worried about debt letter, please advise

[helpmewithmoney]

from june 2005- july 2006 i lived in a flat owned by a local housing association, moved in july 2006 to private rented accom odation, all rent was paid , keys returned ect.
on friday i recieved a letter stating that i have rebt arreers of £5400 that must be paid by the end of this month, also saying tenancy had not ended until nov 2006 when i abandonned the flat.
phoned on friday and the person i really needed was not there but another person told me the system showed that i had never given the keys back and had these rent arreers, said it was up to me to prove i had paid (wehich i am unable to do) but to phone back on monday and speak to someone else.
help, advice or winning lottery numbers please!

Do you have a written record of your tenancy ending? surely you handed the keys back and they signed for them?

Do you have anything proving when you moved into your new house ??

Did you get a reciept when you took the keys back to prove the date?

Is the figure from july to november? Does it not say on your bank statements that the rent up to july was paid by showing the transfer/direct debit? When did you give your notice to move?

rent was paid using a card that you took into local newsagents and got a reciept like a mobile top up voucher, paid weekly. They did give me a reciept for the keys when i took them in, however i dont have these reciepts now (didnt think i would need them after 2 years)
i do have the tenancy agreement for my current address showing when i moved in.
the debt is for more than just july-nov, the rent was only about £650 per month

Ask them for a breakdown of the costs so you can see what they are for. Take in proof of when you moved, like the tennancy agreement and utilty bills which have date of connection on them. I would also go to the CAB first for some advice and help with this.

Legally, if you pay weekly they should have given you a rent book. If you pay monthly then you don't need one.

the rent was weekly, i sure i didnt ever get a rent book, i always used the card and paid a month at a time so i was always abit ahead with the rent - or so i thought.

Did you pay with cash or did you use your bank card?

I'd still go and see the CAB. They are very helpful.

paid cash, will ring the cab in the morning.

if it comes to the worst case scenario and i have to pay the money do you think i will have to pay it all at once is it likely they would let me pay it monthly? i dont have anything near £5000.

In all honesty, they need to prove that you owe this before you even think about repayments. Don't pay a penny unless you are sure that you owe this debt. Go and see the CAB. They can help you to sort this out and they will talk to the housing association on your behalf. If you do owe them then they should accept whatever you are able to afford.

Be very careful, don't admit you owe this, see the CAB as soon as you can and take ALL of the documentation you have, reciepts, letters, contracts, everything.

thanks avenanap, i will ring cab in the morning and make appointment. i have never been in debt, never even gone overdrawn so this has frightened the life out of me. thanks for your advice.

It's OK. I bet it came as quite a shock. Try not to worry, it will get sorted out.