Caravan owner left with outstanding repair bill worth "thousands" after Chesterfield firm Robinsons' collapse

The despairing former Robinsons customer, Tara Cotes, 42, bought the caravan with her husband, Sean, 58, who has Parkinson's, so they could "make memories" with their eight-year-old son.

However, after buying the dream holiday home Swift Conqueror at the end of 2022 the couple realised there were a slew of faults, including a cracked panoramic window, a cracked shower, a faulty fridge, faulty ventilation, leaking windows and faulty upholstery.

Tara says Robinsons had the caravan for the best part of a year, however much of the work was never completed and that which was undertaken, she claims, was done "badly" and is in need of rectifying.

However, former baker Tara says Robinsons had claimed for parts needed to complete the work against a warranty provided by manufacturer Swift.

Now that Robinsons has gone into administration Tara is being told by other local caravan dealers they are unable to claim for parts already used by another company to complete the outstanding work.

Warranty terms and conditions state that other local caravan dealers are only able to claim for fresh warranty parts.

Tara said the bill for the uncompleted work comes to "thousands".

She said: "I'm really, really angry. You buy a caravan worth more than your car and we've hardly been able to use it in the two years we've had it.

"It's been in and out of a repair shop for nearly 11 months.

"I want to set up a group for people like myself who have been affected by this - we've got caravans that have got outstanding warranty work that may never be done."

The mum-of-one was one of several Robinsons customers who descended on the business on Friday morning to collect their vehicles as rumours of the closure spread.

One Robinsons customer told Derbyshire Times she had been “locked in” with other customers while others arriving outside were refused entry.

However, after police were called it is understood the gates were opened and customers were allowed to collect their caravans.

Tara says after contacting Swift about the outstanding work she was told the manufacturer was still in "talks" about the situation.

Bosses at Robinsons have so far stayed silent, however financial administrators confirmed on Friday that it will close.

Robinsons has another dealership in Worksop and nine jobs at that site had been saved – with workers transferred to the purchaser as part of the transaction.

However, the a spokesperson for administrators Interpath said: “The Robinsons Caravans site in Chesterfield is not included in the transaction and as a result, will close with immediate effect.

"Consequently, 16 members of staff have been made redundant. The joint administrators will be providing support to all those impacted by redundancy, including assisting with claims to the redundancy payments service.”

Commenting on Tara’s situation, a Swift spokesperson said they would be working with Tara and any other customers who had bought Swift caravans from Robinsons and were affected by its closure to help get their products repaired.