Crown Currency Exchange goes into administration

A question about : Crown Currency Exchange goes into administration

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

Over 13,000 overseas cash traders and holidaymakers have been left fearing for their money after a major currency firm went into administration today ...

Read the full story:
Fears over missing cash as Crown Currency Exchange goes into administration



This thread is to discuss the news story, given the information we now have from the administrators. There is a separate thread on Crown that started last week.

Just an update

Based on suggestions in the thread below we are in the process of hastily looking at hiring an insolvency practioner to write a report and investigate the legal routes available for people to get their money back - based on what's been said in the various threads - more info later

Plus we are setting up a specific CCE board if people think that would be helpful

Best answers:

• 'bout time you posted something...
• Will you MSE, be spear heading a campaign to regulate such firms in a proper manner leading to compensation for its customers ?
  I understand CCE were registered with the FSA - not authorised - and so the FSA do not .
  However, if they were exceeding the finanical limits - ar not the FSA responsible for not regualting correctly , and liable ??
• should FSA do not want to know.
• Firstly I am sure you will get people upset with MSE for recommending them, so I would like to give my support to you as I really don't see what you could have done differently.
  Secondly, companies need to ring fence the customer's money. If necessary on a voluntary basis to begin with. If any do this already then please can you mark these ones in the tool results so people can make an informed choice.
• I'd have thought it was in the industry itselves interest to sort something out. My opinion is that this could wipe out a number of similar companies as the risk of losing lots of money with no recourse for the sake of saving a few ЈЈЈ's is not one most sane people will now take.
  Can you also explain what use "registration with FSA" is if it doesn't actually protect anything, seems pointless at worst or just down right misleading?
• I am absolutely gutted! I ordered Ј1000 in dollars 12 days ago after using moneysavingexpert advice! Don't know where I'll get the money for my holiday to America in 3 weeks! Obviously I don't blame this website as we all knew the risks with currency exchange companies but all the same I'm still devastated!
• Never again will I use any of the advice on this site!!! I am getting married this coming weekend and have lost Ј500, thank goodness it wasn't any more!!!!!
  I got stung when the Icelandic Banks were in trouble and have been taken for a mug again!!
  This is an absolute disgrace that there is no protection!!! Correct me if I'm wrong but were there any warnings given on this site that this was the case!!!
  I Don't think so!!!!
  PS! I'm not blaming the site, all I'm saying is I will not be using it, I know it was my own fault and that's that!!!
  The directors of such companies need to be prosecuted as I'm pretty sure the have known for quite some time that this was on the cards!!!
  Sorry for the rant but I'm VERY Angry!!!!
• Signing off now. Hi folks I have been trying to monitor this thread to respond. Im signing off now - as need to do other work. Either me or one of the team will come back on tomorrow.
  Please feed us any other info that may be useful to others too.
  Martin
• I feel very sorry for people who may have lost large sums of money
  Unfortunately (or fortunately) we live in a country where many businesses are very lightly regulated and when money disappears whether through bad luck, poor judgement or fraud there will be no follow through by the authorities
  If there is tighter regulation then the cost of the transactions will rise and probably for all providers. Probably to the point where the cheapest providers will be a similar cost to the Post Office now
  And there are other areas where there are potential problems - like prepaid Mastercards for example
  Unfortunately there is a good reason why these low cost providers are low cost - and it's because there's a bigger risk
  But - to be blunt - I have to say that it isn't fair for the general public to have contribute to losses made by people who want a few pounds off a holiday or want to avoid using the big banks for transferring large quantities of cash overseas
• Evening
  I have just had the hard job of telling my mum that she has lost Ј1000. She placed an order with crown currency for delievery in Nov 10. This was in USD for the spending money for a holiday of a life time in Florida, with my Husband, My Duaghter 3.5 years old, My dad and myself. Now she is not abel to go. She does not have any more money to use as savings. Not only do they stand to lose a Ј1000 but also half of the holiday money as well. This is probably all in all Ј3000. That is a lot for my mum and dad.
  To make matters worse, My mum has sent an e-mail to the address on this website and crown currency website and it keeps bouncing back. How the hell is she supposed to claim what is hers, if she is not able to contact anyone? I am raging.
  How the bloody hell do companies get away with this. I work as an Accountant and I know for a fact that Crown would have known for months that it was in trouble. Instead they keep taking people's hard earned money.
  I am sickend at this. I am prepared to fight tooth and nail to make sure that my parents get what rightfully belongs to them.
  Olisheep
• this is the worst kind of competition to win....but I'm moving to America with my wife and in several lumps we were waiting for over Ј30k of our life savings...we had used Crown before enough to feel confident to move to bigger chunks and given the 5% better rates it made sense.....my wife and I have spent the day completely numb.......lets all keep our fingers crossed. Please do contact or post the address of any groups that are forming....I plan to be reading MSE on the hour every hour.....hope others are ok out there.
  by the way - the large amounts we orderered were directly triggered by emails about 'cancelled contracts' which had improved rates to the regular site - we would love to know Martin or any financial/criminal lawyer if you're reading this later, do we have recourse as the inferrence was that this was money they possessed that had been cancelled by others......
  thanks for reading
• If you read my post as it was written I quite clearly said that I did not blame this site, I AM the one that made the decisions and I have to stick by them!
  Buyer Beware
  I wish I had read this article though, written almost a month ago:- https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/...on-is-good.jsp