Three years ago we sold everything to travel Australia with our three young sons. Now we’re homeless after the unthinkable happened

A young family who packed up their lives to travel around Australia have been left homeless after the caravan company went bankrupt before they finished their new vehicle.

Alison Pope and her husband sold their home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in 2022 to pursue the dream with their three sons.

The couple bought a caravan and traveled around Australia for two years before deciding to purchase an upgraded vehicle.

In February 2024 they received a quote from Tango Caravans and two months later they paid a 10 percent deposit.

The Popes sold their old caravan after the company told them it would take 8 to 10 weeks to build their new home on wheels.

During construction they found shelter for a short time.

“We knew we might be without a home for a few weeks and we accepted this,” Ms Pope told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Our old caravan sold quickly so we had to pack our whole lives into a shipping container and drive from South Australia, where we were, to Queensland to stay with family for a while and also for short term accommodation.’

Tango Caravans informed the family at the end of May that the chassis for their van had arrived and that the caravan was in production.

The family was ordered to pay the remaining amount on their bill, which was almost $80,000.

“Naively and emotionally we paid our full payment to Tango Caravans, thinking we would be in our new home in two weeks,” Mrs Pope said.

But after making full payment, Ms Pope claimed Tango Caravans ‘completely ghosted’ her and ignored their calls and emails.

The family was forced to spend an exorbitant amount of money on short-term housing and move several times.

In August, the family discovered that other Tango customers were experiencing similar issues when they contacted the company.

“We are not the only people affected,” Pope said.

“And I know some of those victims went to the police and were told it was a civil matter.

“Otherwise, I’m pretty sure the Office of Fair Trading is investigating.”

The Melbourne-based company had declared bankruptcy, with 85 creditors owing significant amounts of money.

More than 60 of these are customers who spent their savings or took out loans to buy caravans that they never received.

Several customers have been locked out after making full payment for their caravan, with some losing as much as $90,000.

“We were absolutely shocked and heartbroken as this was our home and after calling all the manufacturers we found out that none of them had had our caravan built to their book, none even had a chassis,” Mrs Pope wrote on one GoFundMe.

“We never intended for our caravan to be built.”

Ms Pope said liquidators told her Tango Caravans had been insolvent since March 2023.

“Our payments were actually used to pay off old bad debts that the company’s president had accrued over the years,” Ms. Pope wrote.

Mrs Pope added that she and her family have been left ‘completely heartbroken’ and have ‘no chance’ of getting their hard-earned money back.

Homeless, the family tried to find housing to rent and were fortunate to find a new home.

However, that house has now been sold and the Popes have been forced to move again.

‘We’ll be gone in a few weeks. The property has just been sold so obviously the new owners want to move in so we just have to find another place,” she said.

“It’s all going to be eaten up by our savings and everything we had left. Because it’s so little, it was quite a kicker.’

Mrs. Pope said she, her husband and their three children went missing while on the road, where the children are homeschooled.

With the new school year about to start and the family off the road and looking for a house to live in, she added that “we’re trying to figure out where we’re going to be before we make that decision (about where they are going). to school for the coming year).’

The money raised from the GoFundMe will go to the family who have decided to buy another caravan

“We have spent most of our savings so we hope your generosity will help us with a down payment on a van while we get financing for the rest,” Ms. Pope wrote.

‘We are slowly coming to terms with what has happened, but it has been an incredibly emotionally and mentally draining few months since this happened.

“Our plans and dreams have been completely stolen from us and we have had to make some difficult decisions to figure out what is best for our family.”

The collapse of Tango Caravans has shattered the dream of owning a caravan and exploring Australia for many Australians.

Taisha Ellis, a Queensland woman, previously told Daily Mail Australia her family was $83,000 in debt and did not own a caravan.

“Our family’s dream was stolen by Tango Caravans, who left us $83,000 in debt with a five-year repayment plan and looming repayment,” she said.

Mrs Ellis and her partner were told they would have their bespoke 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 they were already owed so much money by Tango that they refused to place orders, with Ms Ellis demanding to know where her money went.

“What should have been a new beginning for our family has turned into a financial nightmare,” she said.

Andrew Yeo of Pitcher Partners has been appointed as liquidator of the company. The company’s website contains a link to a notice to creditors stating that the company’s finances are under investigation.

Sylwia Logan, moderator of the Tango Owners Australia Facebook group, said it had gone from customers discussing designs, models and where they would travel with their new purchase, to “more than 40 people who are now in financial difficulty and desperate are because of this company’ .

Ms Logan explained that she ordered a caravan in December 2023 and was told work had started on it in March last year.

However, communication with Tango Caravans stopped after she paid for her van.

A week before the liquidation, Ms Logan said she entered the Tango Caravan premises and demanded a refund or she would not leave.

She said that after ‘hours’ she received a written letter saying they would give her a full refund within a few days, but the company was then put into administration.

“I paid a $15,000 deposit and took out $60,000 in loans and I am now in huge debt for something I don’t want to own,” Ms Logan said.

‘I have two children and the intention was that I would be able to work part-time, travel and build family connections, but now I am back to work full-time and spending less time with my children.’

Customers have been told by the curator that it is unlikely that they will get a large part of their money back.

Liquidator Mr Yeo said that according to his preliminary investigation, Tango is not in a position to refund customers.

He said it doesn’t appear Tango has any caravans in stock.

“It is possible that some caravans are currently manufactured by third party suppliers, and a partial solution may be feasible,” Mr Yeo said.