Farepak Collapse - 100,000 People Lose Savings of £15 million

The collapse of Christmas hamper savings firm - Farepak - in September, is estimated to have cost 100,000 people over £15 million in savings and is leaving many low income families devastated in the run up to Christmas. As Ian McCartney, Minister at the DTI, is in talks with the British Retail Consortium to try to patch up a deal to get hampers delivered as a good will gesture, increased pressure is building on the banks that withdrew financial backing from Farepak to come up with the goods and return lost savings to its customers.

The role played by HBOS has come in for particular scrutiny following a Sunday Telegraph investigation that revealed how Farepak's parent company European Home Retail (EHR) used Farepak customer savings to pay off its overdraft with HBOS, only for HBOS to withdraw its backing and leave thousands in the lurch only three months from Christmas.

Farepak customers have now established their own website www.unfairpak.co.uk and have published details of HBOS executive's e-mail addresses. The Sunday Telegraph also detail how Farepak victims have since been approached by home credit companies trying to cash in on their misery by offering loans at over 100% APR.