I spent £32k of my father’s inheritance on a caravan from Britain’s ‘richest gypsy’… two years later they tell me I can NEVER sell it – now I’m losing thousands every year
A pensioner has told how she lost £50,000 after spending her father’s inheritance money on a caravan – only to be told two years later she can never sell it.
Debbie Mularczyk, 67, purchased the 12-year-old mobile home in 2022 at Cornwall’s SeaView Holiday Park, a branch of Wyldecrest Parks founded by self-proclaimed ‘billionaire gypsy’ Alfie Best.
She was allegedly promised the £32,000 caravan was an ‘investment’ by park owners, who claimed she could make a profit renting it and then sell up later.
However, in what the pensioner has described as a ‘complete blow’, she was told just two years later that the property was unsellable as it was ‘too old’.
After forking out the initial lump sum and tens of thousands in site fees, the pensioner claims she is £50,000 out of pocket and trapped with a caravan she doesn’t want.
She told MailOnline: ‘It’s just devastating because we’ve lost all that money which was meant to be a legacy, because my dad lived there.
‘We used all the money thinking it would be somewhere for family and friends… but it’s just a drain financially.’
Mrs Mularczyk, a retired NHS nurse and midwife from Somerset, said when attempting to sell the caravan in 2022 she was told it would not be possible as the home was more than ten years old.
Debbie Mularczyk’s caravan at SeaView Holiday Park, Cornwall, which she bought for an initial lump sum of £32,000
Debbie Mularczyk, 68, and her husband bought the caravan under the belief they would be able to sell it down the line to make some of their money back
A site in the park, which Mrs Mularczyk claims has become increasingly ‘derelict’
‘There’s just a little comment on the lease that says caravans must not change hands when a caravan is over ten years old. We bought it at 12 years old,’ she said.
‘We were told at the time [of buying] it would be no problem – it’s a great investment.’
Mrs Mularczyk said she has tried to make back some of the money by renting out the property on AirBnb, but added the profits don’t come close to covering the annual site fees, as well as cleaning and maintenance costs.
‘Eventually I guess we’ll just have to lock the door and walk away, and we’ve lost all that money,’ she said.
‘We thought it would be a wonderful use of my dad’s money, but it’s been basically a total waste of his money. We don’t know where it’s going to end.’
She added: ‘Our plans were to sell it while it was still valuable […] but then we were told last year that we couldn’t sell it at all – it was a complete bombshell. So that’s where we are.’
To make matters worse, Mrs Mularczyk claims the state of the park itself has become more and more ‘derelict’ as the three years have gone by.
‘The site itself looks derelict. The facilities when we bought the site are less now. When we bought it there was a tennis court, outdoor pool, we were told there was a restaurant and bar, that’s only actually just opened,’ she said.
‘The children’s outdoor playground is derelict, the only thing that’s in there is the slide, a broken zipline, a broken down dinosaur, the picnic area is just derelict.’
The park’s pools, which the pensioner described as a ‘swamp’
The park’s entrance, according to the pensioner, featuring a pathway and large puddle
Mrs Mularczyk claims parts of the park have turned into dumping grounds
The remains of a slide in the park’s children’s area, according to Mrs Mularczyk
A pile of picnic tables which Mrs Mularczyk says have been dumped at the park
The park features a mini golf course which Mrs Mularczyk says is broken
Mrs Mularczyk claimed she was recently told the £5,500 annual site fees are increasing in September by 8 per cent.
She is the latest in a string of caravan owners who have told MailOnline about their mobile home nightmares – with many claiming they lost their life savings after their property plummeted in value.
The pensioner also said she has tried tirelessly to contact Wyldecrest Parks with her concerns but is yet to receive a response.
MailOnline has contacted SeaView and Alfie Best for comment. Wyldecrest Parks declined to comment.
Alfie Best founded Wyldecrest Parks in 2001 when he purchased Lakeview Residential Park in Romford, Essex – marking the beginning of his mobile home park empire.
Last year, he told MailOnline his net worth is into 10 figures thanks to his business interests – having quit Britain to move to Monte Carlo.
He said he does not plan on returning to Britain – because he wants to spend his money in ‘economies and countries that are much more welcoming and supportive of business and entrepreneurs’.
