The "Ugly Face of Capitalism" is not restricted to big bankers and the Pheonix Four, it even finds iteself in the quite countryside of Leicestershire.
Peter Becherton, owner of Charnwood Acres Country Club, earns his living from regular members who invest thousands of pounds of their own savings to buy mobile homes in the idyllic environement. Weeks later, without any indication of his intent to sell, he sells the site "at undisclosed sum" i.e. a fortune, that makes him rich and his members poorer.
Why? Because the new owner will undoubtedly increase the rents and if they try to move their caravans off the site they will be charged a fee (10-15%) by the new owner. If they try to sell they will get charged a fee (10-15%) by the site owner.
Peter is not alone. Michael Wilson the owner of South Hants Country Club did the same thing. In his case residents had offered to buy the site but along comes an "entrepreneurial mobile home park owner" in his Rolls Royce and Micahel's New Year welcome was "Bye". One couple had just paid £18,000 for a second-hand mobile home, they retreived £3,000 from a caravan dealer after just months of ownership.
Sites are sold all the time and residents have no leg to stand on - not even a caravan one!
The Site Owners seem well looked after with The British Holiday & Home Parks Association (BH&HPA) who proudly promote themselves as "the only organisation which works solely for the benefit of park business"
The caravan owners have no chance. The National Association of Caravan Owners (NACO) can givew you a lot of insurance and "members benefit exclusively from access to our highly trained advice team". The BEST ADVICE is DONT BUY ONE unless you want to be ripped off by the site owners or unless you ar ein a members owned site.
NACO advertise that they "have close working links with Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Trading Standards, Citizens Advice Bureau - well what do they advise people to do when the owner sells and the new owners forces them off the site!
It is time the law changed - let me know your thoughts, experiences!
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You state in your post and I quote:
ReplyDelete"The new owner will undoubtedly increase the rents and if they try to move their caravans off the site they will be charged a fee (10-15%) by the new owner. If they try to sell they will get charged a fee (10-15%) by the site owner."
I am very interested to know how you have acquired this information about the new site owner charging such fees. Have you asked the new owner if this is indeed true ?
By the way, I am a former member of Charnwood Acres Country Club and I eagerly await your response.
Peter becerton... Oh so agree with your 'ugly face of capitalism' .... Here here.. I
ReplyDeleteImagine he was rubbing his sausage fingered hands together as he tapped out the fees for all members for the forthcoming year that it would be announced they were too close..
Having already found and setup new homes for himself and son the previous year he had no intention on allowing members to have a warming last year... Memorable yes, but all for the wrong reasons, allowing the digging to commence, and not giving an ounce of care over health and safety to those that remained or overnight security.. Hitler had more morals than this gluttonas beckerton family; yes, I speak for beckertons as a whole, from their promiscurous bimbo grand daughter to the 'only naturist when my daughter isn't around' step mother..
Good riddens to bad rubbish
Why haven't you mentioned the grandson?!?!
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