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“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
Comments
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WannabeFree wrote: »Thank you x I'll reply to pm now Tea, was it just my MSE that wouldn't work? :eek:
Shelter seem to think if we went to court it would go back to the £12.50 originally agreed.
I just want them to accept the £25 a week I'm currently paying to be honest. To save any hassle and worry
If Shelter think that is the case, then the HA will also realise it's likely, which makes it very UNlikely that they will want to go to court!WannabeFree wrote: »
Maybe if I put this to them it's a little short of what they are asking and they'd need to wait a while before starting. I have no access to credit now to swap it from rent arrears to another debt. So I can't get a loan or anything my credit rating/income it just wouldn't happen.
WF have I missed that they have come back to you? I'll read back, but if not then absolutely do NOT offer them anything more than the £12.50 you currently have the agreement to pay. Let them propose and you can take it from there. And try not to worry about what they "might" want until you know what they actually "do" want!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
You'd think so EH I think they just want me out to be honest They aren't making anything easy! I asked for a breakdown of the court costs and arrears of what's left and which is which. They have always emailed me before but now they are posting it! So I have to wait :cool: “Once you hit rock bottom, that's where you perfectly stand; That's your chance of restarting, but restarting the way.”0
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Hi Wannabe, have they actually told you how much they want?
Please don't let them bully you into stretching yourself thin. If the Court order says you're to pay £12.50 and you're already paying £25, you are already going above and beyond.
I also don't think that the Court would order you to pay costs if you're keeping to the agreement as best you can and are already paying double what the Court ordered.
I know that the idea of going to Court can be intimidating but I promise you that it won't be that bad. Hold your ground and don't let the HA force you into anything.Debt Totals July 2019::
[STRIKE]£350 Natwest Credit Card [/STRIKE]/ ]Now £0 (paid off and closed 04/2017) £15,500 postgrad loan from parents/ Now £7,000 £5,000 sister loan/ Now £0[STRIKE]£500 train ticket loan from parents [/STRIKE]/ Now £0 (paid off 16/02/18)[STRIKE]£2,000 Overdraft[/STRIKE] Now £0 (paid off 09/03/18) £1,967.83 Barclays 0% card Now £0 Total £7,0000 -
WannabeFree wrote: »You'd think so EH I think they just want me out to be honest They aren't making anything easy! I asked for a breakdown of the court costs and arrears of what's left and which is which. They have always emailed me before but now they are posting it! So I have to wait :cool:
Can you ask them to email you a copy in the meanwhile? No harm in asking!
p.s. the less reasonable that they are, the more likely the court will side with you...Debt Totals July 2019::
[STRIKE]£350 Natwest Credit Card [/STRIKE]/ ]Now £0 (paid off and closed 04/2017) £15,500 postgrad loan from parents/ Now £7,000 £5,000 sister loan/ Now £0[STRIKE]£500 train ticket loan from parents [/STRIKE]/ Now £0 (paid off 16/02/18)[STRIKE]£2,000 Overdraft[/STRIKE] Now £0 (paid off 09/03/18) £1,967.83 Barclays 0% card Now £0 Total £7,0000 -
OK - read back now.
You're over analysing this - you're already assuming that they're going to ask you for some crazy increased sum/want it all in one go/demand that you go to court when actually, you have NO idea if they'll do ANY of those things as yet.
Try to look at it this way - there are a LOT of people in your area in arrears - that much you can be sure of. Some of those people don't have three small children, one of whom has significant health problems. Some aren't single parents and most probably have a far higher income than you. Other than a few minor glitches - which you have subsequently caught up with - you've paid to the agreement and even paid OVER the agreed sum a fair bit of the time. Now - if you were the HA, who would you choose to take to court - WF, clearly doing her best to get arrears cleared and paying more than the court said she should last time, or one of the tenants in the earlier categories I mentioned? Hmmm? Let them come back to you and THEN do the maths.🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
They've always been happy to email all the details before, confirming me catching up etc when I've fell behind. I've always kept it through email so I have proof I contacted them to catch up etc. So why now they can only send by post I have no idea.
They asked for the full amount (which I think they knew they had no chance) and then stated they wanted it clearing in 6 months from the review. If I keep my original appointment that's 6 month from next week. Although I'm considering asking to change it for in a couple of weeks time to see if I can buy a bit more time to the council tax ending and being able to offer more?“Once you hit rock bottom, that's where you perfectly stand; That's your chance of restarting, but restarting the way.”0 -
Sorry EH cross posted. HA don't want to go to court. They want us to agree to something like last time. They have their own money advice service too I think I'm going to speak to them tomorrow and see if they can help. I guess taking help from all different places can only make it easier.
I really need to feed the smalls and get them bathed I feel like I've been sat at the table on the phone all day “Once you hit rock bottom, that's where you perfectly stand; That's your chance of restarting, but restarting the way.”0 -
WannabeFree wrote: »
They asked for the full amount (which I think they knew they had no chance) and then stated they wanted it clearing in 6 months from the review. If I keep my original appointment that's 6 month from next week. Although I'm considering asking to change it for in a couple of weeks time to see if I can buy a bit more time to the council tax ending and being able to offer more?
When was this WF? Before or after your went to court before?
There's two ways of looking at the changed appointment - one is that it "could" buy you more time - but actually in their world the "review date" will almost certainly stay the same. The other is that they will see it as you trying to back away from the review. Go next week as planned, take someone with you if you think they may try to ride roughshod over you, and get it done. Then you know where you stand and can negotiate from an informed position.WannabeFree wrote: »Sorry EH cross posted. HA don't want to go to court. They want us to agree to something like last time.
Spot on - that's a good position. They don't want to go to court because they KNOW it will take them longer to get their money. You hold more cards here than you think you do.
Have faith!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
OK - this is what I'd do from my perspective and what I would advise if anyone came to me with this kind of problem.
The court has ordered you to pay £12.50 per week.
You have already agreed to pay £25 per week which is above and beyond what the Court ordered you to pay.
The HA are now asking you to pay even more.
Do NOT take out credit for it. Do NOT put yourself in a worse position to please them. Do NOT agree to pay more if you cannot afford to pay more.
If you cannot do any of the above, the HA will have no choice but to take you to Court, which THEY will have to pay the court fee for, at least initially.
If they take you to court and say to the judge "hey judge, WF has been paying us double what you ordered before but that's not enough for us, we want more", the judge will hear the evidence, your evidence will be "hey judge, I am trying my best but I am a single mum of three kids, one of whom has complicated health issues, I have no available funds, here's my SOA showing how thin I'm stretched already, I have done everything I can and have even agreed to pay double what you ordered before to try to keep the HA happy but now they want more, and I simply cannot pay it".
I am pretty certain the judge will look at the situation and tell the HA where to stick it.
Let them take you to court. They're wasting their time. Make it abundantly clear to them that you honestly, really, truly cannot afford to pay more based on your current situation. Do not, I repeat, do NOT take out credit to pay them off.Debt Totals July 2019::
[STRIKE]£350 Natwest Credit Card [/STRIKE]/ ]Now £0 (paid off and closed 04/2017) £15,500 postgrad loan from parents/ Now £7,000 £5,000 sister loan/ Now £0[STRIKE]£500 train ticket loan from parents [/STRIKE]/ Now £0 (paid off 16/02/18)[STRIKE]£2,000 Overdraft[/STRIKE] Now £0 (paid off 09/03/18) £1,967.83 Barclays 0% card Now £0 Total £7,0000 -
I suspect better than that SQ, the judge will look WF sternly in the eye and tell her to pay £12.50 per week and no more and suggest she treats the smalls with the balance! :rotfl:🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0
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