Ill man bought a caravan for £33k with savings: One year on worth £7k

When Karen Goodyear's father-in-law purchased a caravan with his life savings as he was treated for terminal cancer, a salesman allegedly told the family the £33,000 investment would lose no more than 10 per cent of its value in a year.

The static home, at Ribble Valley Country and Leisure Park, would give John Goodyear - who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in April 2016 after years of asbestos exposure as a joiner - somewhere to recover from gruelling chemotherapy sessions to ease his suffering.

But when he died in May 2018, just a year after making the investment, his family was shocked to be told the home was worth just £7,000 - with no room for negotiation.

To make matters worse, Mr Goodyear had spent no more than around a dozen days in the caravan - meaning he lost about £2,000 on his investment for each day he stayed in it.

Company director Mrs Goodyear, 52, said her father-in-law was a lifelong grafter who had always been careful with money - but was excited to have somewhere to decompress during his treatment.

Has YOUR caravan purchase turned into a nightmare? Email katherine.lawton@mailonline.co.uk 

'I had a chat with the salesman and we were very clear - we said: ''You do realise he has got a terminal diagnosis?''

'He said ''yes'', and when we asked him what the expected depreciation was in 12 months' time he said it would not be any more than 10 per cent.

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'I wish we had gotten that in writing, because when he passed away they said they would buy it back for £7,000 via a dealer.

'It's so upsetting that this young chap was clearly on a sales target and knew the situation. He told lies to get the sale.'

The family is the latest in a string of people across the UK to tell MailOnline about their mobile home hell - with many claiming they lost their life savings by investing in a caravan through a site company. 

Ribble Valley allegedly offered Mrs Goodyear a number of choices after her father-in-law's death: pay £4,500 in ground tax to keep the caravan on site or £6,000 to move it somewhere else - or sell up.

After spending four months trying to sell the caravan privately for a greater price without success, Mrs Goodyear had to throw in the towel and take the offer.

'It was heartbreaking, because he was so shrewd in his life and he only went three or four times, just two or three days at a time,' she added.

'They (Ribble Valley) didn't care. It was just, ''there's the price''. I was furious. I still am.'

Mrs Goodyear wants to see the caravan sector better regulated to prevent others from losing money as her father-in-law did.

'It was devastating, moreso because he was so shrewd, as someone who worked all of his life. He lost 80 per cent of the value on that caravan, which is just criminal,' she said.

'There should be some regulation because people do buy these with rose tinted glasses on.

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'It is a romanticised kind of time away, putting your feet up in the countryside.

'But the reality is that what people are getting into is like PPI all over again.

'From a business perspective they've got a great model.' 

She added: 'My father-in-law was told it wouldn't make a huge loss. It was a mistake (to buy it) but they should not have treated him like that.

'But what can I do?'

MailOnline has contacted Ribble Valley Country and Leisure Park for comment. 

On Monday, Londoner Craig Edwards told how he lost £20,000 in the space of 14 months after being forced to sell his caravan due the 'unbearable' noise and antisocial behaviour coming from the nearby Viking Pub. 

Previously, Grandmother Kim Graham revealed how she lost a huge chunk of her life savings after spending £57,000 on a mobile home - only to have to sell it for a £42,000 loss after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Average prices for a caravan start at around £14,995 for a pre-owned model and £29,995 for a new one at various sites across the UK. 

Prospective buyers can secure their holiday home with an up-front deposit of 10 per cent of the caravan's finance. New holiday homes are available from £449.75 per month subject to terms and conditions.

However, once campers have their name on the deeds, other problems can arise. 

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Michael Garbutt told MailOnline he had an 'awful' experience trying to renovate his £30,000 caravan.  

He said: 'We wanted a wooden veranda building around side and front of caravan, my friend who's a joiner quoted us £2500, but the owner of park said they have a company who must do it and it cost me £5000 [...]. 

'Then we had to go through the owner to insure caravan and then buy gas bottles off him. 

'After many problems [...] we decided to sell after two years so I put for sale signs up in windows and a lady came offered me £26,000 for the caravan. 

'But the owner came told me to take the signs down saying we can't sell it to the lady as we have to go through him. 

'He even threatened me to take the caravan and put it on the road outside the park. 

'Eventually we were that stressed [...] by owner we sold it back to him for £8000.

'Once you buy you are totally in the site owners hands [...]. I will never buy another static in my lifetime.'