Whiteford Appeal Over Farepak 'Nightmare Of Christmas Past'

AFTER FIVE YEARS IT IS TIME FOR A FAIR DEAL FOR FAREPAK FAMILIES

SNP Work and Pensions spokesperson and local MP Eilidh Whiteford has issued a Christmas appeal to the UK Government calling for compensation for Farepak families, who are still waiting for reparation five years after the collapse of the Christmas saving scheme.

Comparing the UK Government’s response to bailing out the banks with Farepak, Dr Whiteford has written to Business Secretary Vince Cable, asking why 20,000 Scottish customers who lost their Christmas savings in 2006 – including many in Banff & Buchan - are still out of pocket.

Commenting, Eilidh said:

“The UK Government bent-over-backwards to bail out the banks, and is rightly compensating customers of Equitable Life but hasn’t found a single penny for the Farepak families.

“It is five years since Farepak collapsed, but that nightmare of Christmas past is still being felt by many low income families. Savers are likely to recover just 5p in the pound, while the final bill for the administrators and their legal advisers has already exceeded £8 million.

“It is simply disgraceful that, years after the company collapsed, that customers are still waiting for their money back.

“The UK Government needs to bring forward compensation for these families, particularly given that it was its failure to secure adequate consumer protection through regulation that allowed the Farepak Christmas crisis to happen.

“UK Ministers should step in without further delay to secure compensation for those who lost out so badly.”