'Investing in caravan in Lancashire left massive hole in finances'
A couple who bought a caravan under the belief it was a safe investment said they had been left with a "massive hole in their finances" after selling it on for much less money.Jack and Lindsey Kitching purchased the caravan at Ribble Valley Country and Leisure Park in Lancashire for £38,000 in 2021.But they said they had no choice but to sell their holiday home three years later at a loss of £28,000 due to various factors including rising site fees.The site owners, Park Holidays UK, said they remained proud of the park's "reputation for creating high-quality and friendly environments for people to spend their leisure time" and the homes were "intended as long-term purchases".
The couple shared their story following a BBC investigation that revealed how people had lost their life savings, inheritance and pensions when the holiday homes they had bought lost value.Mr and Mrs Kitching, who have two children and live in Warrington, Cheshire, said they had spent years saving their money to buy the caravan. "I had an illness, so it stopped me travelling abroad so much so we thought 'we'll invest in a bit of a holiday home'," said Mrs Kitching."It was very easy [to buy it]. They were talking like it was an investment. "You weren't spending your money, you were investing it."
But after a few years, partly due to rising site fees, the family decided to sell the caravan.The couple said the annual site fee was £4,800 when they bought the caravan, and it had raised to £5,600 by the time they sold it."Prices were rising, but things were getting taken away from the park like the children's indoor play area" said Mrs Kitching. "We thought this isn't for us any more. We're not getting the use of the caravan, we can't rent it out."Privately renting out the caravan to other holidaymakers was disallowed, as stated in the contract when they bought it. Mr Kitching said there were only two options left."[The park] bought it off us, which they weren't willing to do."A second option was for us to sell it privately ourselves, which [the park] still got 15 per cent of the sale."The couple said they could only sell the caravan for £10,000 - a loss of £28,000 plus the 15% commission.
"It's left a massive hole in our finances," said Mrs Kitching. "That was all we had, we'd saved up everything."I would say it was one of the most stressful things that we've ever had to endure."A spokesperson for Park Holidays UK said a 15 per cent commission on sales was standard across the industry and the homes were "intended as long-term purchases".It comes as members of the Holiday Park Action Group (HPAG) are seeking compensation for what they say were unfair increases in annual pitch fees and misleading claims about the value of static caravans at the time of purchase.
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On the eve of the Government's difficult Spending Review, Angela Rayner was in surprisingly high spirits. Drinks were flowing as the Deputy Prime Minister held court, acting as the DJ playing loud 'house music' while her guests danced the night away. Rayner's office has refused to confirm whether a party took place in her resplendent grace-and-favour apartment in Admiralty House, once the home of Sir Winston Churchill, the night before the Housing Secretary received one of the biggest financial packages of the Spending Review. Rayner had to battle to the bitter end against Chancellor Rachel Reeves, but the outcome fell in her favour and is a sign of her growing influence. In recent weeks, there have been reports of Rayner limbering up to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader, and she has solid backing from members of the soft-Left, as well as the unions. Her victory in the Reeves negotiations is a clear sign that Downing Street is trying to keep her on side. Little wonder, then, that she indulged in raucous celebrations hours before the Chancellor addressed the Commons, reviving memories of when she was photographed belting out songs behind the DJ's desk in an Ibiza nightclub last summer. When Rayner, 45, took her place on the benches for the Spending Review, many thought she looked somewhat jaded. The same was said of Blackpool South MP Chris Webb, who was at the party and is one of her closest friends. A source told me: 'They were celebrating the fact that Ange had won her deal on the Spending Review. She is feeling on top of the world. The settlement showed that Ange is a serious player. Tarry, 42, has never got over being sacked as a shadow minister in July 2022 for giving a TV interview while on a picket line during a rail strike 'It may look insensitive but it was a private party for a small group of friends and supporters. These party guests will run an Angela Rayner leadership campaign if and when the time comes.' 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Later that year, he was deselected as the MP for Ilford South. Tarry, who was part of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership team, blames his downfall on Starmer's all-powerful chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who wants to purge the party of Left-wingers. Revenge is a dish best served cold, they say, and Tarry is pushing for Rayner to be the first elected woman leader of the Labour Party. In the run-up to the election, Rayner ruled out a tilt at the top job because she knew Labour was destined to win big and assumed that Starmer would be a fixture in No 10 for years. Since he became PM, however, support for Labour has collapsed faster than that of any newly elected governing party in the past 40 years. Starmer's personal rating is a woeful minus 46 per cent. And Rayner is popular where it counts – with party members. 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He was instrumental in ensuring no independent Muslim candidate stood against her in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency in Greater Manchester, which she won with a 6,700 majority over Reform. To the surprise of many, Khan – who was elevated to the Lords by Starmer in 2020 – became Rayner's deputy minister in the housing department. 'Khan was repaid with a ministerial job and he is now repaying her in turn by working discreetly on her behalf,' says a supporter. 'He will be a hugely important link to the Muslim vote which Labour is losing under Starmer.' All of which helps explains why Rayner has come round to the idea that, if Starmer goes, she should run. It explains, too, last month's leak of a memo from Rayner to the Chancellor outlining her alternative money-raising measures, arguing for higher taxes on wealthier people and cutting benefits for migrants. 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