Letting Agent Mistake Trying To Make Me Pay - Help!

angelfoxy

Hi

I've lived in my rented house now since October 2008. I am on housing benefit and get the full ammount to cover my rent. My rent is £350 per calendar month but the housing benefit pay every four weeks so I get £323.08 every four weeks.

As the housing benefit is every four weeks my letting agent agreed for me to pay the 323.08 every four weeks.

Around August/Spetember of 2009 I had some issues with my benefits and as a result my rent got all messy. I was late paying and was paying bits here and there.

In December the letting agent did some sort of accounting and said I was in arrears of £208.39. I questioned this as I thought I was in arrears by more than that but the letting agent assured me I only owed £208.39.

On the 1st of December I went in to the office and payed the £208.39 and was also given a rent statement where they had written at the bottom "Arrears £208.39" and my reciept for payment was attached.

Since December I have been up to date with my rent paying the £323.08 every four weeks and I have reciepts to prove that.

The letting agent has contacted me today to say that I owe them two months rent. I know I owe one month and i'm due to pay it on Monday.

I think they have made a mistake with their accounting back in December.

Do I owe this money then or do they have to swollow their mistake?!

poppysarah

Write it all out so they can see what you've paid (I assume you have a proper record of what HB you've been paid)

angelfoxy

i have a record of what housing benefit i have been paid but as it was all such a mess towards the end of last year i was paying little bits here and there. I am also missing some reciepts from last year.

I have though the rent statement that shows them saying my arrears to that date are £208.39 with the reciept attached to show I paid it and all the reciepts from that date onwards that shows I havent been short in my rent.

Would that be enough?

BitterAndTwisted

Ask the agents for a complete statement of account going back to the balance of £208.39 (which was cleared) showing where these alleged arrears have occurred. Only admit you owe these arrears if you agree how they have come about. It's possible that they have omitted to credit your account with all of the payments you have made but if you don't have a record of each payment yourself you can't ask the agent to trace them. Get your paperwork in order!

angelfoxy

from the date they said I was in arrears for £208.39 my paper work is in order. I have the rent statement indicating the arrears, the receipt to prove I cleared the arrears and all receipts for my rent since that date.

The only missing information I have is prior to the rent statement.

Bunter_2

Sounds like the L.A. made a mistake in his accounting in December. You appear to agree that this is the case.

Presumably you have a contract or rental agreement which stipulates how much you have to pay. You would be obliged to adhere to the contract. After all, if you paid too much you would not allow the L.A.to get away with it.

Seems like the record keeping between you and the L.A. is in a right mess. If you don't keep a strict record of payments then you will not be in a strong position to challenge any disagreements.

Do you think that you do owe one month's rent? If so, perhaps you could arrange to pay some arrears off, otherwise it will just hang over your head.

I don't think you can just say to the L.A. "you made a mistake, swallow it!".

angelfoxy

the thing is at the time i questioned it as in my mind I was sure I owed more than they said!

As my paperwork was in a mess I accepted that their paperwork and adding up would be right.

I'm on benefits and there is no way I can afford to pay £300+ more to them.

At the time (just before Christmas) I remember thinking how relieved I was that they said I only owed that amount as it menat I had some money for christmas presents.

I'm not an idiot, I wouldn't have spent the money on presents if i'd know I owed it.

I just don't have that sort of excess in my benefits to pay it!

It was their mistake not mine and I did question it.

I was assured that on the day I paid the arrears that my rent was up to date and I have paid on time every 4 weeks since.

What was I supposed to do... hold on to the money in my account just in case they were wrong?! It wasn't like I had £300+ in my account that would have definately shown me that something wasn't right and i'd have done something about it... like I said, at the time I was making up arrears as my benefits all got messy. I just presumed they were right.

How can it be right that if someone makes an error and gives you a statement showing you were in arrears for a certain amount and you pay those arrears. Why should they be allowed to chase you months laters when they realise their error?! You couldn't do that if you were short changed in a shop!

In business they would just swollow the error!

EddyH_2

When you cleared the arrears did you also pay that months rent or did you wait another 4 weeks? If you waited 4 weeks prehaps that is why you owe an extra months payment.

Bunter_2

The L.A. presumably acts on behalf of the Landlord who is the actual recipient of the rent and will push him for any (alleged) underpayments.

I rent directly from a LL and trust me he would not swallow anything, (where money is concerned). He is a ruthless financier and would follow you to the end of the earth for a debt.

Hope yours is different. Considering your financial position I hope you settle it amicably.

Good luck.

angelfoxy

EddyH wrote: »

When you cleared the arrears did you also pay that months rent or did you wait another 4 weeks? If you waited 4 weeks prehaps that is why you owe an extra months payment.

I then paid that months rent on the 10th of December.

Bunter wrote: »

The L.A. presumably acts on behalf of the Landlord who is the actual recipient of the rent and will push him for any (alleged) underpayments.

I rent directly from a LL and trust me he would not swallow anything, (where money is concerned). He is a ruthless financier and would follow you to the end of the earth for a debt.

Hope yours is different. Considering your financial position I hope you settle it amicably.

Good luck.

Its the letting agent who are pushing for the money and the landlord is probably unaware of their mistake. The letting agent are a nightmare! If I could deal directly with the landlord I know this would never have happened!

In my opinion the letting agent should swollow it! They made the mistake!

Cannon_Fodder

Tread carefully. If they decide that the hassle and risk of losing money is too great from someone on Housing Benefit who is not a reliable payer of rent, they could serve notice...