‘Scammed’ caravan owners start fight for compensation

Some 1,200 caravan owners across the UK, many of whom say they feel “ripped off”, will take legal action against the holiday parks that sold them.

Members of the Holiday Park Action Group (HPAG) are seeking compensation for what they see as unfair increases in annual pitch rates and misleading claims about the value of static caravans at the time of purchase.

The judicial process continues a BBC investigation This revealed how people had lost their life savings, inheritances and pensions when the holiday homes they had bought lost value.

One of the parks involved said it provided “complete information” to all potential buyers, while another said its sales contracts were “clear and easy to understand.”

Joanne Horner-Bloomfield, 65, is one of those joining the legal action.

He said he “lost everything” after buying a static caravan at Watermill Leisure Park in Lincolnshire and now relies on food banks.

In the summer of 2022, he used £29,995 from the sale of his late mother’s house to buy the caravan, and spent a further £7,500 on a terrace and two storage sheds.

Mrs Horner-Bloomfield spent much of her time at the site, which she said was “a beautiful place”.

The annual fee for the pitch in 2022 was £2,795, but it rose to £3,041 in 2023. When he was told the 2024 fee would be £4,100, he realized he couldn’t afford to keep the caravan.

Horner-Bloomfield, who worked as a carer before her health forced her to stop and still does not receive a pension, asked to sell the caravan to the park owners in September 2023.

However, they told him that they no longer bought caravans made more than 10 years ago.

He said the park also told him his caravan would only sell for around £5,000 on the open market.

Mrs Horner-Bloomfield said: “I was stunned. I asked him why I was charged £29,995 a year ago for something that was only worth £5,000. And he said, ‘well, it’s a business, isn’t it?’ “I was furious.”

Watermill Leisure Park said its dealings with Ms Horner-Bloomfield were “fair and transparent” and provided buyers with a “clear and easily understandable contract of sale”.

He said he was “under no obligation to buy back a holiday caravan” but that any offer he makes is “a fair reflection of the value to the park of that holiday home at that particular time”, depending on factors such as the time of the holiday. anus. and level of demand.

A spokesperson said sales staff also advise that holiday caravans are intended for long-term purchase.

Mrs Horner-Bloomfield said she felt “betrayed and disappointed” because she had not been informed of the low resale value of her caravan when she bought it.

He eventually sold his caravan for £5,500, of which £500 was paid to Watermill as a disconnection fee.

She added: “It just broke my heart. I’m devastated that at 65 I’m forced to use a food bank.

“The money I was hoping to get would have made my life a lot easier.”

Ms Horner-Bloomfield said she hoped the legal action would help her.

“It would be nice if we won and could get some of our money back, but the most important thing would be to make a law to stop these unscrupulous site owners from taking everyone’s savings.”

HPAG, which organized the class action, claims that most of the caravans were sold in the parks at a “significantly high price”, leading to “substantial losses” if buyers decided to sell them later.

HPAG has 70,000 members in a Facebook group where caravan owners air their complaints.

Carole Keeble, the group’s founder, said existing regulations do not protect consumers from “unfair trade practices” on an “industrial scale.”

He hoped the group’s legal action would put an end to such practices and called on the government to address “significant issues across the sector”.

The High Court will rule on a small number of identified test cases. Hugh Preston KC, a lawyer for the group, hopes this will pave the way for the rest of the plaintiffs to get compensation as well. It represents about 1,200 people.

The first claim will ask the High Court to declare whether the annual pitch rate increases written into the contract between park owners and caravan buyers are fair and enforceable and, if not, whether buyers are entitled to a refund.

The second lawsuit will ask a judge to decide whether holiday parks selling the caravans should be expected to explain to buyers, before purchase, that the caravans lose substantial value if they are resold after a few years and, if Yes, if they can be compensated for it. the lost value.

Preston KC told the BBC: “It is essentially an unregulated sector, there are no legal regulations telling parks what to do or how to behave… and there are a wide range of issues that consumers feel they are simply not getting a fair value.” “

A spokesperson for the Department of Business and Trade said it was “aware of the difficulties some holiday home owners have experienced” and was committed to protecting consumers from “dishonest practices”.

They added that the government had plans to introduce tough financial penalties for violations of consumer law.

Some of those who joined the legal action shared their stories with the BBC as part of our investigation in October.

They include James and Emma Richardson, from Cleethorpes, who lost more than £50,000 in two years of owning a caravan at Tattershall Lakes Country Park in Lincolnshire. Richardson hopes the case can “put an end” to the “disgusting practices” of some holiday parks.

Sally Nicholls, from Sheffield, used his entire pension fund and borrowed money to buy a £69,000 caravan in the same park. He only managed to get £15,000 for it when he sold it three years later. She says trying to change the law was “more important” to her than getting compensation.

Away Resorts, which manages Tattershall Lakes Country Park, said in October it was providing all potential buyers with “full information, including detailed terms and conditions” to ensure they were aware of the potential risks of owning a caravan.

He said he had no further response to add regarding the initiation of legal action.

Industry representatives, the British House and Holiday Parks Association, said it was inappropriate to comment.

The National Caravan Council said it was aware of the legal action but would not comment further.