Thousands of families facing a bleak Christmas following the collapse of hamper savings firm Farepak may receive some cheer following a meeting between consumer minister Ian McCartney and retailers.
The British Retail Consortium accepted in principle proposals for a goodwill gesture towards Farepak customers who have lost out.
Swindon-based Farepak ran a savings scheme in which an estimated 150,000 customers have put money aside for vouchers and Christmas hampers. But administrators have said that no orders will be fulfilled after the company went into administration on October 13.
Some of those affected are understood to have saved four-figure sums to ensure themselves a merry Christmas, but are now facing a holiday season without presents or turkey.
No details were immediately available of the goodwill scheme, which is backed by many large stores, but Mr McCartney said it must be "simple, not derisory, fraud free, easy to administer at store level and have as much choice as possible".
BRC spokesman Richard Dodd said: "This is purely a goodwill gesture. The fact that Farepak has gone bust is nothing to do with other retailers, so they are not under any obligation to step in."
Any scheme would have to be organised swiftly, with Christmas just two months away.
"It is potentially quite a substantial undertaking, given the numbers of people involved, but retailers have overwhelmingly expressed a willingness to help," said Mr Dodd.
Mr McCartney said: "It was a productive meeting and the BRC accepted in principle the idea of a goodwill gesture, given the exceptional circumstances surrounding Christmas.
"The BRC will now be contacting their members so that retailers can decide what they might be able to provide and to consider further the practical steps required to take this matter further."
