A retired NHS nurse spent her pension on an £85,000 caravan only to receive £50,000 less for it two years later by the park owners – who then quickly sold it for almost its original price.
Maureen McShea, 73, said she upgraded her £40,000 mobile home to the expensive model in August 2022 after Hunters Quay Holiday Village, of Argyll Holidays, suggested she renew it in her daughter’s name to make it easier to inherit.
After receiving £36,000 for the old caravan, she used that and £49,000 of her lump sum pension to make the upgrade.
But following a lengthy battle with breast cancer, she was forced to sell last year when her husband also fell ill with prostate cancer.
The caravan group offered Mrs McShea just £25,000 for the home – a £60,000 loss on what she’d put in – which she managed to haggle up to £35,000 despite them telling her they were struggling to sell it on her behalf.
But almost immediately after the sale, the pensioner said she came across the holiday home sold on the Hunters Quay website for £78,995.
Speaking to MailOnline about the ordeal, Mrs McShea said: ‘I’m choking with anger, because I trusted [them]; we got on really, really well with them.
‘That was my savings, my pension, my husband’s pension. I was a nurse; it was an NHS pension.’
Maureen McShea, 73, (pictured) said she is ‘choking with anger’ after losing nearly £50,000 on a caravan in just two years
Mrs McShea had used her NHS pension money to buy the caravan (pictured) following a lengthy battle with breast cancer
Her former caravan is down as ‘sold’ for £78,995 on the Hunters Quay Holiday Village website
The pensioner upgraded her mobile home to the expensive model in August 2022
Mrs McShea decided to sell the caravan after her husband’s cancer diagnosis meant they needed money to move to a flat with no stairs.
‘When he was diagnosed with prostate cancer we used the caravan […] but we weren’t getting over very often,’ she said.
‘We had decided the house we had was no longer appropriate. So we had to sell the house and move into a flat with a lift and no garden.
‘But we really maxed ourselves out to buy this flat and realised to pay the fees at Hunters Quay would be difficult.’
She added: ‘We decided, we’ve always got on really well with the sales team. We were told it wouldn’t lose its value.’
After realising the caravan would be a financial burden to keep on, Mrs McShea claimed the company promised to do their best to sell it on her behalf.
‘We waited and they said ”oh we can’t sell it we can’t sell it we’re not even selling our own”,’ she said.
‘They came back with £25,000 and I was really shocked,’ she claimed. ‘I really got a shock, I said you’ve got to be joking.’
Reluctantly accepting a higher offer of £35,000, the pensioner decided to take the £50,000 loss as she could not afford to spend any more on the caravan.
‘We had to cut our losses because […] we’d maxed out buying this flat,’ she said.
Mrs McShea upgraded her caravan to the £85,000 model, only to receive just £35,000 for it two years later
The caravan was well styled with a modern kitchen and large living area
The master bedroom of Mrs McShea’s former caravan, which was the plush £85,000 model
A MailOnline graphic detailing some of the hidden costs of owning a static caravan
The mobile home was fitted with a modern kitchen, wallpaper and wooden flooring
Almost immediately after the sale, the pensioner said she saw the holiday home sold on their website for £78,995
The caravan was fitted with a modern interior and was well styled by Mrs McShea
‘[I’m] really, really angry when I see what they sold it for.
‘We’re not as bad off as some but that was our life savings.’
Mrs McShea is the latest in a string of former caravan owners to tell MailOnline about their caravan nightmares, with many claiming they lost their life savings by buying a mobile home which diminished in value in just a few years.
Many owners are also finding their caravan comes with a long list of surprise costs, from pitch fees and cleaning charges to maintenance, insurance and everyday bills.
For others, the pain comes in hidden contract clauses they never knew they signed up to, which in some cases may prevent them from lending their own home to friends or family without permission from the park owners.
And when they come to sell, the money they are paid is much less than they originally shelled out.
A spokesperson for Cove UK said: ‘Cove UK purchased the Argyll Holidays business in February 2022. Mrs McShea was a valued long-term customer, and we are very sad to hear about her husband’s health. We are also surprised and disappointed that she is unhappy with the sale of her caravan, as this has not been raised with us directly.
‘After investigating this matter we can see that upon hearing about Mr McShea’s health, our team supported the family to try to find a private buyer. This included listing it on our website, at their chosen asking price. Other options were available to the family during this time including selling to a trader or moving the caravan to another park. After 18 months, the family made the decision to sell it back to us.
‘As with all our caravan sales, we invested in warranties, services, products and other guarantees for the new owner that would not have been provided in a private sale. The selling price was significantly lower than is being claimed and included VAT.
‘As a business, Cove UK wants to ensure that all of our caravan owners are happy with their holiday homes. We therefore take careful responsibility to ensure all customers fully understand the financial commitment they are making.’