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Holiday Home Claims UK

Mis-sold a static caravan?

Static caravans are sold on a feeling: summers on the coast, somewhere that is yours, a place the grandchildren will remember. The money side is often dealt with quickly at the end.

That is where problems start. A static sits on someone else's land under an agreement that can be changed, priced and ended in ways many buyers are never walked through.

If what you were told about value, costs or selling has turned out to be a long way from reality, it may be worth having someone look at it.

Check where you stand

What to look for

What counts as mis-selling with a static

None of these on its own proves anything. They are simply the situations static caravan owners describe most often when something has gone wrong.

Depreciation was never explained honestly

A static loses a large part of its value in its first years, and an experienced seller knows that. Owners are still told a caravan will keep its worth, or that the park will always buy it back at a sensible figure. If nobody set out plainly what the caravan would realistically be worth when you came to sell, that silence was doing work in the sale.

The site age rule came as a surprise

Many parks will only keep a caravan on the pitch up to a certain age. Buyers are often told the caravan will 'see them out', with no mention that the park could ask them to move to a newer model long before that. Discovering the limit years later, when the upgrade conversation starts, is a very different experience from being told at the outset.

Site fees have risen far beyond what was indicated

Owners are often given a comfortable answer about annual fees, sometimes a percentage, sometimes just a reassurance that increases are modest. If your fees have climbed well past that and the agreement never limited them in the first place, what you were told and what you signed were not describing the same thing.

Sub-letting was sold as the way to pay for it

Letting figures are usually quoted as occupancy weeks and a nightly rate, with commission, cleaning, linen, insurance and the park's own booking rules kept out of the sum. Owners who bought on the strength of those figures often find the net return is a fraction of what was described, and that letting brings restrictions nobody mentioned.

Reselling was harder than you were led to believe

Being able to sell whenever you like is a common reassurance. In practice there may be a ban on private sales from the pitch, a commission on any sale, a requirement to sell through the park, or a part-exchange offer that bears no relation to what you paid. The restriction itself may be lawful. Not being told about it is the issue.

The upgrade was presented as your only option

Upgrades are often framed around a problem: the caravan is ageing, the model is being phased out, the pitch is being redeveloped. If your existing caravan was taken in at a low valuation and rolled into a more expensive purchase, it is fair to ask whether you were given a genuine choice or steered into one.

What to do next

Write down what was said to you in the sale office before you try to work out whether it matters. The detail that seems trivial — a figure on a scrap of paper, a phrase about the caravan holding its value, the name of the person who said it — is usually the part that carries weight later.

Pull together your sale agreement, your pitch licence and your fee statements going back as far as you can. Fee statements are particularly useful with statics, because a run of them shows exactly how far the increases have travelled from what you were told to expect.

If you no longer have documents, carry on anyway. Parks hold copies, and those can be requested when the time comes. Missing paperwork stops nobody from enquiring.

Then use the free check below. Five short questions, no right answers, and nothing you enter commits you to anything. If there may be something worth pursuing, someone reviews it with you properly first.

If you are still on the park, nothing changes for you in the meantime. We do not contact your park, and you would be told before anything was ever sent on your behalf.

Check if you may have a claim

Three short questions. There are no right or wrong answers, and nothing you enter commits you to anything.

What did you buy?

Question 1 of 3

Questions people ask

My caravan is old now. Is it too late?

The age of the caravan is not the test. What matters is when you bought, what you were told, and when you could reasonably have realised something was wrong. Time limits do apply to matters of this kind, so it is worth asking rather than assuming.

The park says depreciation is normal. Is that a defence?

Depreciation on its own is normal and nobody disputes it. The question is whether you were told something different at the point of sale, and whether that changed your decision to buy.

I part-exchanged my old caravan. Does that complicate things?

It does not stop you enquiring. Part-exchange figures are often a useful part of the picture, because they show what the caravan was valued at by the same business that sold it to you.

Does it matter that I bought a second-hand static?

No. What was said to persuade you to buy matters whether the caravan was new or pre-owned. Second-hand sales on park can involve exactly the same promises about value, fees and letting.

I have already handed the caravan back. Can I still ask?

Yes. Owners who have surrendered or sold back to the park can still ask for their position to be looked at. Keep whatever paperwork covers the handover, including any figures you were given at the time.

Wondering where your static leaves you?

The check is free, takes a couple of minutes and puts you under no obligation whatsoever. You will get a straight answer either way.

Check where you stand

Free to check. No obligation. No cold calling.