Xmas > Christmas News

New hope for hamper savings Farepak victims

Mon, 23 Oct 2006

The many families hit by the collapse of Farepak, the hamper savings firm are set for some Christmas cheer, retailers said. It is estimated that 20,000 Scots have lost £8million.

Farepak ran a scheme in which approximately 150,000 customers paid money to Farepak agents for Christmas hampers or vouchers to help pay for Christmas. However, Farepak went into administration on 13 October.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has accepted in principle proposals for a goodwill scheme for customers who have lost out.

At the moment there were no details on how the scheme will work.

The Trade and Industry Minister Ian McCartney said it must be "simple, not derisory, fraud-free, and easy to administer at store level and have as much choice as possible. This will not be a compensation package and members of the BRC are under no legal obligation to provide any help.

"But they have had a lot of interest from many large retailers, who are keen to try and do something."

BRC spokesman Richard Dodd added: "This is purely a goodwill gesture.

"The fact that Farepak has gone bust is nothing to do with other retailers, so they are not under any obligation to step in."

The BRC will now be contacting its members so they can decide what they might be able to provide.