​Emma Corten, who lives in Pontypool, says she bought a second‑hand caravan directly from a well‑known holiday park about two years ago for £44,000 after being told that a number of minor faults would be fixed within weeks. She explains that the park acknowledged the issues in emails and messages and agreed to carry out the repairs, but she claims the promised work never happened and more serious problems emerged in the first months. She cites windows that would not open, leaks beneath the caravan whenever the sink is used, damaged window locks, warped and damaged mirrors, broken kitchen plinths and broken clips that hold the front door open. (Image: Emma Corten) She describes the caravan as arriving “filthy dirty inside and out.” “We paid £44,000 and were told the faults would be sorted within weeks,” she said. “Instead, every time we came down, there was another problem – and we just kept being told, ‘We’ll fix it, we’ll sort it,’ but nothing changed.”

Five to six months after buying the caravan, Ms Corten says she sent a detailed complaint letter citing consumer law and asked for a refund, arguing the park had “not held up their side of the bargain” and that new faults had appeared. She claims she was then offered about £9,000–£10,000 to sell it back, a fraction of what she had paid. The park later promised that all outstanding faults would be repaired by March 2025 and offered around half‑price ground rent for that year as a goodwill gesture. But when she returned to Trecco Bay, she says only external work, such as tarmacking the drive, had been carried out and that staff “didn’t step foot inside” the caravan despite her leaving a key for repairs. (Image: Emma Corten)

Ms Corten, who lives with multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, Sjögren’s disease and anxiety, says the ongoing dispute has badly affected her health and wellbeing. “What was meant to be a relaxing home‑from‑home has become a constant source of stress,” she said, adding that she now rarely uses the caravan. (Image: Emma Corten) She has since instructed a solicitor and says she has strong grounds to take the case to court, but faces potential legal costs of around £20,000 with no guarantee of success. She also claims that, despite paying site fees, she was still waiting for official owners’ passes more than 16 months after buying the caravan, despite repeatedly filling in the requested details. Ms Corten says she wanted to speak out to warn other consumers about how hard it can be to resolve serious complaints with large holiday park operators.

In response, a Trecco Bay Holiday Park spokesperson said: “We have a strong community of holiday homeowners, and we take concerns seriously. We are reviewing Ms Corten’s case and will work through the appropriate channels to address the issues raised.”