Some Farepak Help

kazia1964

Well went to Argos and picked up the money off vouchers and they are £3.00 of if you spend £30.00 and £5.00 off if you spend £50.00 voucher, which you can pick up in most daily papers at the moment. Dont get me wrong they were very helpful and thanks to Argos for helping the Farepak customers. Just thought i would let everyone know what they are. There are 6 vouchers in all on a leaflet in store.

iluvfreebies

chunkymunks wrote:

I am hugely disappointed in a few of the posts in the beginning of this thread. Some people seem to be happily congratulating themselves on their massive intelligence on staying clear of hamper companies and are proud to condemn anyone who tried to save for Christmas through a well tried route. I did not save this way but understand why other people would, people on a low income may find it easy to spend more than they should and this is their means of saving. At least they don't assume the state should pick up the tab. People are focusing on the £2000 vouchers but most customers didn't seem to amass this much, hundreds seems to be the norm so let's not get giddy. I think most of these posters should be ashamed of their smug attitude. When I joined this site it was about helping people not proving how much smarter/better we were. With regards to the crying children, yes that was massively over the top but at the end of the day these people paid money and were ripped off. This was not a loan shark but a perfectly respectable company and that is why people are so angry. Would you be happy if your bank/building society/pension fund/company closed and kept money you were owed? The people on this thread who have actually lost money seem to prove they are not asking for handouts but simply their own money back.

im soo glad that someone has some sense on this board

I spent a few days extremely worried that the vouchers i had saved all year for had been a waste of time ... luckily the company i was saving with was park so I got my vouchers but I can totally appreciate what a nightmare it would have been if they had gone bust. People on this site should realise (perhaps more than most) that not everyones circumstances are the same - I got the shopping vouchers as I know that if i were to save money in the bank i would dip into it as and when i needed. These people have tried to budget for christmas which is always recommended. I know the I would never have thought about the fact the company may go into administration.

fin_2-2

totally agree with the 'why did'nt you put your money in the bank'. I was a farepak agent for 10 years, all my customers ordered vouchers so they would'nt dip into their bank account throughout the year. I'm sick of hearing ' your money could be in the bank gathering interest'. You would'nt get much for £10 a week over 40 weeks. And as for someone spending £2000 on Xmas that's their business.

russimp

payitforwardEDDIE wrote:

My advice to everyone is, IGNORE THE HAMPER BUSINESS NEXT YEAR. Put your money in a jar for christmas.

And wait for the burglars!!!

zoe_b_2

Been told by Barclays today that they have had a memo saying not to dispute any payments made with a VISA DEBIT CARD as long as customers can provide proof, hope that helps.

Morglin

I do feel sorry for the customers in all this (although I see that a large amount of hampers are going to be sent out now), and kids put huge pressure on at Christmas - I did cartwheels when I could finally forget the inevitable Provi cheque to give the kids a great Christmas.......

But, at the end of the day - we are talking about one day and pressies, and that's it.

Many kids live in poverty and misery all year, and even in this country, a section of N London appear to have been left homeless by a typhoon - in this context, the loss of a few extra's isn't really that important. Thse people will be months sorting their lives out.

I understand that whole communities have been affected - but, instead of crying on TV, why don't they arrange a huge and cheap party at the local hall, and just enjoy celebrating?:j

We don't actually NEED all the bumph that we buy at Christmas.:eek:

The whole point of Christmas got lost years ago - it's not about eating and drinking until obesity strikes, nor is it about the latest Playbox - it should be about spending time with the ones you love.

I give to charity - but like the OP, I can find many more deserving things than this.:o

chunkymunks

I feel that you are missing the point, people paid money to a company and are expected to write it off simply because no one has any empathy. How dare they have tried to responsibly pay for Christmas monthly instead of expecting the local benefits office to support them. You may possibly understand their frustration if you find, in later years, that your pension is worthless-you paid and received zero. If you had paid for and not received goods online or from a large retailer you would expect a refund, this is no different and these people deserve their money back. The spirit of Christmas is not patting yourself on the back because you avoided this but reaching out to others who did.

rog2

chunkymunks wrote:

I feel that you are missing the point, people paid money to a company and are expected to write it off simply because no one has any empathy. How dare they have tried to responsibly pay for Christmas monthly instead of expecting the local benefits office to support them. You may possibly understand their frustration if you find, in later years, that your pension is worthless-you paid and received zero. If you had paid for and not received goods online or from a large retailer you would expect a refund, this is no different and these people deserve their money back. The spirit of Christmas is not patting yourself on the back because you avoided this but reaching out to others who did.

Totally agree with you cm - it seems that even when people are behaving responsibly, by making provision for the 'most expensive week of the year' thereby avoiding potential debt or possible abuse of the benefit system, there are STILL people prepared to knock and berate them.
Some people are just sick.

Broken_hearted

So are you going to pay all your creditors back them Rog. They paid out and are getting nothing.Companies go under all the time and no-one cares. There were job losses anounced round here last week 700 of them.Are we now going to see them crying on tv, are the shops donating to help them, how about a charity fund. Nope they will get nothing. It's not just one day these workers are losing but instead possible long term hardship. So you will have to excuse me if Farepack isn't one of my priorities.

rog2

Broken_hearted wrote:

So are you going to pay all your creditors back them Rog. They paid out and are getting nothing.Companies go under all the time and no-one cares. There were job losses anounced round here last week 700 of them.Are we now going to see them crying on tv, are the shops donating to help them, how about a charity fund. Nope they will get nothing. It's not just one day these workers are losing but instead possible long term hardship. So you will have to excuse me if Farepack isn't one of my priorities.

Sorry you feel that way BH - Please let me try to answer your questions:

1. My 'creditors' WILL receive some money from my bankruptcy estate. I appreciate that it will NOT amount to full payment. Equally, I stand to lose my home (which I bought, and paid for, long before I got into any debt) whereas the Owners/Directors of Farepak will be protected, by company law, and stand, in most cases, only to lose their 'personal' investment in the company. Most will lose NOTHING.

2. Of course I care when there are job losses - anywhere. I find it both interesting, and sometimes unfair, to see that the Government will assist in certain areas, yet will stand aside and let things happen when there appears to be little or no vested interest for them, and I believe strongly that the government SHOULD help when people have been paying taxes and insurance to allow governments to pursue policies over which the public have little or no say. The current government is, in my opinion, quick to condemn companies for not being competitive, yet does very little to assist them when they are in trouble - this is equally true in the case of Farepak.

3. I appreciate, especially if you have been personally affected by the recent job losses in your area, that Farepak may not be very high on your list of priorities. To be perfectly honest I would probably feel the same, so I do not criticise your attitude.

Even though I have not been affected, personally, by the Farepak fiasco I do feel sorry for the customers, who had been paying in regularly yet were unaware of the 'drama' being acted out in the boardroom.I equally feel sorry for the Farepak suppliers, who will probably be in at least the same position as the customers, yet will not have a sway of opinion in their favour.

Is that such a bad thing?