1 day late paying overdue rent/rent arrears, now had a letter promising taking action to repossess

gemmajenkins0208

So as the title says, but here's some more detail to give you a better image...

Not been the most prompt payer in the 2 and a half years we've been here, even got to the point not too long ago(about 3 months ago) that I had to sign a thing(can't remember what it said but I have a copy here so can check) and the letting agent said it was basically a promise to pay what I owed by the date I promised. Not every month I've been late with the rent, just maybe about 10 or 11 of the months.

That didn't happen. I didn't hear anything for ages, then my dad was in hospital over Christmas. I thought enough is enough and I need to go and literally lay everything out on the table at the letting agents. They thanked me for telling them what was going on and we worked on setting some dates for me to pay to get back up to speed. I told them I'd pay 1 months' rent on the 28th December and I did without any problems.

I then called in again to discuss further payments as by this point we were almost or just over 2 months in arrears(can't really remember), and I told them I would pay the whole outstanding amount of £950 by bank transfer on the 27th January(I told them that I would have said 28th as that's when we get our UC payment but the 28th was a Saturday and we get the UC the Friday before if it falls on a weekend) only to realise later on that the 28th was in fact a Tuesday and I got confused with my payday from work being the 25th which was the Saturday and I got my wages a day early on the Friday.

I thought oh it's only 1 day(or mere hours now you can bank transfer money 24/7) and on the 28th when I did indeed get my UC I miscalculated what I would be left with by a measly 42pence, I asked my mum if she could transfer me the 42p to make it up to £950 and I made the transfer of £950 to my letting agent Tuesday 28th January 2020 at 9.18am(bear in mind here the letting agent opens either 9 or half 9).

Come Wednesday I check my letterbox to a letter from them dated for the Tuesday saying as I haven't paid it the letting agent will be advising the landlord to take action to repossess. What the hell?! I've paid everything I owe and I now owe zero, zilch, absolutely nothing to them until next month(which I have sorted and they will receive before the due date, may I add).

I understand my track history of late payments doesn't look good but my circumstances have changed and I am in a better position to make full rent payments, and before the due date too so I am fully prepared to attempt to rebuild any broken trust.

The man that owns this letting agents tho can be quite intimidating and a bit of a !!!!!! about things so maybe it's just scaremongering? I don't know but as far as I'm concerned I'm fully paid up now and future rent payments will be in full(even tho they always were in full anyway - I never made a part payment once) and not be late again so long as my life depends on it!

Where do I stand re: the letter and any potential action? Can I stop/reverse any potential action provided I always pay in full and on time from now onwards?

warby68

It looks like you were on some sort of final chance, hence not even a day's grace. They gave you all Monday but funds not there. Probably didn't notice the Tuesday payment until after the event.

Did you let them know once you realised you had the dates wrong?

If you're completely up to date now, you will have to speak to the agents and ask for the chance to prove yourself once more. Their initial letter won't mean much in itself but it wouldn't be surprising if everyone including the landlord has lost confidence in you.

tom9980

You have been lucky to last this long 2 1/2 years of consistent poor paying history is unacceptable no matter the circumstances. That meeting you had with the agent was them drawing a line in the sand and you yet again failed to uphold you side of the tenancy agreement.

Expect to be evicted.

gemmajenkins0208

No I didn't let them know and I should have really, looking back on it now.

A final chance? Really? I've signed one thing to do with getting the rent payments back up to scratch in the whole time I've been here and now I'm going to get kicked out for being 1 day late? Seriously, every communication other than my statements and receipts have been verbal. There must be some sort of process that needs to be gone thru(written stuff etc) before what I've come to now?

AdrianC

gemmajenkins0208 wrote: »

Come Wednesday I check my letterbox to a letter from them dated for the Tuesday saying as I haven't paid it the letting agent will be advising the landlord to take action to repossess.

That's the important bit.

The landlord is the one that makes all the decisions.
The EA are just the agents that carry out the landlord's decisions, and can advise him.

TBH, though, if I were your landlord, I'd have taken a dim view of your tardiness long before now, and I'd be considering giving you notice, too.

Let's spell it out clearly... Out of c.30 months rent due, you've been late with a third of them, to the point of being near or at two months arrears. You make a final promise to bring everything up to date - and you fail to meet it. An excuse about your father being ill a month ago is just that - an excuse. It has no bearing on all those other months beforehand. You can say "I promise faithfully to always pay on time in the future" - but that's the absolute bare minimum that you signed a legally binding contract promising to do when you moved in, and I'm sure you'll have made (and broken) several similar promises in the interim...

gemmajenkins0208

I didn't realise less than half the time I've been here and being maybe 2 weeks late at most counted as a consistent poor payment history...

Great...

gemmajenkins0208

They knew full well before as I always went in if I knew I was going to be late with a rent payment and told them why it would be late and when I will pay it and they said chirpily "yeah that's fine!" and I always did make the full payment on the date I agreed.

JayRitchie

Thats a terrible payment history. It’s not just being late - for example regularly paying a few days late - it’s the fact that you are also in arrears. :eek:

Thrugelmir

gemmajenkins0208 wrote: »

I didn't realise less than half the time I've been here and being maybe 2 weeks late at most counted as a consistent poor payment history...

Great...

How would you feel if your employer paid you two weeks late consistantly?

Not very happy I'd suggest. Put yourself in others shoes.

AdrianC

gemmajenkins0208 wrote: »

I didn't realise less than half the time I've been here and being maybe 2 weeks late at most counted as a consistent poor payment history...

Great...

You've been late with - by your own account - 10 or 11 payments in two and a half years, 30 in total.
You've been late by - by your own account - up to two months at any given time.

And you don't think that's a consistent poor history...?

I think we've identified the root cause of the problem.

gemmajenkins0208

I do apologise if I'm coming off as anything other than appreciative of all of your help.

I'll be honest, I wasn't prepared for this, but I know I needed to hear the cold, hard truth.

But I thank you all for all of your input on this.

Best start packing up to move back to me mums I guess...