Updated
Martha
H Thompson and Dermot Power of BDO Stoy Hayward LLP, Kings Wharf, 20-30 Kings
Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 3EX were appointed Joint Liquidators of Farepak
on 4 October 2007.
This
follows the appointment of Martha H Thompson and Shagun
Dubey of BDO Stoy Hayward LLP, Kings Wharf, 20-30
Kings Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 3EX as Joint Administrators over the assets
and business of Farepak on 13 October 2006.
It’s not
yet possible to confirm when a payment will be made to agents and
customers. The Liquidators are still
pursuing monies for the benefit of creditors, including customers and agents.
For example, as explained to customers and agents at the beginning of the Administration,
in the days leading up to the collapse of Farepak, the directors tried to
establish a Trust to ring fence money paid by customers and agents. However, the Trust was not set up correctly
so the administrators (now Liquidators) applied to Court to determine whether
the Trust is valid. The length of time
this takes is now in the hands of the Court.
Secondly,
because of the extremely large number of creditors, paying out a dividend will
inevitably be a costly process. The
Liquidators have always sought to work in the most efficient and cost-effective
manner possible in order to maximise the funds available to creditors. The Liquidators are working to ensure that,
as far as possible, all money that may be due to Farepak is received before
paying a dividend, so that as much as possible is paid to creditors, including
customers and agents. This is to keep
the costs associated with paying dividends as low as possible. It will not be possible to pay a dividend
before the end of this year.
Customer
& Agent Claims
PLEASE
NOTE THAT NO FURTHER MONEY SHOULD BE SENT TO FAREPAK. ANY ORIGINAL
DOCUMENTATION SHOULD BE RETAINED AT THE PRESENT TIME
In the meantime, if you have not already
done so please send notice of any claim you may have:
·
By post - for agents
using Agent Letter and Proof of Debt to: Claim Registration Department, Farepak Food & Gifts Limited - In Liquidation, PO Box 3404,
We are not able to deal with changes of
address over the telephone for security reasons. If you have moved since
submitting your original claim, please register your change of address by
sending details of your name, your agent's number, the amount of your claim,
your old address, your new address and your signature to:
Claims Management Team, Farepak Food &
Gifts Limited - In Liquidation, PO Box 3404,
In a significant number of cases there are
differences between the claims submitted by customers and the total claim
submitted by their agent. These
differences have to be investigated and to date it has been possible to delete
duplicate claims and errors totalling approximately £2.25 million, which will
increase the dividend payable to creditors, including agents and customers.
The Claims Management Team are in the
process of contacting agents and customers who have not yet submitted a claim
or whose claim requires further supporting information. If you receive a letter, it would be most
helpful if you could respond as soon as possible to allow the Claims Management
Team to deal with your claim promptly.
Why
haven’t I heard anything?
Due to the large number of claims received
and in order to keep administration costs as low as possible, the Joint
Liquidators (previously the Joint Administrators) are unable to acknowledge
each claim received at the present time.
To date, over 122,000 claims totalling approximately £38 million have
been received from customers.
Trust
Monies
Historically, any money paid to Farepak by
customers was not held in a separate bank account but shortly before Farepak
went into Administration, the directors of Farepak tried to establish a Trust
so that money paid by Farepak's customers after 11 October 2006 could be
returned to customers if Farepak went into an insolvency process. The Trust was not set up properly and the
Administrators applied to Court for help in sorting out the monies which were
paid into the bank or a post office after
The Court ruled that, because the agents
were agents of Farepak, the Joint Liquidators (previously the Joint
Administrators) would need to prove when the monies were paid to the agent by
the customer as well as when they reached Farepak's bank account. The hearing was adjourned to allow the Joint
Liquidators (previously the Joint Administrators) to find a cost effective way
of identifying whose money was whose.
The Joint Liquidators will use this website
to keep creditors, including agents and customers, updated of any progress
regarding these monies.
Move
from Administration to Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation
On
The Joint Administrators have carried out
the limited investigations which they are allowed to by law. Now that Farepak is in Liquidation, the
Liquidators have greater powers to investigate the circumstances
surrounding the failure of Farepak and can take action against any parties
which may increase the money available for creditors. A Liquidator can also agree unsecured
creditor claims and pay a dividend to unsecured creditors.
