Farepak in administration: What to do? (Merged Thread)

devizes18193

http://www.adver.co.uk/display.var.973628.0.emotions_boil_over_at_farepak_protest.php

local paper today wiltshire

themadbird

I just wanted to say how very sorry I am for everyone in this situation. I nearly became a Farepak agent but instead found the love2shop website where I could get proper high street vouchers direct, instead of the choice ones they offered at the time. I know that you have to buy the vouchers out direct, but I've taken to giving my mum my money every week to put into a savings account, then asking her to pay with her visa for me. Only way around for me really rather than join a hamper company. I know it means nothing coming from me, but I really wish I could help you out, if I had the money then I would make damn sure that you all had a terrific Xmas. That's what that Director should be doing. Selling his house and all his assets to give you all back what you so rightly deserve. Hope some good comes out of it and you don't all lose out. Love and luck to everyone going through this tough time. xx

gt94sss2

hunnybugs1 wrote:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/working_lunch/4260806.stm

Hope this link works. Found this today!!

I used the same one in post 275

Think someone still needs to update the 1st post with this though which still seems to say 'Sadly this doesn’t apply to debit card payments'

Also, please note that if you used a switch or maestro debit card and not a Visa debit card, then the chargeback method does not apply to you.

Regards
Sunil

clareandlee

I have followed the steps that Martin wrote about regarding calling my bank to start a chargeback procedure as I paid a few payments via my visa card, the bank said that we need to speak to the administrators who need to send us a letter outline that we will not be receiving any goods - they will not start this chargeback until we have this - any ideas on how to speak to the administrators?

chrisandrob

clareandlee wrote:

I have followed the steps that Martin wrote about regarding calling my bank to start a chargeback procedure as I paid a few payments via my visa card, the bank said that we need to speak to the administrators who need to send us a letter outline that we will not be receiving any goods - they will not start this chargeback until we have this - any ideas on how to speak to the administrators?

i have also contacted my bank today,Have spent over 1 hour on the phone where the lady on the other end filled the chargeback form out ,Asked me about the administrators but said not to worry they would deal with it,she sent my form off while I was talking to her

toblerone_2

kate1976 wrote:

I'm another that's been 'robbed' by farepak, was looking forward to £135 of vouchers but now it's all just gone!!

This was the first year I'd done the saving with them (after lots of recommendations about them) as I'm terrible at saving because I dip into the account so I was pleased that I'd done it this way, I'm kicking myself now though!

Been wanting to cry all day, I know £135 is small change to what others have lost but it's a lot to me and it was going towards my son's present, for the first time in years I would've had enough to buy him what he actually wanted!:mad:

sorry to hear your xmas will be ruined i dont think its the amount that matters, but the reason you need it.it will wreck your xmas.i felt sick when i saw about liquidation cos although i have been saving £300 in vouchers i wasnt sure who with.i just hope that variety arent part of this sorry mess as my hubby was made redundant this year and we deffo cant afford to replace the money.we have used these vouchers for years.never again!!!it brought home how easily you can lose your money with them.we naiveley thought the money was safe and insured.now we know different.my agent is a friend and before now i felt embarrassed saying we cant afford to get vouchers any more so we gradually got less and less,but now i will just tell her i cant afford the risk.sorry to those who lost outxxxxx:mad:

Plasticman

As it's been reported that the may owe customers about £60 million, the £100K bond with HITA isn't going to go very far. I wonder how much debt they had with the banks. I don't imagine there will be much left over to give back to the people who have been cheated out of their Christmas.

If the parent company sold off all of it's other businesses and still called in the receivers, the level of debt must have been huge.

Ian_Shearer

Note that the list of directors in an earler post applies to just the Farepak division, not the board of European Home Retail PLC, the parent company chaired by Sir Clive Thompson. However Mr Gilodi Johnson listed above is the son of Farepak's founder Bob Johnson so he might be the best person to send your Xmas cards and queries to.

The trigger for this collapse appears to be the failure of another company who ran the Choice voucher scheme, which immediately caused an extra liability to EHR which their bankers declined to cover.

However that reluctance on the part of the firm's bankers should not have you thinking 'typical banks funk' as an earlier post states about HBOS. The banks' caution may result from an extaordinary purchase made by this once cash rich group in 2002 or 2003. They had £24m in the kitty and used it plus bank loans to buy two businesses for about £36m which had barely 2 years trading behind them. In less than 2 years EHR had to write off all but about £4m of the money spent because the acquired businesses were only really worth that much. At that point shareholders funds were negative, in other words the banks were funding all operations, and it is not really surprising that they pulled the plug faced with a further cash call.

This extrordinary purchase for prompt cash rather than staged performance-related payments of dubious assets valued at more than the company's reserves - and the rapid write-off, was never satisfactorily explained. Even to shareholders of which I am (was?) one. And Bob Johnson, the firm's founder and majority shareholder died suddenly on holiday in Sardinia before he could be asked. MSE's readership is so wide there may be an expert in Italian companies' shady operations for milking companies and avoiding tax reading this. If so does this scenario sound familiar?

firespire

trisontana wrote:

If you are tempted to take the money out, then open something like a 60-day notice account. That will take away the temptation.

I think this is one of the best thing - save money in banks that you force you to give months notice (when you are temped to spend it you will forget about it 2 months later when they let you have your cash) and don't let to off with loosing interest if you don't give notice. I don't know why the banks/building societies do similar saving schemes to those that supermarkets do where you save through the year and only let you have it at Christmas with an added bonus.

fluffwitt

leave the poor sparrows alone