6 months static caravn hell

Wildflowermeadow

Hello ,
This is my first time on the Forum and  a long post, please bear with me. Writing from a place or feeling emotionally and financially coshed...

Last July I bought a static caravan from a park in South West Scotland. I was sharing a house at the time and was looking for my own space to spend peaceful and   precious time with my beloved dog,  after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. It was a very upsetting and stressful time. 

 I bought the caravan for £11,500 and also paid £2,000 in fees. This was a huge amount of money to find in a very short space of time. I borrowed money from friends who supported me in my venture. In September my dog  suddenly passed and then in November I went to Manchester to take care of a very close friend who underwent life saving heart surgery.  I returned back in December and received correspondence form the caravan park that fees for the year would be required to be paid by the 31st January. I had not been told what the fees would be for 2025 at the time of purchase and  the sales person told me "I could pay no problem by direct debit every month." This turned out to be a very different story as the only option was to apply to a credit agency with interest, and or pay the £4000 in full by the end of Jan. Neither option was available to me so I decided I needed to leave. I wrote my letter of notice to leave and didn't receive any written acknowledgement. I then received  a cold call two days later from someone at the Park who told me that my "...caravan was very hard to value as I don't even know where it s and the caravan park is not interested in buying it, so your only option is for us to sell it at trade for £2500 and you need to pay £1500 for the van to be moved off site.." 

This would have left me with £1000.

I felt devastated and shocked to hear this and my head was reeling at the loss. I still owe over £5,000 for the caravan. I wrote asking for the contents of the call to be put into writing and had no reply. I then went through my contract and found a person named to deal with complaints. I emailed and got a reply approx 10 days later and this contained a new offer of the Park to buy the caravan from me at £2000 along with the incorrect information that I owed them money for an unpaid bill. . I replied requesting negotiation with what I thought was a fair and ethical framing, that if one removed one thousand pounds for every month I had owned the caravan , this would still leave £4,500.The Park refused this and would only offer £2000. I felt completely dead locked into accepting this offer. 

Yesterday I cleared out my personal belongings and   returned the keys and today I received the final offer of approx £1500  after they took almost a quarter for electric and gas costs for a van that has been empty with a contractual obligation to leave the boiler on over winter . 

I feel devastated, helpless, angry , violated and deeply shocked that this could happen. It has even been helpful to write all this down as it has helped create a little bit of distance from it and bring clarity and coherency.

When people get scammed there is a clear way forward for redress and an acknowledgment of the wrong. In this situation there seems to be nowhere to go for redress and there is almost a whispered response of "Thats what these companies are like..."  A whiff of victim blaming. I feel completely humiliated and victimised and still have £5000 to pay. 

I do not know where to turn to get an understanding of how this has happened. I emailed Consumer Rights and couldnt get a repsonse at the time of putting my notice toi leave in. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Have you got legal cover on your home insurance?  If so, give them a call to see what they advise.   I'm sorry to say that having read your account, it looks as if it's all done and dusted, and that you reluctantly agreed to the sum of £2000.  They should provide evidence of meter readings to justify the £500 deduction for energy.  Was it £500 (which sounds like a suspiciously round number) or have you rounded it?  It's plausible that several months of energy use and standing charges will be several hundred pounds.

I'm not sure what action can be taken after the event.  See what your insurer says.  Some local solicitor firms offer a short, free consultation so you might look into that to see what they think.

Wildflowermeadow

many Thanks. I already contacted a solicitor and it was getting to be expensive, and they could only offer a letter which the company would not respond to. I asled for a breakdown of gas and electric and yes I rounded up, It was for three motnhs .

Wildflowermeadow

I do have insurance for my staric caravan, I could see if there is any help there ? 

Aylesbury_Duck

Wildflowermeadow said:

many Thanks. I already contacted a solicitor and it was getting to be expensive, and they could only offer a letter which the company would not respond to. I asled for a breakdown of gas and electric and yes I rounded up, It was for three motnhs .

Wildflowermeadow said:

I do have insurance for my staric caravan, I could see if there is any help there ? 

Given that the best a solicitor could do is what sounds like a see-what-happens letter, I suspect you're out of options.  As you say, this is how some of these park operators run their business.  They stay the right side of the law, even if their way of doing business is exploitative.  I don't see that they've done anything to breach any consumer rights.  Valuations of static homes are notoriously subjective and if your contract prevents you selling it on the open market, you're at the mercy of what the operator says they can command for it as a price.

Wildflowermeadow

I appreciate your reply. 

Alderbank

I see that you are consistent in referring to your purchase as a static caravan, but can you confirm that it was described in official documents as a static caravan and not as a mobile home, a park home or a lodge? I ask because owners of the latter three enjoy significant legal rights concerning site fees and particularly about buying and selling which are not enjoyed by static caravan owners.

Also, did you buy for residential use and year round occupation or as a holiday home with your permanent residence somewhere else?

FlorayG

It's sad to read this but I personally know of people caught out this way. The caravan is worth what someone will pay for it - if you were unable to find a private buyer they have you caught. Very sorry feel bad for you 

Wildflowermeadow

Thankyou, this helps me to read your kindness.

Wildflowermeadow

Here is a link to a BBC article that may be helpful to provide more context of how people get caught. 
..https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c623m14dzpvo

Hermann

As you seem to be already aware there are many others who have had a similar experience, you are not alone and are a victim of questionable tactics by the site owners rather than having made reckless decisions.

You will not need to look far to find people who have lost far greater sums of money and also found themselves without a home when they thought they would have a home. I hope you can find a way to manage the debt you do have as a result of this situation.

It depends on how your contract describes the caravan as to what rights you have, if it can be described as a 'Park Home' then read through the following to have an overview of your rights..... https://www.gov.uk/park-mobile-homes

There are a few online discussion groups with owners discussing the same issues & a few Facebook groups too.

Here is a previous MSE thread with similar concerns.... https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5836227/static-caravan-ownership

Sadly at the end of the day for many it does end up the site are implementing the contract you agreed to. A question of whether the contract is a fair one or whether you were properly informed of the contract often arises but rarely seems to offer any solution.

You have my sympathies for having to go through this.