After a delightful caravan park holiday in Wales, Daniel and Abigail Crimmins were so charmed they decided to buy their own mobile home. However, their dream quickly turned sour. The Cardiff couple has since labelled their 2023 purchase from Haven Holidays as an unending "nightmare" filled with regret.

They shelled out over £18,000 expecting a pristine show home but were met with a grimy, dilapidated dwelling instead. Haven has since apologised for the delay in complete repairs and says their "top priority is ensuring a brilliant holiday experience". 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-ever caravan at the same park.

Upon finding a suitable caravan, Daniel did notice some issues, including a torn sofa, bleach stains, a defective electric heater, the need for new bedding, and a roof caked in bird droppings.

Haven assured him that all repairs would be completed within a week before the handover, promising a ready-to-use family retreat.

Having parted with roughly £18,500, the couple anticipated a "show home" finish as promised. Yet, upon their return to the park the following week, Daniel said he was dismayed to discover the caravan in the exact same state.

He claimed: "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 a delightful first weekend in their new caravan turned into a cleaning ordeal.

Due to multiple company delays, Haven took approximately seven months to clean the roof.

As a gesture of goodwill, the family received a free external storage unit for when the caravan wasn't in use.

Daniel was "devastated" upon discovering water damage in the living room, kitchen, and bedroom, with bubbles appearing in the ceiling panels.

After numerous discussions with staff and finally a manager, an inspection was conducted, but no issues were detected. It was later revealed that the wrong caravan had been inspected.

Daniel said: "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."

Eight months after reporting water damage, Haven assured Daniel that a contractor would repair the ceilings and replace panels in his caravan by November 2024.

However, the work was delayed to December and then January, with Daniel claiming he received no response from the park and assumed the repairs were completed.

In preparation for the park's reopening on March 1, Daniel hired a cleaner to deep clean the caravan, only to discover from the cleaner that she couldn't do her job due to missing roof panels and insulation strewn about.

On March 9, Abigail and her two young children arrived at their caravan to find it resembling a "building site", complete with exposed nails and ceiling panels scattered on the floor.

Daniel said: "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 around £9,000 in annual fees to maintain their caravan at the holiday park, relying on guests' stays to help cover these hefty costs.

Unfortunately, Daniel has repeatedly faced the disappointing task of having to decline guests due to unfinished work by Haven.

A representative for Haven explained: "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."