Tango Caravans put in receivership day after liquidators take over

The family have been left temporarily homeless while another couple have taken out a five-year loan for a product they will never own.

A collapsed caravan company has more than 85 creditors, including dozens of impacted customers, and an unknown amount of debt as receivers have been appointed.

Earlier this month, news.com.au reported that Victorian-based Tango Caravans had plunged into liquidation, leaving at least 60 people without the caravans they had paid for.

The appointed liquidator, Andrew Yeo from insolvency firm Pitcher Partners, said there were “significant debts”, with the large majority of those from customers who had paid deposits.

Just a day after liquidators had taken control, receivers took over the business as their client, a small business loan provider called Bizcap, grew nervous about recovering an unspecified debt.

The liquidator has now relinquished control of the assets and premises of Tango Caravans, with receivers recovering what remains for their client, making it even more unlikely customers will ever see their money returned.

Tango’s collapse is particularly devastating for Ali Winter and her family-of-five who have been left temporarily homeless in the wake of the company’s failure, as well as losing just shy of $80,000.

Ms Winter, 41, her husband and her three sons, originally from Queensland, sold their home in 2022 to travel around the country in a trip of a lifetime. But wanting an upgrade to their home on wheels, they sold their van to afford a new vehicle from Tango Caravans – and have been waiting ever since.

“We ended up in a short term rental for seven weeks. We’ve been living with all our stuff in the back of a car. We’ll probably apply for a rental,” Ms Winter told news.com.au.

The Winter family enjoyed life on the road until they handed in their caravan to get a new one.

The family have been left temporarily homeless.

The Winter family paid tens of thousands of dollars, instead of just the deposit because at the end of May, Tango Caravans informed them their customised van was just a few weeks away.

“We’d paid the final payment because we were told that our chassis had arrived at the manufacturers. They don't do final handovers until final payment is made,” Ms Winter said.

But she claims after the payment, she had trouble contacting the company and finally in a rage, sent an email explaining how they were in limbo and forking out extra cash for accommodation while they waited for their caravan.

The company was apologetic and said their van was “next in line” and a “priority” and also said Tango Caravans would like to compensate them for their accommodation.

However, this did not end up eventuating.

“I called all our manufacturers and no one even had an order for me,” Ms Winter added.

Sarah Horter is listed as the sole director of Tango Caravans and has been contacted for comment.

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Ms Winter said Tango Carans never made good

The Logans took out a five-year loan for a vehicle they will now never see.

Then there’s Sylwia Logan, 43, who’s also in a dire financial position with total losses of $90,000.

The mum-of-two paid $76,000 and on top of that, she took out a loan to be able to afford it.

Ms Logan is also paying $14,000 in interest for the five-year loan she took out for a product she will likely never receive.

“We paid it, it did not cross our mind it would not come,” she told news.com.au.

“I cannot believe I’m going to pay off a loan for something I will never own.”

Ms Logan said she “sacrificed so much” for this caravan including taking up full time work so her family could afford to go camping on weekends.

“We’ve got young kids, we’re very outdoorsy. We always thought we wanted to go camping,” she said.

Although the Logans were expecting their caravan to arrive in March, it did not, and when they chased up Tango, the response was concerning.

She said staff kept claiming they were sick and would then quit, palming her off to another employee who would later make similar excuses.

Fed up, Ms Logan demanded a refund and Tango consented. Just days later, however, the entire business went belly up.

The Logan family like the outdoors and wanted to make memories in their caravan.

Ms Logan’s husband and kids checking out a Tango Caravan.

News.com.au previously reported that Tyler Edmunds, a father-of-two, had been fearing the worst for months after being promised his caravan would be completed by February – but had seen no sign of it.

The Albury resident had made the three-hour trek to Tango’s Melbourne head office several times demanding he get what he paid for, but each time he left empty-handed.

The young dad had been asked to make the full payment – $73,000 – for his caravan, and he is now facing the prospect of losing it all. Mr Edmunds told news.com.au that everyone feels “ripped off”.

In a devastating blow to customers, the appointed liquidator, Mr Yeo said he is not in a position to refund customers.

The liquidator also said that Tango doesn’t have any stock on its property and doesn’t control any caravans.

“It may be possible that some caravans are presently being manufactured by external suppliers, and a partial resolution may be achievable,” he added.

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