Impending eviction :s

Miss_Cat

ps....im a bit concerned about the hugging icon.....what exactly are they doing?

mumoftwins

Good luck for today MissCat - let us know how you get on xx

blue_monkey_2

Good luck Cat, please let us know and good luck. x

Miss_Cat

it's been quite a while actually lol
just to let u know that we were moved into a bed and breakfast, had absolutely NO end of hassles from the council (who i have, by the way, lost ALL RESPECT for) the rent for a start was £318 per week :mad:
it's been so long and so much has happened that i cant remember it all, but i'll post what i do remember.

1: we were due to be evicted on the monday, council called on wednesday to say that we would be put in bed and breakfast on thursday.

2: later that day they called to say that removal company would be coming on thursday at 8 am to take our furniture into storage. woman from homeless dept told me that the only things we were allowed to take with us were our clothes, and that storage and removal costs would be recoverable from us (despite the fact that we had other- cheaper- arrangements for storage of our possessions, she would not let us do it our own way.

3. call on thursday (after all our stuff has been taken) to say we would not be going into b&b til friday morning. so we had to stay (kids and all) in our flat, with no furniture, beds etc...that was fun)

4. go to b&b on friday.... was VERY SCARY had to fill in 2 risk assessment forms each as well as god knows how many other forms. are also told that the council will be paying our storage and removal costs. told that housing benefit will take a minimum of 14 days to process, that our rent of £318 PER WEEK must be paid...in advance of one week, with immediate effect and that if we dropped one day behind rent we would be immediately evicted. so that was fun waiting for housing benefit to come through, no food for two weeks.

5. council "conveniently" didn't mention that we were entitled to £50 per week for up to 6 weeks non repayable grant....fortunatley our supported tenancy manager found out and told us then sorted it out by having an argument with the council on our behalf....oddly enough our housing benefit was then fast tracked through (despite the council telling us "oooooh im sorry we cant do that") and we still got the £50/wk grant. so that helped a huge amount.

6. we were in the bed and breakfast for 6 weeks while they came to a decision as to whether we had made ourselves intentionally homeless. has a meeting with man from the council, however on my way to the council offices, discovered that half the city had been blocked off (and the council offices evacuated) as a bomb had exploded in a nearby cafe. called up STA leader in a panic as couldnt get through to council man on phone. eventually got through to man from council, had to rearrange meeting for following day, man really annoyed with me and haughtily said "dont be late for THIS meeting" even though i wasn't going to be late in the first place, it wasnt my fault some idiot had decided to try to blow up giraffe!

7. they found us intentionally homeless, and invited us to appeal their decision... which we did (purely to buy us some time to find a private rented place)

8. had a meeting with the man from the council to "discuss our options." he did yet ANOTHER risk assessment form (we are now doing those weekly)
we are told that we dont stand a chance of appealing our case successfully, that we dont have a hope of getting a council place, that if we dont find a private rented place we WILL have the kids taken from us (sta leader outraged at this, he said that there was no way the man from the council should have said this) man from council fills in a referral form for smart move (a charity in exeter who does the deposit bonding scheme) and tells me he will fax it off to them.

9.following day, smart move calls to arrange a meeting, unfortunately i was at work, so they left a message. i called them back the day after, to be told "oh sorry, smart move are only in on wednesdays and thursdays, the rest of the time this office is for exeter homeless action group." so i left my name and number and asked them to get smartmove to call me back. i never heard from them again.

10.get bill from storage company, apparantly council HAVENT PAID THEM so they decided it was now our job too. after 2 days of fighting to get together 200 pounds or lose all our possessions, council suddenly realise that THEY are supposed to be paying them after all.

11. appeal fails. i am told that i didnt attend the meeting with Nick Chapman (the man from the council).... yes, the meeting that i just detailed in no.8.....odd how i managed to sign forms at a meeting i "didnt" attend. and that smart move had never heard of me, let alone recieved referral forms. (i am very confused at this point)
we are told we have 28 days to find suitable private accomodation. bearing in mind that we have no savings, cant get a loan, had NO WAY of getting the first months rent on another place, and now no longer have the option of the smart move deposit bond.....stress sets in

12.two weeks before the date we are supposed to leave the bed and breakfast my estranged father decides to lend us £1200, and i find a private landlord who rents houses himself (does not go through a letting agent) does not do credit checks and will let us rent a house. means moving away from exeter...o darn it *note the sarcasm*

13. try to arrange the release of our things in storage, storage company, although nice, understanding etc, say they cant let us have our things as the counil are 300 pounds in arrears with the payment of the storage (OOOHHHHH so it's okay for the COUNCIL to get in arrears then???)

14. council confused (yes, confused.... nick chapman was actually confused )as to why we had got a private rented property and wanted to move out of bed and breakfast a week early. didnt know why we wanted to.
tried to stop us from going until our actual eviction date despite this meaning that we are now paying rent on two properties, one of which we dont need any longer, and someone else could have been housed in (i.e the bed and breakfast!)

15. TWO DAYS before we were due to move, the council decide they want to move us from the bed and breakfast into a %£$(^* hostel. STA manager kicks off and refuses to let them move us.

16. day before move...council STILL not paid storage company arrears. storage company admits they do this REGULARLY. storage company really really kindly makes us an offer of delivering our things to new house (45 mins away from exeter) for £150... even offer to pick up OH from b&b to take him to new house to help with unloading. they do this and say that they will take council to court for the money.

17. finally out and away 3 bed private rent house, garden, nearer to family, nice area, allow pets and smokers allow dss (as we had to give up jobs and find new ones closer to new home)
good landlord... only worry is there is no tenancy agreement, but if and when any problemas arise with that i shall have to deal with that as it comes, the main thing for me is that we have somewhere to live (and this house is actually cheaper than a pokey 2 bed flat in exeter).

so yes that's all that has happened
hope you see why i have lost all respect for exeter city council. okay fair enough, i totally understand WHY they found us intentionally homeless, not saying i agree with it as i know we DIDNT do it on purpose, we were just VERY STUPID, but i feel we were discriminated against and treated very unfairly. glad im shot of them now and am back to my somerset roots lol.
so thanks for reading this if you made it all the way through, thanks for the support i was given by everyone on here.
there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
now to tackle my debts lol
onward and upwards!!!!!:j

mumoftwins

Hi Miss Cat,

Good to hear from you :hello:

I totally understand what you have been thorugh and also feel the same way about my council as you do yours :mad: .

Its a year tomorrow since I had to leave the cottage and moved into the temporary accomodation and I must admit it is still frightening thinking of what happened. I don't really dwell on it much but I do feel scared, it must like a bereavement having to go through certain dates until it gets banished from the mind.

I'm so pleased you have a new home, do you know how long you can live there for?

My 6 months Assured Tenancy was up on 1st October and I have heard nothing from LL so I guess he must be happy with us, we are now on a Periodic Tenancy.

This house really feels like home but I know that if I had to move again in the near future I would fall apart. The battering I had from my council along with previous problems (marital breakdown etc) have taken their toll and whilst I appear sunny and smiling it doesn't take much for me to fall apart.

Anyway, enough of me - Congratulations :j and please keep us updated as to how you are getting on.

Love MOT xx