Daniel Crimmins, 36, and his wife, Abigail, 34, from Cardiff, bought the mobile home at Haven Burnham-on-Sea Holiday Village in 2023 after enjoying a stay at the park
A couple who purchased a £18,000 Haven Holidays caravan believe it was their “worst-ever buy” after the experience turned into a “nightmare.”
After an impressive caravan park holiday in Wales, Daniel and Abigail Crimmins were so charmed they decided to buy their own mobile home. However, the couple has since voiced deep regret over their 2023 purchase from Haven Holidays, having shelled out more than £18,000 for what they anticipated would be a pristine show home. Instead, they were greeted by a grimy, dilapidated caravan far from their expectations.
Three years prior, Daniel had booked a stay at Haven Burnham-on-Sea Holiday Village with his wife and two young children. Their experience was so positive that they resolved to buy their first caravan at the same park.
Upon selecting a caravan, Daniel did notice some issues both inside and out, including a torn sofa, bleach stains, a malfunctioning electric heater, the need for new bedding, and a roof sullied with bird droppings.
Haven assured him that all repairs would be completed within a week before the handover, promising a ready-to-use family retreat, reports Wales Online.
Having paid around £18,500, the couple expected to see a “show home” as promised. Yet, upon their return to the park the following week, Daniel was dismayed to discover the caravan in the exact same sorry state.
He was gobsmacked upon arrival: “When we arrived we could not believe it, there were cobwebs inside, it was still dusty and hadn’t been cleaned at all. The outside was dirty and none of the work was done on the caravan.”
What should have been an exciting first escape in their new caravan turned into a full-on cleaning mission. To get the scoop on the top tales in Wales, make sure you’re clued up by signing up to our daily newsletter.
Shockingly, it took Haven a staggering seven months just to clean the caravan’s roof, thanks to various hold-ups from the company, although they did throw in a complimentary external storage unit during the downtime as a token of apology. But that was merely the beginning.
The situation only got worse for Daniel, who was left utterly “devastated” after discovering water damage in the living room, kitchen, and bedroom, with the ceiling panels bubbling up in despair. After what seemed like endless chats with the staff and finally a manager, an inspection eventually occurred, but astonishingly, no issues were flagged up. It turns out they had actually reviewed the wrong caravan.
Daniel recounted his frustration: “At this point we were at breaking point thinking my caravan had leaks on the roof, water damage visible on the panels inside and over time damp and mould would ruin the caravan. This has been going on nearly three years.”
Nearly eight months on from when Daniel first reported water damage, Haven consented to arrange for a contractor to mend the ceilings and swap out the panels inside in November 2024. Sadly, this date was shoved back to December and then yet again to January, Daniel recounts. Having tried and failed to get a response from the park, Daniel assumed the job was finished.
As they geared up to have guests stay at the caravan when the park reopened on 1 March, they procured a cleaner for a thorough sprucing up of the place. However, they were dismayed anew upon hearing the cleaner couldn’t do the job because of missing roof panels and insulation strewn about from the roof onto the floor.
Come 9 March, Abigail, with her young ones aged three and five in tow, arrived to what she described as a “building site”. Nails jutted from the walls, and ceiling panels lay scattered on the ground.
A frustrated Daniel conveyed: “For three years all we’ve had is stress. We’ve had one weekend there, it’s been the worst thing I’ve ever done. It should be a nice family holiday home, we should be having fun when we’re there but every time we go down there, there is something we have to moan about because something has been done wrong to our caravan again.”
Daniel and his family fork out an eye-watering £9000 annually to keep their caravan at the holiday park, and they offset these costs by welcoming guests to stay. Sadly, Daniel has repeatedly had to turn away would-be holidaymakers due to unfinished work by Haven.
A representative for Haven expressed regret, stating: “We apologise for the delay in completing the initial repairs in 2023, and the disruption caused by the roof leak. In line with our commitment to Mr. and Mrs. Crimmins, all agreed-upon improvements initially raised were addressed within a week of their moving into their holiday home. Our top priority is ensuring a brilliant holiday experience, and we appreciate their understanding as we work to resolve the roof leak as quickly as possible.”