Couple's £36k caravan dream turns into nightmare as they're 'unable to sell'
A furious couple have slammed a holiday park firm after claiming that they're "stuck living in a pitch that continues to flood" after purchasing a caravan for £36,600.
Alicia Mearns, 41, and partner John Hayden, 48, say they have been told their caravan at Park Lane Holiday Homes in Meols, Wirral is "basically not worth anything" due to a kitchen John installed, and they are now unable to sell it, reports the ECHO.
But the firm hit back, insisting they 'refute' the couple's claims and say they've had no communication about selling up.
A spokesperson said: "The couple have not engaged in any communications with the company regarding selling the caravan."
Alicia and John were hoping to buy a property in Spain, but instead opted for a base close to their places of work. Alicia, who owns Allure beauty salon in Birkenhead and John, who runs building business J&J Joinery, decided holiday parks seemed to be the best option for a second home.
In early 2023, the pair met a salesman regarding a site at at the park, they had a budget of £25,000. However, they claim they were told there was only one caravan available near their price range at £36,600.
The pair claim they felt pressured as they were told someone else was interested in buying it, and would need to commit right away with a £500 deposit.
Alicia said: "We felt rushed. But the caravan seemed to be what we wanted, so we took the plunge."
John added: "The rest of the money we had to pull together from bank loans and part-exchanging our 2013 touring caravan, pending the sale of our former property."
Alicia said: "We were not given a contract. Not then and not later. All we ever received was a piece of paper in the office to confirm the sale."
The pair paid £4,600 in site feed upront. They also said a further £300 was charged a few weeks later. Alicia said they spend most of the year on the site, but revealed problems arose on October 20, 2023, when floods occurred.
She said: "Whenever there are heavy rains, our pitch floods, which is often, due to the British weather.
"The water depth can be such that we find it extremely difficult to get in and out of the caravan. I am a mum with two kids and the youngest is seven."
John added: "They told us a new water pump was installed to keep water levels down in future. But the flooding is actually worse now. It has flooded badly - a total of seven times since we moved in."
The couple say they asked to move their caravan to a higher pitch but were told it would cost £1,400. They said they arranged for it to be done while they were in Spain trying to facilitate a move abroad.
Alicia said: "(The owner) told us outright that they would not be moving our caravan. He told us that the only way to move to a more flood-proof location was to upgrade to one in a more preferable location."
They were dealt another blow when they say a manager told them the van was now 'basically worthless' due to the £10,000 kitchen John had installed.
Alicia said: "Apparently this had devalued the caravan" and "plus the fact it was 20 years old (we had no idea about its age until this point) rendered it worthless."
She continued: "We are probably biased, but we feel that the caravan looks objectively better after John's lovingly installed kitchen replacement."
John added that they were told the cheapest upgrade would be around £75,000 - which is more than they were willing to pay. The pair then said they attempted to sell the caravan privately.
However, a spokesperson from Park Lane Holiday Homes said: "The couple have not engaged in any communications with the company regarding selling the caravan and therefore their comments are wholly refuted."
In response, Alicia claims she spoke to a manager about wanting to sell the caravan. She said: "Two friends expressed an interest in buying our caravan. He (the salesperson) told us that 'because of the caravan's age', the park would have to put the ground rent up from £4,600 to £10,500 for the new owners. Understandably our friends did not want to go through with the purchase after learning this."
Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.
You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.
All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!
If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
The couple claim they looked at the possibility of moving the caravan to a different site, but said that because of its age no other site would allow this.
Alicia said: "This information is something they absolutely should have disclosed to us before we paid out £36,600. We never would have paid so much money for a caravan if we had known the limitations caused by its age. Not telling us this was a serious failure on their part in our opinion.
"We are now stuck living on a pitch that continues to flood, resulting in our electricity tripping out as our washing machine and dryer are located outside. The tumble dryer is now ruined due to water damage.
"Currently we are in limbo. The park keeps sending us a new lease to sign, and we daren't sign it because it states a caravan age limit of ten years.
"We have paid two years' site fees for a pitch that is unliveable, not fit for purpose and a danger."