By law, the Joint Liquidators do not have to
report to Farepak’s creditors, including agents and customers, until the
anniversary of their appointment, i.e. October 2008. The Joint Liquidators will, however, carry on
using this website as a way of updating all of Farepak’s creditors, just as the
Joint Administrators did.
Final
Progress Report
The Insolvency Act 1986 states that the
Joint Administrators should report to all known creditors within four weeks of
the six month anniversary of their appointment on
This report (“the Final Creditors’ Report”)
has been filed at Companies House and at Court and a copy is available to
download below. A shortened version of
this report (“the Final Agents’ Report”) was posted to all of Farepak’s agents
on
Please
note that the Form 2.34B attached to the report is for reference only and
SHOULD NOT be forwarded to Companies House.
Creditors’ Guide To
Administrators’ Fees
Policy of BDO Stoy Hayward LLP in
respect of fees
Joint
Administrators’ Proposals & First Creditors' Report
Please click the link below for further
information regarding the voting results for the Joint Administrators’
Proposals and the first report to creditors (issued in January 2007), including
copies of both the shortened version and full length version of this report.
Joint Administrators’ Proposals & First Creditors'
Report
Frequently Asked Questions
Please see below for answers to certain
questions you may have.
1.
What is the final progress report?
This is the report by the Joint
Administrators summarising what has happened in the Administration and
confirming that Farepak is now in Liquidation.
A copy of this report (“the Final Creditors’ Report”) has been filed at
Companies House and at Court and a shortened version of this report (“the Final
Agents’ Report”) was posted to all of Farepak’s agents on
2.
Why are there two versions of the final progress report?
The Court allowed the Joint
Administrators to send a shortened version of the report (“the Final Agents’
Report”) to Farepak’s agents because of the numbers involved and the costs of
postage. Both the Final Agents’ Report
and full length version (“the Final Creditors’ Report”) are available to
download from this website.
3.
Why wasn’t a progress report sent to Farepak’s agents
covering the six month period since the Administrators’ appointment?
The Insolvency Act 1986 states that
the Joint Administrators should report to all known creditors within four weeks
of the six month anniversary of their appointment on
4.
Why has Farepak moved from Administration to
Liquidation?
The Joint Administrators have
carried out the limited investigations which they are allowed to by law. Now that Farepak is in Liquidation, the
Liquidators have greater powers to investigate the circumstances
surrounding the failure of Farepak and can take action against any parties
which may increase the money available for creditors. A Liquidator can also agree unsecured
creditor claims and pay a dividend to unsecured creditors.
5.
Why haven’t I heard anything?
Due to the large number
of claims received and in order to keep administration costs as low as
possible, the Joint Liquidators (previously the Joint Administrators) are
unable to acknowledge each claim received at the present time. To date, over 122,000 claims totalling
approximately £38 million have been received from customers.
6.
When will I get my money?
We are reviewing the
claims received to remove any mistakes and this website will be updated to keep
agents and customers informed of progress made.
At present, the Joint Liquidators are not able to confirm when a payment
will be made to agents and customers as every agent and customer claim must be
finalised before this can take place.
All claims are, however, being processed as quickly as possible. It will not be possible to pay a dividend
before the end of this year.
7. How much will I be paid?
On present information, the
estimated dividend is likely to be in the region of 5p in the £.
8. When will I receive another report?
By law, the Joint Liquidators do not
have to report to Farepak’s creditors, including agents and customers, until
the anniversary of their appointment, i.e. October 2008. The Joint Liquidators will, however, carry on
using this website as a way of updating all of Farepak’s creditors, just as the
Joint Administrators did.
9.
A Farepak agent/customer has died. How do I notify you?
We are not able to deal with these notifications over the telephone for security reasons. If you wish to notify us of the death of an agent or customer, please send a copy of the death certificate and the new address for correspondence together with the agent's number (if known), to:
Claims Management Team, Farepak Food & Gifts Limited - In Liquidation, |
Please click this link for older frequently asked questions