Cancer survivor left homeless after £90k camper van dream turns into nightmare

A cancer survivor was left homeless after what was supposed to be a dream post-treatment luxury camping tour turned into a waking nightmare.

Fiona Helen sold her house and bought a £90,000 luxury camper van after surviving breast cancer in 2023, and had planned to take the motor home on a Europe tour with her two to celebrate. But the 38-year-old, from Derry, , has struggled to leave after the five-figure vehicle became plagued with faults. The beauty therapist has been saddled with a massive £2,000 credit card debt and is now homeless and stranded in Inverness, where she is bouncing between temporary accommodation.

Fiona said she is living a "nightmare" in the Scottish wilderness after her "cursed" van, a Grand California 600, broke down, and now no longer has the money to follow her post-cancer goal of seeing the . The whole experience, she added, has had a "hugely detrimental effect" on her physical and mental health.

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Speaking to the, Fiona said she set off for Scotland in 2023 to follow her dad's Scottish roots into the home nation's northern regions. She said: "After dealing with cancer, I realised that life is too short so I decided to follow my dream by selling up and seeing the world.

“My dad was Scottish and I have always loved the wildness of the highlands, so this was going to be my dream trip." She had planned to move on to Norway after a few months with her two dogs, Hamish and Bella, but started encountering issues as she embarked on the North Coast 500 route.

Among the many faults she reported with the motor home were a leaky shower unit, a faulty shower door, a leaking fridge, faulty water pump, control panel and lighting and wifi system. What was initially a two week stay extended to nine and then 14, with Fiona moving "multiple times week after week".

She continued: "I have to move from place-to-place multiple times week after week. I have to remove and unpack all my belongings every time. It is utterly exhausting. This is the third time I have had to leave my motorhome for repairs. A total of 14 weeks in accommodation to this point - with no end in sight.

"When I decided to sell my home to travel I had just recovered from 18 months gruelling treatment for breast cancer. I was blessed to be given a second chance to live my life, I sold absolutely everything I had to embark on a journey of a lifetime." Her trip to Scotland has now lasted more than a year, with VW having covered her accommodation bill until recently.

She said she had handed over another £1,950 bill when she was informed that her van was ready to collect, but she said she now feels "stuck" with the vehicle. She said: “I should have been living my best life across Europe by now. My budget is now blown and I can’t afford to go. I’m now stuck with this van which I have no faith in and didn’t even want to collect. I’ve been treated appallingly.”

A Volkswagen spokeswoman told The Record: "It’s always disappointing to hear of a customer who is unhappy with their vehicle or the customer service they received. Having reviewed the information we have available I understand the customer’s vehicle is now repaired and ready for collection and we have covered all accommodation costs up until their vehicle was ready for collection, as well as providing some goodwill items during this time."