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Farepak victims fight on for justice
2:05pm Tuesday 13th May 2008
VICTIMS of the Farepak fiasco say that money is no longer at the heart of their fight against the company's directors.
Some of the 150,000 families who lost out when the Westlea-based firm went bust in October 2006 say they have almost given up on compensation but they are still demanding justice.
The comments came after the Government announced it was considering legal action against the directors of the firm.
An official investigation into Farepak, which took more than a year, has now been completed but will not be published.
Kerry Thomas, of Moredon, was one of those affected when the Christmas savings club went into liquidation.
She had saved up £5.11 every week to buy her three-year-old son Kai a motorised car worth £230 when she suddenly found herself penniless.
She said: "It's good to hear that they are not going to get away with it. None of them were willing to give us answers.
"It's being going on for so long now and some of the older people who were affected by it are no longer around.
"I actually went to the funeral of my Farepak agent only recently. That shows how long this has been going on."
Denise Jerome, from Rodbourne Cheney, lost £800. She said: "They should definitely take action against the directors someone needs to be held to account for what has happened.
"The money is not really important any more because, to be honest, I can't see us getting anything.
"It's more important that we see action against the people responsible for this."
Laura Telling, who lost £200, said: "We need explanations because we just haven't been told what's going on.
"I feel sorry for the families with young children who have lost out and also for the pensioners, people who really can't afford to lose that money."
South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove said: "I'm very pleased that this is such a strong statement and I'm particularly pleased that the Government is seeking legal advice.
"It seems as if the report is very comprehensive, considering it is 700 pages long and took almost a year to compile.
"While I would like to know what is in the report and I'm sure many others would, we have to appreciate that this could be used in legal proceedings and so has to be kept under wraps.
"I think many people have written off the prospect of getting any money back but I don't believe we shouldn't forget about that.
"The victims in this lost an average of £400 each and they should be compensated."
Your Say YourSwindon
Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
8:00pm Tue 13 May 08
UKIP urges government to help fishermen
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
The government has rejected calls from UK Independence Party MP Bob Spink to help our floundering fishing fleet, even though the French and Spanish are getting help. Rocketing fuel costs and unfair fishing quotas have brought gloom to fishermen around the country.
Mr Spink asked the government to investigate the effects of the rising cost of fuel on the fishermen after being told of the plight they are facing.
But the Minister, Jonathan Shaw, ruled this out and said that they would not subsidise commercial vessels.
Mr Spink said: "Our government has a duty to help our fishing industry in times like this. "How do they expect to achieve their 'sustainable future' when fishermen can lose money going out to sea?
"If we are not careful, we may soon not have a fishing industry. The government must act and helping our fleet with sky-high fuel prices would be a good place to start."
Mick Mahon, a fisherman in Cornwall for 40 years, said fishermen simply could not afford to keep going.
"A young man with a family and a mortgage as well as a loan on his boat would simply not make enough money to stay afloat," he said.
"Currently in Newlyn we have the best haddock I've seen for 30 years, but because of quotas I'm having to chuck many back into the sea dead.
"The French and Spanish have much larger quotas than us and they are paying about half the price we are for fuel. Soon, the only boats we may see in British waters are those from the other side of the Channel."So Anne rather than your usual bandwagons, would you like to help a few thousand British people.
who dat?, says...
8:18pm Tue 13 May 08
No votes in Cornwall that matter - unlike in the North-East when the Northern ****-up occurred !
More dosh, anyone - its only taxpayers' money- and we'll all get gongs, to boot!
who dat?, says...
8:26pm Tue 13 May 08
Mumstheword, Walcot says...
8:57pm Tue 13 May 08
Casual Observer, Swindon says...
9:40pm Tue 13 May 08
Mumstheword wrote:How about balls-up. Anyway, Shakespear was an intellectual and he made up some of the finest 'swear-words' in use today - and my hats off to him for it.
It's not the Adver, it is the software and most site have the same kind. You will have to think of a more intellectual word than "**** up" Although that does describe the Farepak Fiasco pretty well. There we go Fiasco! Can anyone think of a better one :)
GetAJob, Swindon says...
9:58pm Tue 13 May 08
Pav, Swindon says...
11:53am Wed 14 May 08
Another waste of tax payers money and more jobs for the boys.
Pav, Swindon says...
11:53am Wed 14 May 08
Another waste of tax payers money and more jobs for the boys.
Captain Sensible, Near Swindon says...
8:06pm Thu 15 May 08
Your sayYourSwindon
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Kerry Thomas outside the Farepak gates in 2006
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ali, swindon says...
7:11pm Tue 13 May 08