Mystery surrounds EM Caravans

Consumer watchdog warning
over caravan sales site

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NORTHERN Territory Consumer Affairs is warning people about a website offering second-hand caravans and mobile homes at temptingly low prices.

It claims the site is a scam being operated by a "family-owned" company calling itself EM Caravans.

"Our investigation reveals the business is not registered and the website has so far used two different ABNs which are registered by legitimate businesses that have no association with the site," the consumer watchdog said.

Attempts by Caravanning News to contact by EM Caravans by telephone were unsuccessful.

Recorded messages said: "We are not available" and "We are not able to take your call at the moment ... please call back."

But a call to its shipping agent yielded some interesting facts.

A man with a strong foreign accent told us that all money must be paid upfront, there are no facilities to view caravans which must be delivered and cannot be towed away by the buyer.

EM Caravans claims to have premises in Craigieburn, Victoria, with its main showroom at Darwin.

But investigations show the address as being a vacant block of land at East Arm.

Meanwhile, NT Consumer Affairs alleges photographs of low-priced RVs on EM's website have been sourced from other sites around the world.

"Don't get sucked in by prices that seem to be too good to be true," it warned.

"Remember, if something appears to be too good to be true, it usually is. Always do your research before transferring any money by looking for online reviews from other consumers who have used the same site."

There have been 235 reports from Scamwatch of people losing almost $190,000 from adverts mentioning caravans, motorhomes, campers or RVs.

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has warned that consumers should be wary when buying caravans online as scammers target both purchasers and sellers of these vehicles in particular.

"If the seller is located in Australia, arrange for yourself, a friend or even hired third-party to physically inspect the caravan prior to outlaying a significant amount of money," a spokesperson said.

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