BBC
Joanne Horner-Bloomfield says she’s ‘devastated’ to have to rely on food banks after losing so much money on her caravan
Around 1,200 caravan owners across the UK, many of whom say they feel “ripped off”, will take legal action against the holiday parks which sold them.
Members of the Holiday Park Action Group (HPAG) are seeking compensation for what they say are unfair increases in annual pitch fees and misleading claims about the value of static caravans at the time of purchase.
The legal proceedings follow a BBC investigation which revealed how people lost their savings, inheritance and pensions when the holiday homes they bought lost value.
One of the affected parks said it gave “full information” to all potential buyers, while another said its sales contracts were “clear and easy to understand”.
Joanne Horner-Bloomfield, 65, is among those joining the lawsuit.
She said she “lost everything” after buying a static caravan at Watermill Leisure Park in Lincolnshire and was now reliant on food banks.
In the summer of 2022, she used £29,995 from the sale of her late mother’s house to buy the caravan, spending a further £7,500 on a patio and two storage sheds.
Ms Horner-Bloomfield spent much of her time at the site, which she said was “a beautiful place”.
The annual pitch fee in 2022 was £2,795, but increased to £3,041 in 2023. When she was told the 2024 fee would be £4,100, she realized she couldn’t not afford to keep the caravan.
Ms Horner-Bloomfield, who worked as a carer before health problems forced her to stop and does not yet receive a pension, has applied to sell the caravan back to the park’s owners in September 2023.
However, he was told they were no longer buying caravans made over a decade ago.
She said the park also told her her caravan would only fetch around £5,000 on the open market.
Ms Horner-Bloomfield said: “I was stunned. I asked why did you charge me £29,995 a year ago for something that was only worth £5,000? I was furious.”
Watermill Leisure Park said its dealings with Ms Horner-Bloomfield were “fair and transparent” and that it provided buyers with a “clear and easy to understand sales contract”.
She said she was “under no obligation to repurchase a holiday caravan” but any offers she made were “a fair reflection of the value to the park of this holiday home at this particular time” , based on factors such as time of year. and the level of demand.
A spokesperson said sales staff also advise that holiday caravans are designed as a long-term purchase.
Joanne Horner-Bloomfield says she was told her caravan in Watermill lost £25,000 in just over a year
Ms Horner-Bloomfield said she felt “betrayed and disappointed” because she was not informed of the low resale value of her caravan when she purchased it.
She eventually sold her caravan for £5,500, of which £500 was paid to Watermill as a disconnection fee.
She added: “It broke my heart. I’m devastated to have to resort to a food bank at 65.
“The money I was hoping to walk away with would have made my life so much easier.”
Ms Horner-Bloomfield said she hoped the legal action would help.
“It would be nice if we won and could get some of our money back, but the most important thing would be to pass a law to stop these unscrupulous site owners from taking people’s savings.”
“Disgusting practices”
HPAG, which organized the class action, claims most caravans were being sold by the parks at a “significantly marked-up price”, leading to “substantial losses” if buyers then decided to sell.
HPAG has 70,000 members in a Facebook group where caravan owners voice their complaints.
Carole Keeble, the group’s founder, said existing regulations were failing to protect consumers from “unfair trading practices” on an “industrial scale”.
She hopes the group’s legal action will put an end to such practices and called on the government to tackle “significant issues across the sector”.
The High Court will make a decision based on a small number of identified test cases. Hugh Preston KC, the group’s lawyer, hopes this will pave the way for other claimants to also obtain compensation. It represents around 1,200 people.
James Richardson and his wife, Emma, said they found themselves “losing money” after buying a holiday home.
The first application will ask the High Court to rule on whether the annual pitch fee increases written into the contract between the park owners and caravan buyers are fair and enforceable – and if not, whether the buyers are entitled to a refund.
The second application will ask the 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 just a few years – and if so, whether they can be compensated. the lost value.
Mr Preston KC told the BBC: “It is essentially an unregulated sector, there are no statutory regulations that tell parks what to do or how to behave… and there are a wide range of problems for which consumers feel they are not getting fair value. “
A Department of Trade and Business spokesperson said it was “aware of the difficulties faced by some holiday home owners” and was committed to protecting consumers from “malicious practices”.
They added that the government planned to introduce heavy financial penalties for consumer law violations.
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 owning a caravan at Tattershall Lakes Country Park in Lincolnshire. Mr Richardson hopes this case can “put an end” to the “disgusting practices” of some holiday parks.
Sally Nicholls, from Sheffield, used her entire pension and borrowed money to buy a £69,000 caravan in the same park. She only managed to get £15,000 for it when she sold it three years later. She said trying to change the law was “more important” to her than getting compensation.
Outside the stations
Tattershall Lakes Country Park is managed by Away Resorts Holidays.
Sally Nicholls says she hopes legal action will push the industry to change
Away Resorts, which manages Tattershall Lakes Country Park, said in October it had provided all potential buyers with “full information, including detailed terms and conditions” to ensure they were aware of the potential risks of ownership. of a caravan.
She said she had no further response to add regarding the launch of the legal action.
Industry representatives the British Holiday and Home Park Association said it was not appropriate to comment.
The National Caravan Council said it was aware of the legal action but would not comment further.
