27th October 2006
McNeil
Backs Bid to Help Farepak Customers
MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan
McNeil, has welcomed the intervention of the Deputy Enterprise Minister, Allan
Wilson, in the Farepak Food & Gifts (FFG) collapse, which has left thousands
of customers without the Christmas hampers and presents for which they had
saved.
Mr
Wilson has already met with the British Retail Consortium / Scottish Retail
Consortium (BRC/SRC) to discuss specific concerns relating to Scottish
customers. The Minister will also
be writing to Ian McCartney, Westminster Minister of State for Trade, Investment
and Foreign Affairs, to get a clear picture on how Scotland is affected by this
and what steps are being taken to support customers and agents.
Mr
McNeil said:
“It’s
heart-breaking that people on tight family budgets, who were saving to make the
cost of Christmas more manageable, have been cruelly failed by this company.
“I
am reassured that the Deputy Enterprise Minister has now stepped in and is
working to get a clearer picture of the total number of people affected and what
steps are being taken to support customers and agents.”
The
administrators have put useful information for customers and agents on the
Farepak website at: http://www.farepak.co.uk/
Customers
who have lost out should follow the advice of the administrators and send notice
of any claim they may have, by one of the following methods:
By
post - Kings Wharf, 20-30 Kings Road, Reading, Berkshire. RG1 3EX
By
E-mail - http://www.farepak.co.uk/agent-form.asp for agents, http://www.farepak.co.uk/customer-form.asp
for customers.
By
phone - Claim Registration Line: 0870 066 9826 (Open from 8am - 8pm, 7 days
a week)
By
fax - 01793 606057
ENDS
Notes
1. Shagun Dubey and Martha
Thompson, Business Restructuring partners at BDO Stoy Hayward LLP, were
appointed as Joint Administrators on Friday 13th October 2006, over FFG.
2.
Amongst other activities, FFG operated a Christmas voucher and hamper
club. People contributed to the
club on a regular basis throughout the year and would normally expect to receive
their vouchers at this time and hampers towards the end of the year.
Roughly 80% of the business was voucher based.
3.
The Administrator’s current estimate of customers’ money paid in by
the agents so far this year is £41m, but the total loss figure will be higher
because of commission due to the agents.
4.
The BRC is considering with its members this week the practicality of making
some form of goodwill gesture to Farepak customers.
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