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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not pay my rent

62 replies

cantsleep · 20/11/2013 19:26

We have a council house. The rent is £120 a week.

I have always paid by direct debit every month. I used to get hb but when it stopped the council did not readjust my payments so I was paying 422 a month which was too little and I didn't notice as am really busy with dcs and thought I have a dd and didn't worry about it as knew the bills go out.

Before when the council had taken too much I had a ightvto get a refund and they mucked up my c tax as well so are useless.

As I had been unknowingly underpaying I now have arrears and got a letter today saying that they are changing my dd to £658 a month.

We cannot afford this. It was their mistake that I got arrears so I cancelled my dd ad I will phone them tomorrow and set up a standing order for the £130 a week, 120 rent and ten pounds towards arrears.

AIBU?

OP posts:
Original poster
cantsleep · 20/11/2013 19:27

Fight not ightvto

OP posts:
ilovesooty · 20/11/2013 19:28

Perhaps you can negotiate with them but I would say it's your responsibility to check your payments and bank statements.

CailinDana · 20/11/2013 19:28

Yanbu they should have notified you sooner. They will probably accept that arrangement.

Original poster
cantsleep · 20/11/2013 19:31

I just took it for granted that the dd went out each month and don't really have chance to check.

What was worse was earlier in year when I got a letter about non payment of c tax-they'd 'accidentally' cancelled my dd somehow, I hadn't realised and was furious about it.

Try to do things properly and arrange the easiest way to pay my bills and it still goes wrong!

OP posts:
Onesleeptillwembley · 20/11/2013 19:32

It's your responsibility to check you are paying the correct amount. I'm sure they will make an arrangement with you but I doubt £10/week will suffice. It's not their fault, taking responsibility for yourself would help you enormously.

MrsLouisTheroux · 20/11/2013 19:33

Being busy with DCs is no excuse for not knowing how much your rent is. You should have found that out when HB stopped. I wonder what the bank would say if I used that excuse for not paying them.
However, now that you have fallen behind try to negotiate paying back over a longer term.

Onesleeptillwembley · 20/11/2013 19:34

And I don't understand why you don't have chance to check - you get the chance to come on here. Maybe your priorities are wrong.

WooWooOwl · 20/11/2013 19:34

I'm not sure how paying your rent and HB stopping is related, can you explain it for those of us that don't get it.

Did your HB go direct to the council or something before it stopped?

HettiePetal · 20/11/2013 19:34

I'm pretty certain that they'll go with your repayment arrangement. As long as you're showing willing & paying something, it's usually OK.

Shonajoy · 20/11/2013 19:36

I always wonder how if its in their favour, people never notice whereas if they're not getting enough, they do...

Original poster
cantsleep · 20/11/2013 19:36

It wasn't even in my mind to check as took the whole direct debit thing for granted so didn't feel the need to go through bank statements.

They will have to accept 130 a week as that's all we can afford!

OP posts:
shimmeringinthesun · 20/11/2013 19:37

If you contact the council office by phone or in person, and explain the difficulty you would have in the new DD payment they have stated, and therefore you would like to offer a new standing order for the rent and the £10 p/w arrears as you have said, I'm sure they will appreciate the fact you are being proactive in clearing the debt - even though they have caused it.

They cannot take what you haven't got can they, so no, I don't think YABU, but I would take a communicative approach and work with them to sort it out.

holidaysarenice · 20/11/2013 19:38

I would say it depends how long this has gone on, a few months 10 might be okay? A few years and 10 won't be enough!!

IAlwaysThought · 20/11/2013 19:38

I would offer more than £10 towards the rent arrears if you can manage it.

How quickly do the council want you to pay it off?

Original poster
cantsleep · 20/11/2013 19:38

As its a council house they just deducted the hb from rent automatically, I didn't get it paid to me so when it stopped they should have readjusted my rent but didn't. I didn't realise they'd failed to do so.

OP posts:
GreatSoprendo · 20/11/2013 19:39

Your tenancy agreement will state that you are responsible for making sure your rent is paid - it probably stipulates weekly in advance. Checking it's been paid, whether directly from your bank or via HB, is therefore contractually your responsibility.

Definitely call them and negotiate an increased DD to pay off the arrears, but they are likely to require more than £10 a week on a debt that high. They may also want to serve you with a Notice of Seeking Possession to cover themselves in case you default on the voluntary agreement.

starsandunicorns · 20/11/2013 19:39

Maybe also see if you can have a payment card so if a little flush one week you can pay extra but if not you still pay the extra ten pound through the bank

Original poster
cantsleep · 20/11/2013 19:40

Probably just under a year, the arrears is a few hundred pounds.

OP posts:
Original poster
cantsleep · 20/11/2013 19:41

We have a rent payment card so paying a bit extra at some point when we have it is a good idea.

OP posts:
ethelb · 20/11/2013 19:42

Speak to your mp, they have a 'special' number they call for benefit overpayments.

GreatSoprendo · 20/11/2013 19:42

And the HB claim is your claim - so when your entitlement ceased, you will have been notified. That notification letter will (at least in the many different examples I've seen before) advise you to contact your landlord and ensure appropriate alternative payments are in place, or else your tenancy may be at risk.

WooWooOwl · 20/11/2013 19:45

In that case, I think it was your responsibility to ensure that the payments were correct, because it was your HB claim that changed.

Either way though, the council should only take what you can reasonably afford while you pay the money back.

HaPPy8 · 20/11/2013 19:46

I think you should contact them to discuss it before cancelling anything or you could end up in trouble. Im sure they will come to an arrangement with you.

Original poster
cantsleep · 20/11/2013 19:46

Can't really remember if had a hb letter or not, probably did but they are so confusing (I have a huge problem with maths/numbers) and whenever I've been confused before I've phoned but ended up still not understanding. I thought the council would always get payments etc right so set up a direct debit in the hope it'd just be paid and I could forget about it.

OP posts:
GobbySadcase · 20/11/2013 19:47

Generally if you are going to pay it off within a year they'll accept that.