'Most Icesave savers paid back'
Updated on 22 December 2008
The majority of savers with failed Icelandic internet bank Icesave have been paid back in time for Christmas.
According to the UK's depositor protection scheme, more than 200,000 savers lost money through the collapse of Icesave, which was part of Icelandic bank Landsbanki, in October.
But the UK Government stepped in to pledge that the group's 214,713 savers would get their money back and told those affected to apply for compensation.
More than 199,000 have now had their savings returned through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Charlie Allen, 24, from Brixton, south London, had invested around £2,000 of savings in Icesave to fund a trip to South America. When he heard about the bank's collapse he said he felt "powerless".
But he successfully claimed through the FSCS and as soon as the money was back in his hands, he booked flights to leave the capital in February.
He said: "It all turned out OK in the end - I got it all back. Initially I could not be 100 per cent sure whether the UK Government was going to guarantee it. In all fairness, they came out pretty quickly and confirmed that they were going to guarantee it, which was reassuring.
"But still, until that money is actually in your account you cannot be sure. It's quite a relief now."
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