Farepak Advice

As you may be aware, around 3,000 people in Northern Ireland are facing a very bleak Christmas due to the closure of Farepak Christmas Savings Club.

The Consumer Council is taking a special interest in the Farepak crisis and calls on Government to regulate this industry, so that this terrible scenario cannot happen again.

Administrators BDO have placed online claims forms for customers and agents on the Farepak website: www.farepak.org.uk. Customers and agents can also make a claim through e-mail, fax or phone.

Make sure that your customers complete their claim forms. At most, customers and agents can expect to receive between 5p and 10p in the pound.

Farepak agents must:

1. Get all their paperwork up-to-date.

2. Make photocopies of all documents.

3. Keep original copies.

4. Send the photocopied information (preferably by recorded delivery) to the administrators at BDO Stoy Hayward (BDO).

5. Keep up to date regularly on the Consumer Council Web site www.consumercouncil.org.uk

The Farepak Response Fund has been set up to help alleviate the hardship of those affected by the collapse: www.farepakresponsefund.org.uk There is no need for agents or individual customers to contact or register with the Farepak Response Fund. They will contact agents directly. We advise agents to keep checking for regular updates. Goodwill payments, in the form of vouchers, will be distributed directly to agents by no later than 18^th December 2006.

If you require any further help or information, please feel free to call Nóra Quigley on 028 9067 4803.