Grandfather left £45k out of pocket after purchasing a caravan from Haven Holidays – ‘the worst decision I've ever made'
Despite the vehicle being worth less than £15,000, spiralling costs have left him saying "it's the worst decision I've ever made".
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Christopher Jeff, 60, bought the caravan in 2023 in Doniford Bay holiday park, Somerset in 2023.
He and his wife Ida, 56, had first visited 13 years ago before deciding to put some of his pension money towards the vehicle when they visited with their grandson Theo two years ago.
He told BPM Media: "We knew we couldn't afford a brand new caravan but we found what we thought was a nice one that was a bit older for £14,859.
"I had to cash in a good chunk of my pension to pay for the caravan.
"I thought it would be worth it for some family holidays away from the rat race."
The old caravan quickly began racking up additional costs, as Christopher spent more than £10,000 refitting the caravan he purchased as a leaseholder from Haven Holidays.
This included kitting the vehicle out with a microwave, fridge freezer and bedding - costing around £5,000.
On top of these costs, the couple were "encouraged" to buy side decking, a storage box and a bench, all of which came to just under £5,000.
Even the ground rent - a fee paid by leaseholders to freeholders - was more than Christopher and Ida expected.
This added another £6,000 in annual fees - a cost that has since gone up to £8,161.
Haven Holidays say that the purchase and license agreement clearly states the total site fees, the basis for fee increases, and the period the park is open.
Christopher says that Haven Holidays advised the couple to rent out the caravan to help cover their growing expenses.
However, in order to cover the thousands of pounds in ground rent, the caravan would need to be rented out every single week of the season for £450.
This was made even more difficult by the fact that Haven Holidays were reportedly offering cheaper rents on their own caravans.
Christopher said: "Haven were undercutting us by renting their own caravans cheaper all season long - sometimes £150 for a week in the off season."
As a result, the couple only managed to rent the caravan out for five weeks in 2024.
With much of the annual cost unaccounted for, Ida's income from working in sales was used to cover the shortfall.
Christopher estimates that the caravan costs £1,500 a day of use in real terms, as 30 days onsite has cost the couple £45,000.
He said: "It's just too expensive to own one of these units. We have only holidayed in it for ten long weekends."
The couple faced further financial insecurity after a national grid failure damaged a lot of electrical appliances at the park, leading them to be told their boiler would need replacing.
However, after three months and three visits from contractors, they were eventually told they didn't need any repairs as they had a water heater, not a boiler.
A spokesperson for Haven Holidays say that they worked "as quickly as possible" to fix issues and that this was at no cost to Mr Jeff.
The costs have become so unbearable that the couple has tried to sell the caravan - but this too would lose them money.
While they paid nearly £15,000 for the vehicle, they are yet to receive an offer for more than £3,000, with Haven Holidays taking a 15% commission of any sales.
Mr Jeff said: "Nobody wants to buy a caravan and take on the commitment of paying over £8,000 for nine months of caravan access.
"Especially when you can't rent it out and break even because its cheaper for guests to go directly through Haven."
In a desperate bid to resolve their financial problems, they reached out to European Consumer Claims who have taken on the case with the hopes of getting the couple their money back.
CEO of ECC Greg Wilson said: "When we first started looking into holiday park consumer abuse we were aware that there were issues. However the sheer scale of wrongdoing was shocking even to us."
The company is working with leading consumer lawyers to seek financial compensation for people who have been swindled by unexpected fees.
Haven owns a number of holiday parks around the UK, primarily found along the coastline, including in Yorkshire, the Lake District, Scotland and Cornwall.
A Haven Holidays spokesperson said: "Haven is committed to ensuring full transparency at every stage of the buying and selling process and clearly communicates with owners the different options available to them - including the total site fees for that year, the basis for subsequent increases and period the park is open during the year – as well as any associated terms and conditions.
"The decking was installed at Mr. Jeffs' request; however, the other items mentioned (including the storage box, microwave, fridge freezer, bedding, and bench) were not purchased from Haven, and we are therefore unable to comment on them.'
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