to be stressed out that I can't pay my rent

[NotASausageLeft]

and when I hope to be able to pay it, it will be 17 days overdue and my contract says that the letting agent can storm the house if it is more than 7 days late [am shitting myself BTW!].I am a lone parent and am having to live on benefits and child tax credits until I can find another job [was made redundant in Feb].

Anyhow tax credits stopped my payments without telling me at the end on June [should have got £520] and finally after 2 weeks I got £55 from them with a letter saying my payments would be reduced to £28 every 4 weeks. I think they may have overpaid me but have had nothing explaining this or giving me a chance to dispute it. The complete fuckwits (no offence to anyone who works there who is on here of course) on the helpline have no idea what is happening and how long it will take to reinstate my payments. Had to get someone from Income Support to ring them and 'remind' them that as I am on IS, they must pay me the minimum amount as I am below the poverty level with their payments. One week later, still nothing!

I will now have to tell my letting agent that I cannot pay my rent as I am having to use my housing benefit for food! My mum has said she can lend me some money but I will have to wait until she gets paid which will make it 17 days overdue. I have always paid my rent on time and am worried they will kick me out of the house. FFS I can't even take the kids to my parents for a few weeks or take them anywhere in fact as I have no money and it's the bloody school holidays. AIBU to want to drive to the HMRC offices and smash all the windows (oh, can't cos no money for the petrol!). Commiserate with me pleaseeee!!

Ladies, thanks all. Absolutely hate having to tell the landlord about my strained financial circumstances (pride and all that) and cannot believe that HMRC can muck up my claim like this with no recourse for weeks afterwards. I will contact the council tomorrow although they are paying me what they should and see what they say.

Had to rant earlier but feel better now .

I contacted my MP, too, when our tax credits got ballsed up and we became unable to buy food for paying rent.

About to contact him again about the council/HA's bullshit policy as to what constitutes involuntary homelessness.

expat are the council giving you a shit time? I thought you were involuntary as your landlord wanted possesion of his house? How can that be voluntary?! Councils can be a PITA, going down the homeless route was the most stressful thing I have ever done.

They say he has to serve notice to quit and then formally evict us. Oh, and pay a solicitor for it all, too. He's pissed off, too, and contacting his MP.

I told them, um, notice or not, he is coming back to live in his house. He has only one house to live in.

How fucking voluntary is that that we get out?!

How comes the council dont pay your rent for you?

They do, addicted, but her HB is calculated taking her tax credits into account as part of her income, and the TCO has fucked up and cut her tax credits, leaving her with a shortfall in income.

Your landlord cannot bust in after 7 days, no matter what is in the contract: look on the Shelter website, it gives really clear info on the steps that landlords have to take, and you can call them for advice too, my sister used them and they were great.

When it comes to tax credits, do it all on the phone. They are always behind on dealing wtih letters, faxes, and emails - I have been told on the phone before that they are anything up to 10 weeks behind. Get on the phone and stay on until they put you through to someone who can sort it. If you are insistent enough, they will put you through to a higher up.But it is horrible and stressful I know

expat, sadly yes they need the legal side of it. We had a notice of possession as it was signed the same time as our contract 2 years earlier. But the council made our landlord go to a solicitor and get another one done. They wont do anything until the very last minute if they can help it, which is shite. I hated the living day to day for months not knowing if we'd be homeless completely the next week, frightened the council would turn us down for help. I swear that all helped end my marriage, I really hope you get it sorted soon.

No, Natt, they don't. Landlord's MP got in touch. Surprise, surprise, all they need is a written declaration from landlord that yes, we are in his principle domain and only residence and yes, he's returning to Scotland to live in it.

Bloody councils dont know their arses from their elbows do they? Fingers crossed they will accept you on the list with priority points now. How does it work up there, bidding or allocation?