Big Wave Campers Coventry

Complaint Review for DG Campers Note - Big wave is still trading under a new name DG Campers. I am writing this review to document our deeply troubling experience with DG Campers and to warn other potential customers before they part with their money. What we have dealt with over the past three months has been nothing short of appalling — from mechanical faults and broken promises to serious verbal abuse and intimidation from the owners. Initial Purchase & Immediate Mechanical Issues We purchased our van from DG Campers on 18th October 2025, for £22,000. Within minutes of leaving the dealership, while driving home on the M6, the van went into limp mode, with a DPF sensor warning light. When we called DG Campers, we were told this was “probably because the van had been sitting still” and advised to continue driving home. After arriving home, we paid out of pocket for a local garage to inspect the van — the DPF filter was faulty. Shortly afterwards, we discovered further issues: AD Blue range sensor not working — later found to have been deleted from the van. Heated seats non‑functional — seats had been changed and heated replacements were no longer possible. Van dirty on arrival, with food wrappers and sweets inside the central console. Collection, Lack of Courtesy Vehicle & Poor Communication DG Campers collected the van on 21st October. Despite this being our only vehicle and living over 3 hours away, we were told: No courtesy vehicle was available They would not fund one either We again covered these costs ourselves. Communication during this period was extremely difficult. Messages went unanswered, and updates were inconsistent. Eventually we were told the AD Blue system had indeed been deleted and the heated seats could not be fixed. As a form of compensation, DG Campers agreed wheels/tyres. The van was returned to us on 25th October with DPF filter light off but other issues very much still in place. Continuing Mechanical Problems & DG Campers Going Silent On 10th November, we reported excessive oil use. We were told to “monitor it for 1000 miles”. On 4th December, after following that advice, we contacted DG Campers again via WhatsApp and email. No response. We eventually reached Joe by phone, who said someone would arrange collection — later changed to us having to drop the van off ourselves, which we did on 9th December. Once DG Campers had the van, they became completely unreachable. On 12th December, we were told the turbo was faulty and would be replaced. We were told it would arrive by 15th December. Wrong Parts, No Insurance & Zero Support On 15th December, after finally getting through, we learned: The wrong part had been ordered The van would not be repaired before the Christmas shutdown DG Campers were “not insured to keep the van over Christmas” We were expected to collect it Our request for a courtesy vehicle was again refused After checking with our insurer, we learned that collecting the van with a faulty turbo would invalidate our policy. We attempted to relay this to DG Campers — but they stopped taking our calls altogether. At this stage, we sought legal advice and were told we were within our rights for a 30‑day reject. Abusive Behaviour From DG Campers Owners On 16th December, my wife spoke to Mark, informing him that we would be requesting a refund. Mark became abusive, shouting, swearing, and refusing to process the refund. On 17th–18th December, after phoning 11 times, I finally got through to Mark. During this call he became extremely aggressive, telling me to: “Go f* myself**” That I could have a “f*ing refund**” That if I requested one, he would “take as long as possible” and do “everything he could” to block it. We then discovered the van had been placed in a third‑party garage, was undriveable, and the turbo had not been ordered. On 18th December, I travelled to DG Campers. I was met by Andrew (Mark’s brother). I calmly explained what had happened, and the entire conversation was audio‑recorded. Andrew: Swore at me Threatened me physically Threatened to move my vehicle with a fork lift When I said that the communication was poor, Andrew told me that that is what happens when you buy cheap. Again, my vehicle cost me £22,000. This behaviour was completely unacceptable and is now being used as evidence going forward. Return of Vehicle & Withheld Paperwork The van remained in a third‑party garage over the Christmas period. We received very limited contact from DG Campers — the only staff member who showed any professionalism or concern was Dixie. The van was finally returned on 15th January, 37 days after we dropped it off. We collected this from our nearest train station. On inspection the van had less then 15 miles of fuel in. Since then, DG Campers have refused to provide paperwork for the turbo replacement, and we believe the third‑party garage is being blocked from releasing it to us. Summary The customer service we received from DG Campers has been shockingly poor, and in our experience: Owners Mark and Andrew have been verbally abusive, aggressive, and physically threatening. Communication has been consistently evasive or non‑existent. We were left without a vehicle for 37 days and no courtesy car. Mechanical faults, incorrect repairs, and withheld paperwork have caused immense stress. We are sharing this so that others do not go through the same ordeal. This has been an utter shambles from start to finish, and we hope future customers think very carefully before trusting DG Campers. We have no doubt that DG Campers are going to respond, potentially placing more fake reviews as they have in the past. However please note this review is factual. We have evidence including audio, and are happy to discuss this with anyone who has a potential interest in using DG Campers in future.

Ever since our purchase of this van we have been inundated with vehicle problems and bad after service support. On the pick up day we were informed that our van would not be ready because there was manpower issues at the workshop, this being where our van still was and not at the Birmingham Showroom. Completely disappointed we turned around and started heading home. We then received a phone call from the Salesroom Manager who apologised for the mis-communication and that even if he had to go to Coventry himself, the van would be ready for us in as originally planned. Once again we turned around and headed to Birmingham. Arriving in Birmingham our van was nowhere to be seen? Two hours later the van tipped up, no awning was fitted as previously arranged and it needed valeting. We waited whilst the van was prepped and the van was eventually presented to us late in the afternoon. We did the paperwork and there was no service history or any history prior to Big Wave Campers ownership of the vehicle, I voiced my concerns to the Sales Manager who promised me he would look into it. Alarm bells were ringing here but my Partners joy at finally getting her dream vehicle compelled me to take his word for it. We then looked over the vehicle, the cab was dirty but more alarmingly, the windscreen had a massive crack, the passenger side light was cracked and the engine management light was on plus there was hardly any fuel in the vehicle. More apologies and excuses were issued. Due to the lateness of the hour we took the vehicle away. We had to fuel and add Adblue on the way home in Birmingham rush hour. It was apparent the van had problems as the fuel consumption was terrible, the vehicle struggled to accelerate and closer to home, the engine started smoking. We arrived home, fuel dripping out of the engine hence the smoke and more warning lights had illuminated. We were beside ourselves with anger at this point. The next day we telephoned Big Wave Campers. More apologies and excuses were issued and a promise that the vehicle would be picked up, rectified and returned to us as a priority. The van got picked up by BWC and 5 days later, we were notified our van would be returned, it never tipped up. The next day we were notified that the van would be returned to us by 1900hrs, once again it never tipped up. Third time lucky we were notified that the van would be with us by 1800hrs, it never tipped up. 12 days after the van went for repair it got delivered back to us complete with a fitted awning. All problems we were told had been rectified. The van was still leaking fluids and the engine management light had come back on? We informed BWC after we had diligently gone to the effort of taking it to a local garage to get the computer read, 5 alarms had been activated and several were in conjunction with the work that had supposedly been completed to the van in Coventry? We had asked the local garage to complete the work under the Blue Chip Warranty system, they said 'No' as most garages had parlayed together and would not touch this sort of Warranty work due to the Warranty companies not wanting to pay the garages for the work completed, arguing every step of the way and wanting inferior cheaper parts used on repairs? The Warranty issued with the vehicle is worthless. So once again we arranged for the van to be returned to Coventry for repair. After 13 days of waiting I delivered the van in person to Coventry. Another 13 days went by before the van got returned back to us. Unbelievably it was still leaking fluids so another call to BWC, we got told by the Manager we now have to go through a lady in charge of after sales, he would get her to contact us, this didn't happen. Due to the incompetence and lack of professionalism of BWC, we decided to take it to a local garage for repair sadly at our cost.