Comet going into administration?

gregg1

carol01 wrote: »

it says be nice to newbies i suggest if you need help with a question then ask, as for slagging off employees because you can not use a gift card is just nasty don't take it out on the comet staff, take it out on henry jackson (opt capita) he is the one responsible for comet in administration not the staff most employees only found out on the news yesterday you may have lost what a £100.00 they could lose their homes if it goes into liquidation.

I am usually firmly in favour of giving Newbies a bit of slack. However, I would make an exception with this one after seeing her silly and spiteful rantings regarding people who have just found out they are about to lose their livelihoods.

Nasty piece of work.

techspec

carol01 wrote: »

there will be no fire sales trading tommorrow from 9am but as far as im aware gift cards will not be able to be used as i have a friend who still works for them

When did this happen - todays news said still accepted - although it did say "for now".

A few weeks ago i spoke to someone saving vouchers for M&S. I said it was never a good idea to hang onto gift cards/vouchers anymore - just get shut ASAP.

I stick mine on Ebay if i can't find anything i want.

gregg1

techspec wrote: »

When did this happen - todays news said still accepted - although it did say "for now".

A few weeks ago i spoke to someone saving vouchers for M&S. I said it was never a good idea to hang onto gift cards/vouchers anymore - just get shut ASAP.

I stick mine on Ebay if i can't find anything i want.

I always tell my nephew the same thing. He always asks for HMV vouchers for presents. I always tell him to get shut of them asap.

carol01

techspec wrote: »

When did this happen - todays news said still accepted - although it did say "for now".

A few weeks ago i spoke to someone saving vouchers for M&S. I said it was never a good idea to hang onto gift cards/vouchers anymore - just get shut ASAP.

I stick mine on Ebay if i can't find anything i want.

my best friend works at comet and i have been to see her tonight i have seen what the administrators have put in place and gifts cards and sms vouchers are not being excepted but the administrators are going to over the weekend try and get this resolved. oh and by the way lauraeva just incase you do care my friend is in bits at what has happened just before christmas and the thought of having to face people like you tomorrow fill her with dread

dacouch

CoolHotCold wrote: »

Lauraeva, its not been confirmed yet if Gift Cards won't be accepted yet. Best bet is to go down pronto on Saturday and buy something that holds value or something you want (could be anything from iTunes vouchers for gifts etc etc)



Also DaCouch, if the extracare agreement isn't a insurance policy covered by the FSA then it will be managed by a independent trust fund who have a duty of care to ensure there is enough money in the fund based on historical and trends, the amount of data these companies build up is amazing, they can tell how many will fail within X years and the average cost of repair/replacement. These trust funds have a legal requirement to make sure they are simply not holding a token amount.

It does not matter how much data they gather, they're totally reliant on new "premiums" coming into pay the exisiting claims.

Retailers who use trusts do so to avoid the regulation of the FSA who would ensure they huge liquid capital reserves to pay current and future claims. Their customers also do not benefit from the FSCS.

A trust of this type is just as likely as a limited company to go bankrupt and like a company when it dies so do it's debts eg warranty claims

techspec

carol01 wrote: »

my best friend works at comet and i have been to see her tonight i have seen what the administrators have put in place and gifts cards and sms vouchers are not being excepted but the administrators are going to over the weekend try and get this resolved. oh and by the way lauraeva just incase you do care my friend is in bits at what has happened just before christmas and the thought of having to face people like you tomorrow fill her with dread

Update:- Your right:- Gift cards 'temporarily' suspended.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9651556/Comet-offically-enters-administration-stores-re-open-for-expected-firesale.html

Not surprised this ebayer won't accept paypal:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Comet-Gift-Card-Voucher-value-500-valid-until-5th-nov-5pm-meet-collection-only-/290805157399?pt=UK_Tickets_Trave_Vouchers_Coupons_LE&hash=item43b5568e17

gregg1

carol01 wrote: »

my best friend works at comet and i have been to see her tonight i have seen what the administrators have put in place and gifts cards and sms vouchers are not being excepted but the administrators are going to over the weekend try and get this resolved. oh and by the way lauraeva just incase you do care my friend is in bits at what has happened just before christmas and the thought of having to face people like you tomorrow fill her with dread

I have every sympathy for your friend and others in this predicament. It is horrendous for anyone to lose their jobs, I know, I've been there and it is soul destroying, particularly when the job market is in such a bad way.

