Who to Trust

Q & A

Who to Trust

Hi, we have recently sat down with a rep from Primerica. They want to help us get "out of debt" quicker by going with them for mortgage, RRSP's insurance. I was wondering if you have heard of them before and what your thoughts are on the company. Right now they are telling us that even though they have a higher interest rate on mortgages that our house would still be paid off sooner than the banks. They say they are trying to teach people how to have their money work for them. There is just so many companies out there telling you could do way better dealing with us than the bank and so on that I don’t know who to believe or what to do.

Name withheld

Here’s the thing about trust: it’s earned. The most optimistic of us keep and open mind and give the other person the benefit of the doubt. The most pessimistic of us say, “Prove it.” You sound like a bit of a pessimist and so my advice would be to tell your financial adviser you want the recommendation and the outcomes in writing, you want to see proof, before you proceed. If (s)he isn’t willing to pony up with the proof, you’ve got your answer.

As reading what you’re given, it should be in English (as opposed to financeeze) and you should do some of your own verification. So, for example, if your advisor does a mortgage rate comparison and says (s)he will charge you 6% compared to the bank’s 7.5%, you want to get on the web or telephone and check out whether the banks are offering a rate comparable to the one your advisor is offering.

Your job is to be vigilant about checking the facts as they are presented to you. If you still don’t trust your advisor, don’t do it. What’s the point in having a relationship with someone you don’t trust?