A spokesperson for Park Lane Holiday Homes said: "We can confirm that over the past two years the park has, on occasion, experienced flash floods.
"However, we would like to emphasise that such events are not unique to the park itself. They are consistent with weather patterns affecting the wider local area of the Wirral and are reflective of the environmental conditions experienced across the region, where flooding commonly occurs.
"We wish to reassure all guests that we remain fully committed to ensuring that the holiday park continues to be managed safely and responsibly. All necessary measures have been taken to protect visitors and maintain the high standards our guests expect.
"In respect of the allegations made by the couple regarding their caravan, we must highlight that firstly this is a holiday site, and not a residential site. Further the couple have not engaged in any communications with the company regarding selling the caravan and therefore their comments are wholly refuted.
"The 19-page licence agreement in place with the couple (signed on each page) is for one year, and they are at liberty to move to another holiday site if they so desire."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
British Gas boss warns Miliband against ‘outrageous' energy bill divide
Forcing households with gas boilers to pay higher green taxes than those with heat pumps would be an 'abomination', the boss of British Gas has warned. In a stark warning to Ed Miliband, Chris O'Shea said that removing net zero levies from electricity bills would punish the poor and amount to a 'terrible distortion of the market'. It comes amid reports that the Energy Secretary is considering stripping green levies from electricity in a bid to encourage the adoption of heat pumps. Instead, the costs would be moved on to gas, making a boiler more expensive to run. Mr O'Shea, the chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica, warned Mr Miliband to resist such an 'outrageous' overhaul and instead focus on protecting billpayers from the soaring cost of net zero. 'It's a preposterous idea,' Mr O'Shea told The Telegraph. 'The idea you'd put the levies on gas bills will mean those better-off people with heat pumps will be subsidised by those poorer people with gas boilers. That's nonsense. 'I think those of us with the broadest shoulders should help those of us who have the most need. 'To put them on gas bills would be an abomination, outrageous and a terrible distortion of the market. It would also be unfair because the people [who have] gas boilers the longest will also be those who can least afford to pay higher bills. 'I have heard the argument that it will encourage more people to use electricity. But encouraging people to use subsidised electricity by forcing gas users to pay just doesn't make any sense.' Mr O'Shea said the Government should shift the cost of green levies on to general taxation rather than creating an energy bill divide between households. 'Hostage to fortune' The Climate Change Committee, a Government quango, has urged Mr Miliband to remove the taxes from electricity bills to encourage more people to buy heat pumps and electric cars. However, experts have warned such a move risks increasing the average gas bill by £120 a year. Mr Miliband is considering the reforms as part of a radical rethink on clean power, as he fights to defend Britain's goal of reaching net zero by 2050. An announcement is expected this autumn. Mr O'Shea's plea to protect households with gas boilers came as he warned that Mr Miliband's net zero targets would be challenging. 'I don't think they are a work of fiction, and it's good that we have stretching targets,' he said. 'But even if you were to speak to those who helped to set them, then even they would say it will be difficult. But I don't think it's impossible.' The Centrica boss also cast doubt over Mr Miliband's pledge to cut household energy bills by 2030, supposedly aided by Britain's move to a greener economy. Mr O'Shea said he was sceptical that the Energy Secretary's promise to lower bills by £300 this parliament was 'achievable'. 'The energy transition is not cheap and it is not simple,' said Mr O'Shea. 'If it were, then we would have done it already. He urged the Government to take a more honest approach when it came to net zero. 'What renewables will do is give you more price stability,' he said. 'You will get fewer highs and fewer lows. Home-grown renewables give you more security than imported gas. 