Buying Advice

OUR MEMBERS’ ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOU

 

1: GENERAL

2: RESEARCH BEFORE BUYING

3: ORDERING AND HANDOVER OF YOUR HOLIDAY HOME

4: THE LICENCE AGREEMENT AND YOUR TIME ON THE PARK

5: SELLING OR BEQUEATHING YOUR HOLIDAY HOME

6: REMOVAL OF YOUR HOLIDAY HOME FROM THE PITCH OR PARK

7: IN CASE OF PROBLEMS

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1: GENERAL

• If anything is not clear to you, at any stage of your dealings with us, please clarify it with us or take advice as necessary before you commit yourself to any transaction. And to allow us to serve you best, please co-operate fully and openly with us at all times.

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2: RESEARCH BEFORE BUYING

• Likely Usage - Try to define what you will mainly use the Holiday Home for (e.g. own use, family use, hiring out, seasonal use, etc., all of which may influence the specification of your Holiday Home)
• Running Costs – Remember to take into account annual charges such as pitch fees and rates, and annual running costs (e.g. gas, electricity, water, insurance, winterisation, safety checks etc.).
• Suitability - Research the new or pre-owned Holiday Home you are considering purchasing as well as the park, to ensure that both meet your expectations: in other words, suit your requirements and budget.
• New or Pre-owned? - Consider whether you want to buy a new or a pre-owned Holiday Home.
• Offers - Research product offers as widely as possible.
• The NCC leaflet "Understanding how to make the best use of your caravan holiday home" also contains a wealth of useful information for current and prospective owners. Click here to download a copy.

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3: ORDERING AND HANDOVER OF YOUR HOLIDAY HOME

• Special Needs – Please inform us of any special needs or additional requirements as we cannot provide advice on the suitability of a Holiday Home model for any particular purpose if you have not explained your needs to us (e.g.: disability requirements, French doors, etc.).
• Specification - Check that the specification and appearance of the Holiday Home you are ordering from us matches your requirements, as some features are often optional or substitutable extras.
• The Purchase and Licence Agreements – Remember that these are legally binding documents and some terms may be negotiable (e.g.: part exchange value, rate of commission, Agreement Period).
• Ordering a pre-owned Holiday Home - Ask to see, and obtain copies of, the relevant safety check certificates for any pre-owned Holiday Home you intend to purchase.
• Handover - Ensure you are aware of and fully understand all aspects around the handover procedure, warranties and warranty procedures and clarify with us anything on which you would like any additional explanation.
• Deposits - When making a deposit, make sure everything is clear to you, or take advice as necessary to understand how it is secured, the length of the cooling off period and the cancellation terms.

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4: THE LICENCE AGREEMENT AND YOUR TIME ON THE PARK

• Terms and Conditions - Familiarise yourself with all the terms and conditions in the Agreement, the Park Rules, any site licence conditions, all related documents/information and all aspects covering annual fees and charges, procedures, occupancy (tenure) and arrangements relating to changes on the park. Please also remember that the obligations placed on us by the Local Authority Site Licence may be subject to change which may affect the terms and conditions or park facilities/amenities.
• The Licence Agreement – Remember that this is a legally binding document.
• Holiday Home Owner Signatures - The Agreement must be signed by all the named owners of the Holiday Home.
• Insurance – Research insurance to ensure you choose the policy and supplier that best meets your needs and also take into account any special requirements (e.g. winterisation).
• Maintenance - Consider your likely usage of the Holiday Home and the need to keep it properly maintained and in good condition, in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions and the appropriate health and safety requirements including the precautions needed for winter weather.
• Non-permanent residence - Remember that you must not use the Holiday Home as your permanent UK residence under any circumstances, even if the park has a 12 month site licence.
• Behaviour – Remember your responsibilities regarding on-site behaviour including respect of the privacy and rights of others on the park.
• Change of Address – You must keep us informed of any change to your permanent residential address and provide proof of this address on request.

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5: SELLING OR BEQUEATHING YOUR HOLIDAY HOME

• Commission arrangements - Ensure that you are aware of and fully understand, all aspects of the sales process and the commission arrangements that you, as the seller, are responsible for upon the resale of your Holiday Home as set out in the Licence Agreement.
• Notification - Remember your obligations under the Licence Agreement to keep us informed if you are intending to put the Holiday Home on the market or if you subsequently decide to take it off the market.
• Safety check certificates - Ensure you comply with all the requirements for having valid utility/appliance safety check certificates when selling the home.
• Giving or bequeathing your Holiday Home - Remember that this procedure does not affect your right, or those of your personal representative(s) or executors, to sell the Holiday Home according to the procedure detailed in the Licence Agreement.

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6: REMOVAL OF YOUR HOLIDAY HOME FROM THE PITCH OR PARK

• Circumstances leading to removal - Familiarise yourself with all the various aspects and circumstances relating to removal of your Holiday Home from the pitch, what may constitute a breach of the Licence Agreement and/or the Park Rules and the consequences of this.
• Rights and Procedures - Familiarise yourself with your rights and obligations including:
  
  1. Written notice periods if you intend to give up your pitch or if there is some breach of obligation on our part.
  2. Your right to take further action against us if we are proven to be in breach of our obligations under the Licence Agreement.
  3. Arrangements for the removal of the Holiday Home and all other property from the Park within one month after termination of the Licence Agreement.
  4. Payment for removing the Holiday Home from the Park.

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7: IN CASE OF PROBLEMS

• Let us know - We understand that there may be times that you are not happy with the service we provide and may wish to make a complaint. To help us address these promptly and effectively, please refer the matter to us in the first instance, preferably in writing.
• Our response – As a condition of this Code of Practice, we maintain a written complaints procedure and we advise you to familiarise yourself with it so that you know how we will deal with and respond to any complaint.
• Time to complete agreed actions - Remember that although we may be able to issue a response or final decision to a complaint within the set timescales, this does not automatically mean that we are able to complete any agreed remedial action within the same timescales (e.g. we may be reliant on parts supply from a third party, etc.).
• If you remain dissatisfied - If we have issued our response and/or final decision and you remain dissatisfied, or we have failed to respond within the specified timescales, you may refer the matter to the NCC Informal Dispute Resolution Service. If that service fails to resolve the complaint, it can be escalated to the Independent Case Examiner (the Examiner).
• Other means of redress - Please remember that, while the Examiner’s final decision will be binding on both you and us, you are free to seek other legal means of redress if you wish to do so - either before or after your complaint has been considered. Please note though that the outcome/decision of any case may be taken into account by any other redress provider (e.g. Arbitrator/other Independent Case Examiner/ Ombudsman) and vice versa.
  
  Further Information – For additional information about complaint handling, please refer to Chapter 10 of the Code and/or the guidance on the Code website. (www.approvedholidayparks.co.uk)