New Tenants Application (1st ones) have a CCJ against their name

barneybeagle

Hello again,

The Agency got back to me today with the following info:

"The CCJ was for a catalogue bill. It was for £500.
Apparently the tenants were paying the bill off but when they moved house the payments stopped and they didnt realise.

When I told them about the CCJ they paid £200 off straight away and have arranged to make future payments."

Does this seem fair enough and a good enough explanation. Any thoughts?

Thanks once again to everyone for your assistance.
Cheers
bb

GuidoT

Your decision should depend on how buoyant the rental market is in your area.

If your property have been empty for while and or it is difficult to find tenants, then I would have them as tenants as they have other important criteria in their favour.

If you will have little difficulty finding another tenant then ditch them, I am always a bit dubious about those that run up a debt, move and then do not pay it.

G_M

Someone who 'forgets' to pay an outstanding debt is not exactly financially reliable. I repeat my comment above - why waste money running credit checks if you're going to ignore the result?
Was the LL reference from the current LL, or an earlier one? Current LL might be desperate to be rid...... (ok - maybe I'm over sceptical, but still).
Deposit? Of course! Personally I take a month and a half AND ensure references/checks are all clean.

Geenie

barneybeagle wrote: »

Hello again,

The Agency got back to me today with the following info:

"The CCJ was for a catalogue bill. It was for £500.
Apparently the tenants were paying the bill off but when they moved house the payments stopped and they didnt realise.

When I told them about the CCJ they paid £200 off straight away and have arranged to make future payments."

Does this seem fair enough and a good enough explanation. Any thoughts?

Thanks once again to everyone for your assistance.
Cheers
bb

I would query why they didn't realise or notice that payments for a debt of £500 suddenly stopped?! The moving house doesn't make sense unless they were paying cash on their door step to someone for the debt each week/month. A standing order would surely follow the bank account not address. I think you need to find out further information on how this debt was being paid back and see if there are any discrepancies in what they say.

As others have mentioned, they could be great tenants, but the checks are done for a reason and should not be ignored just to grab the first people coming along.

Have you had references from their previous place?

climbgirl

barneybeagle wrote: »

Apparently the tenants were paying the bill off but when they moved house the payments stopped and they didnt realise.

That sentence to me rings a few alarm bells - yes, CCJs happen without people's knowledge, usually as a result of moving house and not being aware the debt existed in the first place. It happens and it doesn't always mean they're bad tenants.

However, if they knew about the debt and were paying it off but weren't watching their money closely enough to realise that the debt was no longer being paid, that doesn't exactly indicate they've got a good handle on their finances.

It's not a huge amount of money though. It is ultimately your call - you could always ask for a larger deposit or more money up front if it makes you feel more comfortable with it.

Watalie

barneybeagle wrote: »

Hello again,

The Agency got back to me today with the following info:

"The CCJ was for a catalogue bill. It was for £500.
Apparently the tenants were paying the bill off but when they moved house the payments stopped and they didnt realise.

When I told them about the CCJ they paid £200 off straight away and have arranged to make future payments."

Does this seem fair enough and a good enough explanation. Any thoughts?

Thanks once again to everyone for your assistance.
Cheers
bb

In all honesty, it sounds a little suss.

To not know about a debt is one thing, to "forget" to pay it, is another.

DVardysShadow

Inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt, having been in that situation:

Watalie wrote: »

I would say don't write them off without consideration. I actually posted on this issue a few days ago.

I have a CCJ, it's a debt my ex ran up in my name. ....

Please don't write the prospective tennants off. There maybe a good explaination.

But not on the facts we now have:

Watalie wrote: »

In all honesty, it sounds a little suss.

To not know about a debt is one thing, to "forget" to pay it, is another.

All the sympathy evaporated. I feel more or less the same about it. There are quite a few scenarios in which you can collect a CCJ without knowing about it. This one is exceedingly careless and could have been avoided by being diligent with debts and responsibilities.

barneybeagle

Hello everyone,

Thanks very much for all the response. You have all being most helpful. I am away at the moment, but will be meeting up with the prospective tenants when I get home. I will make my decision from there and let you know in due course.

Thanks
bb