'But I wouldn't have made the £300 statement because it makes you a hostage to fortune.' As Britain's second-largest energy supplier behind rival Octopus, Centrica takes an 'agnostic' view when it comes to net zero, according to Mr O'Shea. That means the company is as comfortable building gas-fired power stations as it is investing in heat pumps. However, he said the business has abandoned wind and solar investments in the UK because they do not make enough money. Instead, Centrica is exploring wind investments in Ireland. Mr O'Shea was also critical of Mr Miliband's pledge to ban all new drilling in the North Sea, even though Centrica no longer conducts any exploration activity in the basin. 'I don't agree with the decision,' he said. 'If you take it from an environmental point of view, we import LNG [liquefied natural gas]. 'If you produce gas domestically, then it will have a lower carbon content than the LNG that we import. And the reason is the cost of shipping and the cost of turning the gas into a liquid.' Zonal pricing row By taking a less fiercely aggressive approach on net zero, Mr O'Shea has set himself apart from Greg Jackson, his counterpart at Octopus, who has made a virtue of being a clean-energy champion. This distinction came to the fore in recent months amid the fierce debate over zonal pricing. Unlike British Gas, Mr Jackson was a vocal supporter of plans to divide up the country into different energy pricing zones in an effort to incentivise developers to build wind and solar farms where demand – and prices – are highest. However, the proposals were highly controversial because they would have in practice meant higher bills in the South for electricity than in the North. 'It has been a very divisive debate,' said Mr O'Shea. 'We did not want a postcode lottery.' Mr Miliband recently abandoned the proposal, which British Gas believes was the right decision. Octopus disagrees and claims the Energy Secretary missed a vital opportunity to lower bills by billions of pounds. Mr O'Shea said: 'There was one very, very vocal proponent of it, and I think the benefits were all quite theoretical. 'For a company that purports to put the customer first, I don't know why they would want a system that would be more complex. I think they missed the point. 'I don't know why they went so hard on it and why they were so vicious about the Government's decision. One of their guys made a post on social media saying 'good game, well played'. This is not a game. People are struggling to pay their energy bills. 'I think that a lot of things have become too polarised. And energy is no different.' Rough decisions Now that the battle over zonal pricing is over, Centrica is turning its attention to Rough, the gas storage facility it runs 18 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire. It accounts for about half of the capacity the UK has to store gas. However, Mr O'Shea has warned that Rough risks closure by the end of the year unless ministers agree to help fund the site's redevelopment. 'Rough is going to lose about £100m this year and we can't sustain that,' he said. 'I think we have probably got to see something by the end of this year. 'If we get towards the end of the year and we've got a situation whereby we've got no prospect of making a profit, then we're just throwing good money after bad. It would be like a charitable donation, and that's not our business.' Rather than securing a handout, Centrica has asked ministers for a so-called cap and floor mechanism to help transform the 40-year-old site to store hydrogen as well as natural gas. This would provide a guaranteed minimum revenue level for the project - the floor – as well as limited excessive profits – the cap. Centrica has already stopped filling the facility amid mounting losses. Mr O'Shea said a full closure would involve the loss of hundreds of jobs. As well as impacting the local community, such a move threatens to deal a hammer blow to Britain's energy security, just years after the country recovered from one of its worst-ever energy crises following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Worse still, it also sends the wrong message to our allies in Europe, according to Mr O'Shea. 'If Rough closes, then the UK has just six days of gas storage available, compared to 100 in France, Netherlands and Germany. 'If we get into a crisis and the UK hasn't invested in gas storage, then I am not sure it will flow from the Continent. 'Politically, if you're the prime minister of France or Germany and you look at a country that hasn't invested in gas storage, then I am not sure that will work. There is a need for us to recognise the risk that no one likes a freeloader.'
Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Daily Record
Amazon slashes 'brilliant' video doorbell to £28.99 in limited-time deal
The Blink Doorbell camera is currently £28.99 - down from £49.99 for a limited time Video doorbells have become more affordable and highly efficient, serving as a security camera for the home while Brits are not around. For those seeking a bargain without wanting to commit fully, Amazon has an offer that might pique interest. The Blink Doorbell camera is currently priced at £28.99, reduced from £49.99 for a limited period - a deal well worth considering at this price point. The device enables shoppers to answer their door from anywhere using their smartphone, thanks to its 1080p HD day and infrared night video capabilities, along with two-way audio. Blink boasts of long-lasting battery life, customised alerts, and privacy settings. For those concerned about installation, it can be set up within minutes using the two included AA lithium batteries and then connected to Wi-Fi via the app. The newly designed internal battery seal also offers an IP54 weather resistance rating to withstand the unpredictable British weather. Unlike Ring, Blink allows users to store clips and videos on a separate device without a subscription, although a subscription option is available for purchase. Grab the Blink video doorbell for £28.99 £49.99 £28.99 Amazon GET DEAL Product Description For those wanting some alternatives, there's the Ring Battery Video Doorbell for £79.99. It comes with extremely quick set-up within five minutes and high-definition video recording. There's also the Arlo video doorbell that comes in for a slightly more expensive £95.99 - and it comes with 2K cameras and person/package detection. Customers are singing the praises of the Blink doorbell in their reviews. One buyer commented: "Now, I'm all for keeping an eye on the doorstep, especially with the little ones running about. This Blink Video Doorbell does just the trick, and it doesn't need any wires, which is a bonus for those of us who aren't keen on DIY. "Setting it up was fairly straightforward, though it took a few tries to get the hang of it. First, you pop in the batteries and connect the Sync Module 2 to your Wi-Fi. Then, you download the Blink app, create an account, and add the doorbell and module. The app guides you through the rest, which is basically scanning QR codes and following on-screen instructions. "The picture quality is decent, even in the evenings. I can clearly see who's at the door, even if they're lurking in the shadows. The two-way talk feature is handy too – I can tell the postie where to leave a parcel, or have a quick chat with the neighbours without having to open the door." Nevertheless, some customers have raised concerns about battery longevity. One purchaser noted: "Great piece of kit that works really well with the other blink products I have, as well as Alexa. "My issue is battery life. I have had it for two months and four days, and I am about to change the batteries for the second time. I'm not sure if this is just mine, but it is slightly annoying. The listing says long battery life, but it really isn't."
Spectator
7 hours ago
- Spectator
Inside the Lords battle on foreign media ownership
After a two-year impasse, the future of the Daily Telegraph could be resolved shortly. A £500m deal has been struck for US firm Redbird Capital to take control of the Telegraph Media Group, with state-backed Abu Dhabi investment vehicle IMI among investors. But a fresh challenge has arisen in the House of Lords. Peers are threatening to block minister's efforts to change the law to give foreign companies a greater stake in British media outfits – up from the existing five per cent to 15 cent. This is a necessary legal change to allow the Telegraph sale to go ahead. A 'fatal motion' will be held in the Lords on Tuesday; if passed, it would kill the government's plans. It is a device seldom wielded by peers, having been last used in 2012. But opponents are growing increasingly confident that the 'fatal motion' could succeed. Two separate fronts have opened up in the Lords. The first is led by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Fox, who tabled the motion. Lib Dem whips are understood to be pulling out all the stops to maximise turnout, including facilitating the attendance of their older peers who do not vote regularly. Their argument is simple: the power of the free press should not be sold to overseas companies susceptible to foreign government influence. The hope is that a sufficient number of Tory and Crossbench peers will vote it down. The second front is led by the cross-party Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) and its supporters like Lord Alton. Their focus is more directly on the Telegraph sale. Sir Iain Duncan Smith has written to Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, arguing that a Foreign State Intervention Notice (FSNI) be issued in this case. A legal opinion by Tom Cross KC details alleged links between Redbird Capital's chairman John Thornton and the Chinese state, including his advisory roles on Beijing's sovereign wealth fund. Sir Iain argues that this is compelling evidence for Nandy to 'adhere to your statutory duty and issue a FSIN without delay.' Both groups are seeking to influence their colleagues across the House. Given the government's lack of a majority, the hope is that a sufficient number of Tory and Crossbench peers will vote it down. Tory whips are expected to vote against the fatal motion, though their colleagues will not be whipped to follow suit. Lord Forsyth, the respected chair of the Association of Conservative Peers, is expected to vote for the motion; others will likely follow his lead. One opponent notes that the Conservatives voted for fatal motions that successfully halted government legislation when they were last in opposition before 2010. A separate 'motion of regret' has been put down by Baroness Stowell, the former Leader of the House. Some supporters of the fatal motion fear it could frustrate their efforts, with wavering peers potentially voting for Stowell's amendment rather than Fox's. The government will argue that a statutory instrument can close the loophole whereby multiple states can each own 15 per cent of any publication. But their critics will counter that this is insufficient and will not stop the Telegraph deal from going ahead.
