A young family packing their bags to travel around Australia have been left homeless after their caravan company went into liquidation before their new vehicle was completed.
Alison Pope and her husband sold their home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in 2022 to pursue the dream with their three children.
The couple bought a caravan and traveled around Australia for two years before deciding to purchase an upgraded vehicle.
In February 2024, they got a quote from Tango Caravans and paid a 10 per cent deposit two months later.
The Popes sold their old caravan after the company told them it would take between 8 and 10 weeks to build their new home on wheels.
They found short-term accommodation while it was being built.
“We knew we might be homeless for a couple of weeks and we accepted that,” Ms Pope told Daily Mail Australia.
“Our old caravan sold quickly so we had to pack our entire life into a shipping container and drive from South Australia, where we were, to Queensland to stay with family for a while and also short-term accommodation.”
Alison Pope explained that her family (pictured) were left homeless after Tango Caravans went into liquidation.
Alison Pope, her husband and their three children are pictured with their previous caravan.
Tango Caravans informed the family in late May that their van chassis had arrived and the caravan was in production.
The family was ordered to settle the remaining amount of their bill, which was nearly $80,000.
“We naively and emotionally paid our full payment to Tango Caravans, thinking we would be in our new cottage within two weeks,” Mrs Pope said.
But after making full payment, Pope claimed she was “completely misled” by Tango Caravans, ignoring her calls and emails.
The family was forced to spend an exorbitant amount on short-term accommodation and move several times.
In August, the family discovered that other Tango customers were experiencing similar problems when communicating with the company.
“We are not the only ones affected,” said Ms. Pope.
‘And I know that some of those victims went to the police and were told that this was a civil matter.
“Aside from that, I’m pretty sure the Office of Fair Trading is investigating.”
The Melbourne-based company had been placed into liquidation and 85 creditors were owed significant amounts.
More than 60 are customers who spent their life savings or took out loans to buy caravans they never received.
The Popes still hope to continue their travels and buy another caravan, despite the devastating setback. In the photo, the family with their old caravan.
Pope explained that she and her husband had paid just under $80,000 for a new camper that was never built. In the photo, one of the customized Tango Caravans vans.
Several customers have been left out of money after paying in full for their caravan, with some losing up to $90,000.
“We were absolutely shocked and heartbroken because this was our home and after calling all the manufacturers we learned that none of them had our caravan built on their books, no one even had a chassis,” Ms Pope wrote in a GoFundMe.
“Our caravan was never intended to be built.”
Pope said liquidators told him Tango Caravans had been trading while insolvent since March 2023.
“Our payments were basically used to pay off old bad debts that the company director had accumulated over the years,” Ms Pope wrote.
Pope added that she and her family were left “completely heartbroken” and have “no chance” of recovering their hard-earned money.
Becoming homeless, the family scrambled to find a rental place and were lucky to find a new home.
However, that house has since been sold and the Popes were forced to move again.
‘We’ll be leaving in a couple of weeks. “The property has just been sold, so the new owners obviously want to come and that’s why we have to look for somewhere else,” he said.
‘All this has eaten up our savings and everything we had left. “To be under that amount, it’s been a little exciting.”
Ms. Pope said she, her husband and three children are missing while traveling, where the children are home-schooled.
With the new school year about to begin and the family off the road and looking for a home to live in, he added that “we are trying to determine where we will be, before we make that decision (about where they will go to school for next year). .’
The money raised on GoFundMe will go to a family who has decided to buy another caravan
“We have spent most of our savings so we hope your generosity will help us put down a deposit on a van while we get funding for the rest,” Mrs Pope wrote.
“We are slowly coming to terms with what has happened, but it has been an incredibly emotionally and mentally draining couple of months since this happened.
“We were completely robbed of our plans and dreams and have had to make some difficult decisions to determine what is best for our family.”
The collapse of Tango Caravans has destroyed many Australians’ dreams of owning a caravan and exploring Australia.
Sarah Horter (pictured) is listed as the sole director of Tango Caravans
Queensland woman Taisha Ellis previously told Daily Mail Australia her family was $83,000 in debt and had no caravan.
“Our family’s dream was stolen by Tango Caravans, which left us $83,000 in debt with a five-year payment plan and an imminent balloon payment,” he said.
Ms Ellis and her partner were told they would have their customized caravan within two weeks of placing their purchase order, but when it did not arrive they contacted the manufacturer used by Tango Caravans.
That company told them that Tango already owed them so much money that they were refusing to place any orders, and Ms. Ellis demanded to know where her money had gone.
“What was supposed to be a new beginning for our family has turned into a financial nightmare,” she said.
Andrew Yeo of Pitcher Partners has been appointed liquidator of the business. The company’s website links to a notice to creditors saying the company’s finances are being investigated.
Sylwia Logan, who moderates the Tango Owners Australia Facebook group, said it has gone from customers discussing designs, models and where they would travel with their new purchase to “over 40 people who are now in financial and desperate difficulty due to this company”. .
Ms Logan explained that she had ordered a caravan in December 2023 and was told in March last year that work had begun on it.
However, communication with Tango Caravans was interrupted after she paid for her van.
Taisha Ellis and her husband Jaime paid for their ‘dream’ with Tango Caravans, but said they were left without a caravan and $83,000 in debt.
A week before the settlement, Ms Logan said she entered the Tango Caravan premises and demanded a refund or else she would not leave.
He said after “hours” he was given a written letter saying he would be given a full refund within days, but the business was then placed into administration.
“I paid a $15,000 deposit and took out $60,000 in loans and now I’m in huge debt for something I won’t own,” Ms Logan said.
“I have two children and this was supposed to allow me to work part-time, travel and bond with family, but now I’m back to working full-time and spending less time with my children.”
The liquidator has told clients they are unlikely to receive much of their money, if any.
Liquidator Yeo said that based on his preliminary investigations, Tango is not in a position to refund customers.
He said it appears Tango has no caravan stock on site.
“Some caravans may currently be manufactured by third-party suppliers and a partial solution may be possible,” Mr Yeo said.