Mass claim against EuroParcs for unfair trade practices regarding purchase of homes

Claim association GoBaxter is suing EuroParcs on behalf of 150 plaintiffs for “unfair trade practices.” This comes after a woman successfully won a case to have her purchase fee repaid to the vacation home company in the court of Amsterdam last year, De Telegraaf reported.

The woman successfully claimed that the purchase of her holiday home had been declared null and void. The transaction was referred to by EuroParcs as a “purchase agreement,” for which she paid a “purchase price” of 205.095 euros However, the house was built on rented land, which meant that the home became the property of EuroParcs by so-called accession.

This meant that the woman would be left empty-handed if, for example, the company were to go bankrupt. The court ordered that EuroParcs had to repay the fee of over 200,000 euros. This decision was not appealed by the company.

The plaintiffs have had to pay the fees for the proceedings themselves. This will likely be a couple of percent of the house value. GoBaxter director Jochem van Dalfsen has said that around 800 people have a home on EuroParcs rented land. The attorney who won the first case against EuroParcs, Daniel Kohelet, is also involved in this case.

“Europarcs will soon be contacted on behalf of this group of buyers,” said Van Dalfsen. Around 200 victims came to a meeting in Utrecht that was organized by Van Dalfsen regarding EuroParcs malpractices. “We have heard so many stories from people who feel misled. Some people have invested their entire pension in a house. You think you are making a stable investment, but now those houses are also much more difficult to sell. EuroParcs will have to correct this and act honestly in the future.”

The vacation home company, who are currently owned by investment company Waterland, will defend itself against these claims. A spokesperson for EuroParcs, Ron Moerenhout, stated that the company only decided against appealing the case in Amsterdam because the case would have been too taxing on the woman, considering her personal health condition.

EuroParcs thinks that the Amsterdam court made a mistake with their ruling. This whole discussion about ownership or not is, in our view, a purely hypothetical discussion that does not play a role in practice,” said Moerenhout.