Hi Lorryjo1983.

The situation with cars isn't entirely straightforward. For example, you need to have a genuine reason to keep a vehicle (which most people will have of course) otherwise the associated expenditure could be used to repay more of the debts.

Therefore one important question here is does someone have a genuine need to keep a caravan, or is it an additional expense that could be removed without serious consequences so that more debt could be repaid?

There's also a question about proportionality. If the finance payment is relatively small it's less likely to be an issue than if it's a significant sum of money paid out every month.

Another question is whether the caravan finance provider has a clause in the contract that they can recover the caravan if someone enters a personal insolvency process? Secondly, would they enforce that clause even if it does exist?

Because there's some judgment involved, this is probably a question your friend can only get answered by:

1 - Getting debt advice and finding out how a particular trustee will assess this.

2 - Checking the finance agreement and talking to the provider if there's a personal insolvency clause.

I agree with TDA

It comes down to whether it is reasonable for your friend to keep the caravan.

Usually with vehicles , your trustee allows the use of the vehicle as it benefits the estate. For example, you may use the vehicle to go to work and then able to pay a contribution.

If the caravan is handed back, your friend will be protected against any shortfall that occurs.

If your friend does wish to keep the caravan , one solution may for a third party to take over the payments of the finance so it doesn't impact the level of payment. However as TDA advises, the finance agreement may have an insolvency clause that may irritate the lease

p

Hi Lorryjo1983. I presume that the caravan isn't your friend's main residence, as that would be altogether different.
I think it would likely come down to how much it costs and whether that fits within the guidelines as to what is deemed acceptable. Or whether there are any special circumstances that can justify the expenditure.