Widow ‘loses £70,000 in 7 weeks’ of owning a Haven caravan after circumstances force her to sell
Presthaven Sands Holiday Park
In November 2024, Janet Purdy, a 61 year old school secretary from Middleton in Manchester, was looking for a way to retire and invest an inheritance from the passing of her husband.
At this point Janet was in a new relationship. She and her boyfriend visited Presthaven Sands holiday park to enquire about the practicalities of buying a lodge to rent out to provide an income. A sales agent called Callum eagerly approached them.
“We had never looked at lodges before this day,” explains Janet, “so we welcomed Callum’s help.
“He showed us three lodges. We didn’t like the first location. The second one Callum told us a famous a footballer had stayed in recently but he (Callum) had forgotten the key, so we skipped to the third.
“It was a beautiful lodge. Callum told us it had one previous owner who never stayed in it because he moved to Singapore. Everything looked brand new with the labels still on. He said this lodge was £165,000 but if we bought it today he could let us have it for £140,000. It seemed a very good deal.
“He also claimed that another couple were very interested to buy it. When I think back now, it would not really make sense for him to drop £25,000 from the price when two couples were interested, but that never occurred to us at the time.
Pressure
“Callum said it was the only lodge of its kind on the park and we’d be able to rent it out for £2000 a week. He said he would be our contact on site and he’d supply, free of charge, activity and entertainment vouchers to people that rented our lodge. He said we could use this as an incentive for people to book with us.
“I felt pressured to make a decision there and then because of the other couple Calum said was interested and the lower price he offered. He started to prepare the paperwork.
“He did say that Haven could rent it out for us but the park would take 15 weeks a year which were all the school holidays. He said we wouldn’t make any money that way. He said not to worry, we’d have no problem renting it out ourselves. It was crystal clear between us that the only reason we were buying this caravan was to provide an income from renting it out. Callum said he would find us a private cleaner and he would take care of everything. He would be our contact on site if our guests had any problems.
“Callum presented the purchase as a solid financial investment. It was only him that we dealt with and nobody else was present.“
Money back assurance
“It was a £5000 deposit upon payment of which I received the paperwork. He said it wasn’t necessary to read through the paperwork and he would point out what was important. I signed, committing to a further cash payment of £45,000 plus a smaller one of £1935 for ground rent. I was very nervous because this was all the remaining money that my husband had left me when he passed away.”
“Next came the finance paperwork for the remaining £90,000 The finance company was Santander which I already bank with so I felt a bit better. Callum assured me that I would soon make back all the money that I was investing. He made everything seem really easy.
“He never pointed out anything about fee increases or cooling off periods. Having not read the documents I had no idea about my right to cancel.
“We left Presthaven after about two hours, feeling very good about everything.
Resale disaster
“In early January my boyfriend and I ended our relationship. This scuppered my plan of renting out the lodge for an income. I still work and my boyfriend was retired, so he was going to be the one finding customers and managing the rentals. Without him, I would not have time to run the lodge as a business.
“I phoned Haven immediately to let them know what had happened. I told Callum that I needed to sell the lodge. I was hoping that they would sell it for me as they allegedly had done for the previous owner, but all Callum offered was the contact details of Leisure Estate Agents (LEA) and told me to sell it through them.
“Haven staff stopped answering emails and wanted nothing to do with me after I asked them to buy back the caravan, so I went ahead and contacted the estate agent.
“LEA told me that the maximum price they could sell my caravan for would be £120,000. They also told me something that Callum had failed to make clear, although it was hidden away in the small print: I have to pay Haven 10% plus VAT of the resale price on a private sale. EG if I do sell the caravan for £120,000, I have to pay Haven £14,400.
“Assuming it even sells for £120,000 that will leave me with £105,600 out of the £175,000 I am paying out for this caravan (including the interest on the loan).” *Editor’s note – At the time of writing this article, several months’ later, Janet has still had no offers for her lodge. She still has the outstanding, related outgoings.
“I have owned the caravan for seven weeks. I have only been inside it twice. I will have lost almost £70,000 in seven weeks. And that’s if the price doesn’t drop further. I have not had a single enquiry at the current asking price.
“I am paying off £1500 a month on a loan, from my monthly take home pay of £1200. I am burning through what little savings I have left just to survive.
“I feel I have been treated abysmally by Haven and the information given to me was dishonest, either directly or by omission.
“Buying a Haven holiday lodge was the worst financial decision I have ever made.”
Expert comment
“Janet’s case shares common markers with thousands of our other holiday park customers,” confirms Greg Wilson, CEO of European Consumer Claims (ECC) the consumer giant leading the growing national movement to seek justice for people mistreated by holiday parks.
“Our clients report being given either incorrect or insufficient information about the deal they are entering into with the park. Information left out often seems to be about the often drastic depreciation in value of the unit regardless of how little time elapses between the initial purchase and resale.”
“Other details not made clear, or avoided altogether, can be the fact that a park needs to be paid commision on any subsequent sale,” continues Wilson. “The ground rent can increase dramatically, and any maintenance or improvements have to be done through expensive, park-approved contractors.
“Electricity and gas generally have to be paid for through the park, with a hefty commission added.
“There are many ways in which we feel holiday parks display a predatory attitude towards their customers and with the significant amounts of money involved the consequences can be disastrous for the buyer.
“Fortunately there is applicable consumer law which can enable affected people to claim financial compensation. Anyone who feels that they have been the subject of unfair treatment by a holiday park should get in touch with experts to assess their position.”
