NEW CHARTER TO PROTECT HOLIDAY-HOME BUYERS

A kitemark scheme has been launched to protect holiday-caravan and leisure-lodge buyers. The accreditation, a first in this area, allows holiday-home buyers to tell at a glance if a park has committed itself to the highest standards for dealing fairly with customers
The kitemark awarded under the scheme will go to parks which adopt a stringent new code of practice for treating customers fairly.
To receive Approved Holidays Parks recognition, park businesses must agree to adopt a Consumer Code of Practice which is modelled on code guidelines from the Office of Fair Trading.
The code spells out the ways in which parks will adhere to the principles of best practice both during the sale of a holiday home and throughout the lifetime of a customer's ownership.
One of its chief aims is to ensure that buyers of caravan holiday homes are able to make fully- informed decisions with which they will continue for be satisfied for years to come.
The code also builds in additional safeguards for customers which go beyond the levels of consumer protection set out in law and lays down new dispute-resolution procedures.
Administering the scheme is the National Caravan Council, the representative body of caravan manufacturers, which will also ensure parks' compliance with the code through an independent inspection process.

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