Empire Direct

The suppliers of Woolworth could not get trade insurance to deal with
them, so supplying them became risky.

I wonder if the same has happened to Empire Direct?

John

To be exact its credit insurance - insurance that covers payment of the
account until the account is cleared. With ED it was withdrawn in late
October so in smoe ways it's surprising that it has taken so long for
them to go under.

Many thanks for the correction! You are right, of course.

To return the compliment...

To be accurate, it is "it's credit insurance" or better still "it is
credit insurance", and not "its credit insurance".


It was also the cause that many of the other retail outlets and some
manufacturers have gone as well - and there's lots more to come yet.

I bet you are right!

John

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:
Its the old story. The banks refused to stump up the credit to buy
the xmas stock these shops wanted. Its what happened to Woolies as
well.

If they have to use credit from banks to buy stock it's no wonder
they've collapsed.

Many companies work with little operating money in the bank, so have
to rely upon credit from the bank and it isn't uncommon to find
companies
with very little stock, as in they only have sufficient to supply
customers and shops for a few days ahead.

If that's the case they must be paying *their* suppliers COD which means
they have a poor credit rating. And if banks decide to lend to those it's
no wonder we're in trouble.

--
*I'm really easy to get along with once people learn to worship me

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Perhaps you just dont understand how most companys run these days ..
You dont profit from stock until you sell it, so holding 170m£ in stock each
year means that someone has to put the cash up front.

As well as users defaulting on payments..

What I can't work out is why the goverrment thinks it a good idea to take on
poor lending risks that the banks won't touch.

The banks, alas, did take on very poor lending risks, by buying
financial instruments based on sub-prime borrowers in the US of A.
This is why we are in the mess that we are in!

John

"Michael Chare" wrote in message
...

I thought that the credit card companies paid several weeks late, so they
have an opportunity not to pay a disputed amount?


As well as users defaulting on payments..

What I can't work out is why the goverrment thinks it a good idea to take
on
poor lending risks that the banks won't touch.


--
Tony Sayer





--
Michael Chare


Actually, the gov buying bad debt directy (and letting the owners of the
debt continue to pay) is the best idea to "cure" this economic crisis.
If you apply it to the sub-prime area of the american market you can see how
it "could" work. The smart people will likely go ahead and take bankruptcy
as they will understand the long term implications of negative equity.
However, 1 bad loan in the USA (lets say £100k worth) translates into a
possible £1Mil that knocks-on in the system. Giving banks £700bn directly
would be on par to giving people £7bn! It doesnt work exactly like that,
but that is how much impications we have. The UK buying bad debt is going
to be for less than £10,000 people so it's not really going to do much other
than earn a few Brown-points.

"Jim Mason" wrote in message
t...
In article ,
says...
www.empiredirect.co.uk

They have been closed down.
They claimed to be cheaper than others but they were not for a while
now.
So a bit surprised but maybe they did not get the volume of sales.

I am particularly interested in this. I damaged my LCD screen last week
and
contacted my insurers (Legal & General) re repair/replacement. They
approved the claim and told me Empire Direct would be in touch very soon
to
arrange repair/replacement. Not surprisingly they didn't call. Having
heard
this news today I contacted L & G who inform me that they do not have
another approved company that can deal with my claim and that I would have
to arrange inspection from a suitable company and get an estimate for
repair/replacement in writing which I would need to pay for then claim
back
when the claim is settled.

Is this a normal process for a major insurer? Surely they must have
alternative repairers/suppliers?

Jim

Yea, Try them again.
Is this the Free cover that L&G give with some CreditCard/BankAccounts?

"Jim Mason" wrote in message
t...
In article ,
says...

"Jim Mason" wrote in message
t...
In article ,
says...
www.empiredirect.co.uk

They have been closed down.
They claimed to be cheaper than others but they were not for a while
now.
So a bit surprised but maybe they did not get the volume of sales.

I am particularly interested in this. I damaged my LCD screen last week
and
contacted my insurers (Legal & General) re repair/replacement. They
approved the claim and told me Empire Direct would be in touch very
soon
to
arrange repair/replacement. Not surprisingly they didn't call. Having
heard
this news today I contacted L & G who inform me that they do not have
another approved company that can deal with my claim and that I would
have
to arrange inspection from a suitable company and get an estimate for
repair/replacement in writing which I would need to pay for then claim
back
when the claim is settled.

Is this a normal process for a major insurer? Surely they must have
alternative repairers/suppliers?

Jim

Yea, Try them again.
Is this the Free cover that L&G give with some CreditCard/BankAccounts?

No it is a full blown home contents policy. I'll try speaking directly to
the claims handler to see what she says.

I would have thought that this is the normal procedure for a household
insurance claim.


--
Michael Chare

tony sayer wrote:

I've just had a letter from my credit card company saying that their
increasing their interest rates as they have to cover increasing credit
card losses..

I presume that a lot of goods get paid for by credit cards these days
and hence when someone goes tits up the credit card companies have to
swallow the losses ?.

As well as users defaulting on payments..

Funny - I've just received a letter from a High Street bank, recently
bailed out, yet again, by the Gorgon (with my money!)

As I haven't been using their credit card much recently, they've decided
to raise my credit limit by a substantial amount ....

Terry

In article ,
writes:
Response in-line...

www.empiredirect.co.uk
They have been closed down.

I was watching BBC News Channel when it came up as breaking news at
the bottom of the screen. I could not believe it!

Apparently they had to call in the administrators due to a lack of
stock.

On a nearby froup, it seems that part of their problem was a distinctly
sloppy approach to stock-control and inventory, leading to multiple
despatch of the same item to the same address. Outsourced delivery
people told recipients it was too much hassle to return to the depot...
--
SAm.

In article ,
" writes:
tony sayer wrote:

I've just had a letter from my credit card company saying that their
increasing their interest rates as they have to cover increasing credit
card losses..

I presume that a lot of goods get paid for by credit cards these days
and hence when someone goes tits up the credit card companies have to
swallow the losses ?.

As well as users defaulting on payments..

It is common advice given by many advisors on the TV and in financial
circles to use the credit card, as the purchase in many cases is insured.

If you pay the CC bill in full each month, the interest rate is irrelevant
and you still get the insurance. That is, until they trick you into a
late-payment fee by gradually dragging the due date for payment back through
the month...
--
SAm.

"mr deo" wrote in message
om...

Actually, the gov buying bad debt directy (and letting the owners of the
debt continue to pay) is the best idea to "cure" this economic crisis.
If you apply it to the sub-prime area of the american market you can see
how
it "could" work. The smart people will likely go ahead and take
bankruptcy
as they will understand the long term implications of negative equity.

Yes I agree, however the government now appear to be willing to guarantee
new loans in an attempt to keep the economy going.


--
Michael Chare