A family who sold everything to travel around Australia has been left homeless and financially devastated after being “ghosted” by a caravan company they trusted. Alison Pope, her husband, and their three sons had a comfortable life on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, but in 2022, they decided to embark on an adventure and travel the vast country.
The family spent nearly two years on the road, enjoying the freedom of their journey. However, in February 2024, they decided it was time for a new caravan and reached out to a company called Tango Caravans for a quote. They were offered a deal they thought was good and, in April 2024, put down a 10 percent deposit on a new caravan, expecting it to be built in the next eight to 10 weeks.
In preparation for the new caravan, the Pope family sold their old one and packed up all their belongings into a shipping container while staying with family until the new caravan was ready. They were excited about the future and eager to continue their travels.
Unfortunately, things quickly took a turn for the worse. At the end of May 2024, the family was told that construction on their caravan was progressing well, and they would need to pay the remaining balance for the caravan to schedule the handover. Alison and her husband, trusting that everything was on track, paid the full amount of AUD$80,000 (approximately £40,000).
What followed was a series of frustrating and heartbreaking events. After making the full payment, the Pope family found themselves ignored by the company. Emails and phone calls went unanswered, and when they did manage to get in touch with someone, they were promised callbacks that never came. Weeks went by with no communication or progress.
As the family continued to live in expensive short-term accommodation, they eventually found other customers of Tango Caravans who were also experiencing issues with the company. In August 2024, they learned that Tango Caravans had gone into liquidation, and all the money they had paid for their caravan was now lost.
The Pope family, devastated by the news, conducted further research and discovered that the company had never contracted manufacturers to build the caravans they had promised. According to a GoFundMe page they set up to share their story, it became clear that their caravan “was never intended to be built.”
The collapse of Tango Caravans left many customers in a similar situation. The company owed around AUD$3.2 million (approximately £1.6 million) to 85 creditors, with about 60 customers losing a total of AUD$2 million (roughly £1 million). Sadly, those affected were informed that, due to the liquidation, they would not be receiving any of their money back.
It was revealed that Tango Caravans had been using customer deposits and payments to cover its operating costs and keep the business running, rather than paying manufacturers to build the caravans as promised. This led to the company’s eventual insolvency, leaving customers like the Popes completely heartbroken and out of pocket.
Alison Pope shared how difficult the experience has been for her family. “We are slowly coming to terms with what has happened, but it has been an incredibly emotionally and mentally draining couple of months,” she said. “Our plans and dreams were completely stolen from us, and we’ve had to make some difficult decisions about what is best for our family.”
Now, with no caravan and no chance of recovering their money, the Pope family is determined to continue their journey. They are planning to purchase another caravan but need financial help after losing such a large amount of money in the Tango Caravans debacle. Despite the challenges, they remain hopeful for the future and are working to rebuild their plans.
The Pope family’s story highlights the risks of dealing with unreliable businesses, and the emotional toll it takes when things go wrong. As they try to move forward, they remain committed to their dream of traveling around Australia, even if it means starting over.
