The glories of capitalism. From today’s Observer…

MPs have slated Farepak administrator BDO Stoy Hayward for setting up an expensive premium-rate telephone information line for victims of the collapsed Christmas savings company.

BDO Stoy Hayward will itself receive a portion of the money earned from the 0870 telephone line, which charges 8p per minute during peak hours, 5p per minute in the evening, and 3p per minute at weekends.The accountancy firm says this is intended to cover the costs of handling compensation claims from up to 150,000 Farepak savers, and strongly denies it is profiting at the victims’ expense.

But the cost of calls threatens to pile unexpected financial hardship on Farepak savers from low-income backgrounds. Only last week BDO Stoy Hayward warned Farepak customers they could expect a maximum refund of 4p for every pound they had invested…