By taking deposits Farepak was effectively operating as a bank and I think it should therefore have been regulated as one. If this had happened, it would of course have then fallen under the remit of the deposit guarantee scheme and its customers would have got back 100% of their deposits (since less than £2,000). However, the more likely result would have been that it wouldn't have been able to operate in the regulatory environment and its customers would have had to find other ways to save.