CoolHotCold

dacouch wrote: »

It does not matter how much data they gather, they're totally reliant on new "premiums" coming into pay the exisiting claims.

Retailers who use trusts do so to avoid the regulation of the FSA who would ensure they huge liquid capital reserves to pay current and future claims. Their customers also do not benefit from the FSCS.

A trust of this type is just as likely as a limited company to go bankrupt and like a company when it dies so do it's debts eg warranty claims

But therin lies the fault in your reasoning.
They constantly pay into the trust fund depending on how many they have outstanding so if they go bust in theory everyone is covered based on data, the current repairs or replacements carried out under the plan is taken directly off the bottom line as expenses.

If the retailer goes bust, no more service arrangements are sold, no more premiums are paid into the fund (though if there is a deficit they are a secured creditor so pretty high on the list to be paid into) but there is still enough money in the fund to cover what historical and current trends predict.


But no, I agree that it would provide far, far more cover to have them approved by the FCSA, but I can see why some retailers don't, training costs and I believe they need to pay all the money into the fund instead of just what is enough to cover all outstanding ones.



Yes I also read that Gift cards were being suspended on Friday while the accountants get a better idea on the situation. Usually you can tell if a company will continue by how quickly gift cards/vouchers and orders are taken off/disabled. Administrators usually have a pretty good idea if a company can be saved (as telling customers no, sod off with your gift card and your order won't come is a good way to ensure no one shops with you again if you come out of administration). Gift cards being accepted straight after Administratiors being appointed = probably a buyer already willing to take it off your hands, Gift cards not = Liquidation time and time to reclaim as much as possible.




Just a side note. It seems OpCapita will get a guaranteed return of £137 Million on their £2 investment (plus the £35 Million they put in) as they are a secured lender and did some dam unethical lending to Comet.

dacouch

CoolHotCold wrote: »

But therin lies the fault in your reasoning.
They constantly pay into the trust fund depending on how many they have outstanding so if they go bust in theory everyone is covered based on data, the current repairs or replacements carried out under the plan is taken directly off the bottom line as expenses.

If the retailer goes bust, no more service arrangements are sold, no more premiums are paid into the fund (though if there is a deficit they are a secured creditor so pretty high on the list to be paid into) but there is still enough money in the fund to cover what historical and current trends predict.


But no, I agree that it would provide far, far more cover to have them approved by the FCSA, but I can see why some retailers don't, training costs and I believe they need to pay all the money into the fund instead of just what is enough to cover all outstanding ones.

The difference is when setting the funds up the retailer has no interest in whether the trust can carry on paying claims if they go bankrupt as the retailer no longer exists so does not care as it does not affect the defunct brand.

Retailers choose trusts as they do not need to put in anywhere near as much as an Insurer does to pay current claims and claims for many years in the future. They do not have the FSA checking whether they do actually have enough set aside and avoid paying into the FSCS which is the fund Insurers contribute to cover and other members going bankrupt. It's also to avoid Insurance Premium Tax.

Insurance companies also take out Insurance to cover themselves in case of castastrophes or very larges claims to make them almost not able to go bankrupt due to claims.

A trust is not much different to a limited company and your money is about as safe. It's like asking if you had £50k to invest, you could invest it with a limited company who if they go belly up you may get only part or even none or you could invest it for the same price with a company that you have a cast iron guarantee you will get your money back. Which one are you going to take?

unholyangel

lauraeva wrote: »

guess anyone with a few working braincells wouldn't go into retail ?

You say you're not a troll yet make a sweeping generalisation of all retail staff (and not just comet)?

I dont work in retail presently but have done - more so when finishing my education (as a surprising number of people do) and its a job I would do again if I lost my current job because I actually enjoy interacting with members of the public.

However, if you're going to question the intelligence of others, you should perhaps question your own first. After all, you did a) take the bus instead of phoning first to see if they were open, b) stated it was £70 in your first post, then in a later post you said £100 and then in your latest posts, you say it is £80 and not to mention c) kept a card with credit on it for a retailer than you have indicated you knew were obviously going to go belly up.

If the staff didnt possess the skills required to do the job, is that their fault or the employers for hiring them/not training them up to an acceptable standard?

Yes you're angry at the possibility of losing your money - we get that. But that is really no reason to go slating the front liners. Its not as if they had access to the books to see how the company was doing financially.

I'm not going to call you names as others have done, but you may want to take a step back and think about what you are saying/typing.