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Original poster

Park Christmas Savings Club - is it just a big rip-off?

107 replies

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 20/01/2024 14:35

Now that Christmas 2023 is over, there are loads of adverts on TV for Park, which supposedly helps you to save to pay for Christmas 2024.

However, their main advertised 'benefit' is that you save a certain amount each month and then get it back in time for Christmas in vouchers.

No mention of them paying any interest on the money you're lending them for up to 12 months; and they also obviously massively limit the buying ability of all the money you save - so not only can you not buy any goods that are only available from places that don't accept the vouchers, but you also can't shop around if 'non-voucher' places have the same goods but at cheaper prices. And are the vouchers widely accepted, or are they just for buying from their own catalogue?

What is the actual point in this company? I get that many people - especially those on low incomes - really appreciate the structured discipline and find the regular commitment to saving helpful, but why does it have to be returned in vouchers? Why not just a 'save money, get your money paid back into your bank account/withdraw it in cash in December' scheme - even if they didn't pay any interest in order to pay for/make a profit for running the scheme?

Am I missing something here? What is the benefit of this? And are there now protections in place so that poor folk can't lose all of their savings in another Farepak-type scandal? Why do people bother with this - and effectively reduce the spending power of their limited Christmas budgets even further?

OP posts:
Perhapsanorhertimewouldbebetter · 20/01/2024 14:48

Park (or similar) haven't ever appealed to me, however, they still exist so the concept must appeal to some folk.

TheLogicalSong · 20/01/2024 14:46

The benefit of it is the savings discipline, as you've mentioned, and the fact the money is unspendable until Christmas - people can't dip into it as they might a bank account. It comes as vouchers presumably because that contributes to the profits made by the company - they can get them more cheaply than giving cash - it's just part of their operating model.

After the Farepak scandal, legislation was brought in to ring fence this type of fund, so in theory it should be safe.

It's something of a Vimes Boots case in that poorer people end up paying more because they are struggling to start with. Of course it makes financial sense to use an interest-paying savings account for Christmas funds, but people living hand-to-mouth know that they might be tempted to dip into it for something else.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 20/01/2024 14:45

YANBU at all.

Needmorelego · 20/01/2024 14:45

I always thought by having the vouchers it meant people could have savings but without it being actual savings (that could maybe affect other financial issues such as benefits) and take away the temptation to spend the saved money on other things.

StopTheBusINeedAWeeWeeAWeeWeeBagOChips · 20/01/2024 14:42

I use Park. Have done for the last few years.

I get amazon vouchers, so it doesn't limit my spending at all.

I find it easier to save with them, simple as that really.

A percentage of what you save gets taken off next year as well, so you save a small amount too.

Ktime · 20/01/2024 14:39

YANBU, I’ve always thought it was a massive rip off and filed it under ‘things other people do’.

There must be a market for it as even supermarkets are at it. It just shows what an expense Christmas has become for many people.

Jovacknockowitch · 20/01/2024 14:39

YANBU - it's like the TV licence savings stamps (do they still exist) and other daft schemes - you'd be better saving in a Building Society.