided by total scholarship number and paid with each scholarship. Even with the amount that they say that will enhance the EAP, in total I will be less than the sales charges that I paid and I was supposed to be refunded back 100%.
ReplyDeleteI suggest we all complain to Ontario Securities Commission to look into this.
To me, it is an agreement that we get 100% back for principle. Otherwise, I will not put money in. The vote is nonsense because the agreement is between Me and Heritage, not a third party. In the letter, they said the 100% principle will be put into future EAP. This is confusing statement for voting and you can explain it either way. I also notice that principle will not subject to TAX for my kids but EAP is.
ReplyDeleteHeritage also made an accounting error for my daughter. They put a wrong mature date and cost me $1000. I brought the case to obsi. I won the case, but they refuse to pay me the money.
Heritage made an accounting error for my daughter. They put a wrong mature date and cost me $1000. I brought the case to obsi. I won the case, but they refuse to pay me the money.
ReplyDeleteI just signed up with an RESP with Heritage for my little one (he's one year old now). I'm reading all these comments and I'm a little bit confused. I don't know if I should continue with them or not (if I withdrew now, I only lose $600).
ReplyDeleteI know about all their policies and regulations, about the fact that I can get my sales charges back only in certain conditions, based on the path my son will choose at the maturity date.
I signed with them because the interest rate seems really good (about 4 - 5% per year, but it depends). I'm wondering, can someone who's close to maturity date tell me about what interest rate did they get for the entire plan. For example, if your principal was $30,000, what did you get for interest over the entire life of the plan. Did your kid get the interest to use it to pay for school? Do you think that it would be better to open an RESP with a bank and go from there?
Really appreciate your help.
Thanks
Not sure how to answer your specific questions, but take my advice and cut your losses now! Honestly, at this point for you, there it's not worth the fight or energy. We decided to stay and see what would happen. Now with the "vote" and new changes we stand to loose thousands! So depressed and angry about this whole thing. We do have to fight :(
DeleteHi,
DeleteI know they usually send you an annual statement with your account activity (or you can access it online). There they should specify the interest rate for the year and for the entire period. I'm just wondering how much interest did you accumulate for the entire period. Also, it's important to know that you will actually be able to use that interest to pay for school.
Thanks
Pull out while you can!
DeleteI'm now in my 13th yr in the program and it seems that my return will be a 1.76% per year! And if we get the Sales charges back it's now at 2.7% return. I'm hopeful as my son seems to be university material, but still scared what to expect in 4 years time...
*what interest rate they got for the entire plan ...
ReplyDelete