Brett Caravans scam website warning
My partner and I think a caravan would be awesome for holidays with our daughter, but had not realized there are scammers out there in caravan sales.
We decided an Eriba would be great for us and looking around found this one at "Brett Caravans":
https://brett-caravans.com/product/eriba-troll-530-caravan-2-3b-8250/
After an email to and fro and few phone discussions, we decided to go for it. We did a quick company check and it appeared they'd been in business over 15 years so must be solid right? We didn't fancy the 5 hour drive each way and have seen similar vans in the flesh - they also offered a 50% deposit and the remainder on delivery which seemed good practice...
Well after sending a 50% deposit by bank transfer they no longer respond to emails or answer the phone and we've since found a facebook page showing that it's just a scam and none of the caravans exist.
We have of course contacted the bank and police but nothing much seems to be happening and it can take weeks apparently.
I figured posting here (we'd just joined the club in anticipation of our new van!) might help other people avoid this same scam!
We're still looking at getting a van but sure won't be buying one we've not seen and will stump up the extra to buy from a reputable dealer with google reviews and a facebook page.
Oh how stupid we feel! Please spread the word to stop others suffering the same fate!
Comments
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A lesson hard learnt.
Never, ever part with money for a caravan until you’ve seen it. Even if the van exists, it could be riddled with damp or have numerous other problems.
I’m sorry you were scammed and it’s very brave of you to admit it here as a warning to others. Well done. 👍🏻
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If you check out the registered company address it is a small shop front for an accountancy and there are 35 companies registered at the address. I noticed that the website did not give a full contact address and only what is a non-geographic landline number which is unusual for a fixed base dealership I suspect. Whilst I would not buy 5 hours from home from any dealer, if I were minded to do so, I would probably phone the nearest CC clubsite and ask the warden to recommend a local mobile caravan fitter to employ to inspect for me including a damp check. If dealer was not happy with that I would walk away. If all checked out I would chance a £200 deposit by credit card to hold whilst I drove down.
Thanks for the heads up for others.
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Sandy, My sympathy . I hope you get some redress.
But genuine dealers really don't offer that make and model and year of caravan worth £17,000 for £8250.
Good luck with your court case.
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Sandy thank you for posting the warning to others, as has been said, very brave of you.
Just looked at the website, and can see how you were taken in by it - very professional scam indeed. As ET says, the prices are the give away to the trained eye and regular caravannner, but as you have found, they are obviously looking to scam the unsuspecting who are first timers.
I hope your bank and the police take this seriously.
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All reported, One 👍🏻
"We have of course contacted the bank and police but nothing much seems to be happening and it can take weeks apparently."
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Thanks for the messages of support. We're well aware now of our naivety - seems so obvious now but I guess we assumed a scam as bold as this would have been removed by police or google or would have come up in a google search when we searched for Brett Caravan (which we did) but found nothing - hopefully people might find this now at least...
We felt totally gutted when we realized on Friday and contacted Action Fraud which is the police dept that deals with this - but not heard back from then yet - assume they are pretty busy!
We knew of course the price was low but assumed the condition would be poor and thought it might be a fun renovation project - know now that it was just too good to be true.
They seem to be vat registered - so will call companies house and the vat man later - maybe they can help close them down.
Just been chatting to https://www.automotiveleisure.co.uk/ about Eriba - they seem to have good google ratings and chatting to them they seem very professional - anyone had dealings with them?
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Good luck, Sandy.
Personally, I would take most notice of caravan dealers recommended, or otherwise, by people on caravanning forums. Not necessarily this one as there are loads out there and some don’t hesitate to name and shame. I’m naturally dubious of reviews and referrals made by unknown people on FB, Google and the like. Get inside the vanning fraternity, as you’re now doing, and you’re in with a better chance of sorting the wheat from the chaff.
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It's a very cynical scam, the price of everything is about a third or half of any real prices, have a look at the motorhomes...! Designed to catch out newcomers to the hobby obviously.
Incidentally, what did the police say, it appears it may come under the remit of ActionFraud for first service rather than the police...?
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
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Thank you for sharing. I'm so sorry, I read this just before doing a bank transfer myself for a new car purchase and despite the fact it is a large dealer who's been in our area for years I was still apprehensive. Still waiting for them to get back to say they've received it. I did transfer and confirmed a payment of £1 first after we agreed to buy the car.
Sound advice from other posters above. I do hope you get your money back in time. It leaves a very nasty taste!
Hope this hasn't put you off our great hobby and welcome to CT.
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Yep - we were had, we knew it was cheap but thought we might have found a bargain... and they said they import the vans from Europe which is why they can offer them cheaper. Their patter was very professional and they appeared to have a lot of knowledge...
Bank told us to contact Action Fraud right away and not to call police - they'd just tell us to go to AF anyway - so that's what we've done.
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Don’t know anything about the company automotive leisure & don’t have an Eriba but did buy bits from their shop earlier this year. They look to me to be a ‘family company’ and were indeed very helpful. Good luck with sorting your problem.
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They do look very plausible initially, I wonder who all the people in the "staff" photos really are!
Digging deeper, the number of foreign vans shown is a bit of a giveaway, and a lot of the descriptions are presumably Google translations, and where Google failed they have just left the foreign word. From the look of it, they have lifted many private adverts from Norway or Sweden.
They are even trying to "sell" a big Hobby that would be illegal to tow here with an ordinary 4x4.
Sandy, I hope you manage to get somewhere with this, it has been an expensive lesson for you so far.
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Just checked government website.
Width and length
The maximum trailer width for any towing vehicle is 2.55 metres.The maximum length for a trailer towed by a vehicle weighing up to 3,500kg is 7 metres. This length does not include the A-frame.
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Sorry to hear of this scam,
I guess this is where some images were lifted, bet they are non too pleased!
https://peterrobertscaravans.co.uk/peter-roberts-caravans-and-motorhomes/meet-our-team/
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They've even spent time cloning out the Peter Roberts company logo off the t-shirts and off the front of the motorhome.
Peter Roberts might care to know about this.
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Probably a daft question, but how did you find Brett Caravans? via an advert? ebay? Autotrader? or direct from their website?
Incidently the website does not show a postcode or location map which is unusual for a dealer, unless they don't want to be found.
Looks like the registered business address is a solicitors at NR31 6AG
at least that is what apears on streeview
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Good detective work!
David
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