Big Badger House (aka Noisy Lodger) HE'S GONE!

Jowo_2

Badger_Lady wrote: »

Oh Jowo, you seem so angry!

The contract stipulates a 1-month notice (more than I legally have to give)... but why should I evict her if/when I start getting a guaranteed rent from the council? It still won't help with arrears and I'll have to replace her with a stranger than I trust more to pay up...

Not angry but puzzled by your continuing mellowness which has actually encouraged the deceit that is being practiced upon you. It's cool if it is your preference to live with a cheat and a liar who has exploited your goodwill rather than find someone new, your call.

I'm not sure how this dynamic is supposed to work between you once she realises that you know that she's been spending her rent money on herself - surely the trust is destroyed which can't make for a happy household?

m_13

Not only the rent money but also getting you to pay for eBay items and train tickets.

What has she been spending the money on? Not contraceptives obviously!

Horace

I don't think that Jowo is being angry - only puzzled as we all are for your mellowness towards this deceitful creature. I know that if she had been living in the flats where I live my landlord would have kicked her out for missing one month's rent!

I think too that it is a mistake to be overly friendly with lodgers e.g. friends on facebook, scamming ebay stuff and train tickets - you need to think of letting rooms in your home as a business transaction. You are providing a service - room, lighting, heating, all the hot water they will ever need, wifi, etc and for that you expect to be paid a monthly rent of £x - if they spend that rent on themselves and refuse to pay then you have no alternative but to evict them. Maybe you need to stipulate for your next tenant that you don't accept benefit claimants...set up direct debit payments too, that way you know you are going to get the rent paid on x date - if they don't pay then the banks will apply charges on them and you can claim on moneyonline (small claims court).

Who cares what happens to her - she maybe pregnant but pregnancy is not an illness - maybe she should set up home with the bloke that got her pregnant in the first place, or even enter a homeless shelter. I shouldnt fret about her.

I hope you manage to get her out and get your money back.

Jowo_2

I've glanced through historic threads and decided that the lodger must really despise BadgerLady and far from being grateful for her generosity, actually thinks she deserves to be fleeced - the veneer of being a sweet small child hides particularly manipulative behaviour and nerves of steel.

Timing-wise, ever since Badger Lady wrote reminding her of her obligation to pay rent in early July, she subsequently never paid a penny more. In mid July, Badger Lady wrote “her housing benefit is now officially sorted although it seems to be rather slow actually making its way into my pocket!”

All the time that Badger lady was buying her goods on Ebay, train tickets and throwing a welcome party for moving in, the lodger was actually receiving the LHA but saying that the DWP were not processing her claims, that she was escalating it to her MP, that her boyfriend would reimburse her expenses.

None of this was true and it takes a really brass neck of a bold monkey to come out with these amount of lies for so long and still remain in the property.

I still don't understand why you think she's moving out and that this is guaranteed? Is it possible that she wants you to evict her in order that she can present herself as homeless to the council who have a statutory obligation to house the homeless (those deemed not to have any accommodation in the next 28 days).

There are scads of posts on landlord forums from landlords who are certain that their tenants are engineering their own notices, sometimes requesting the collusion of the landlord, in order to become defined as a priority case for social housing and leapfrog over the long lists. Do you have any suspicion that she was using your property as a springboard into a secure tenancy and may have already known she was pregnant before she moved in?

jayss

Oh Badger :rolleyes:

Not good news.

I'm glad your life has been going well otherwise though, as clearly you've been too happy up there on cloud 9 to realise what was going on.

Lets hope the next lot have the hang of paying rent and keeping the music down :A

Badger_Lady

Reply to my message:

Badger,

No, Im afraid Im as confused as you are. I went to see them and they told me the same thing. And yet, there is no money in my account.

I have an appointment with the bank manager on monday tho(as the bloke i saw the other day couldnt help), so hopefully all will become clear soon.

I was told my a different section of dss that they hadnt recieved my sick note and explained that my housing benefit would be suspended utill other benefits are re-instated. So without confirmation from the bank about whats going, I cant get to te bottom of it.

As soon as i know, you'll know

Emmzi

uh huh.

she been chasing them every day has she?

if you wanted a small child to look after you'd have had one of your own babes xx

Horace

She is scamming you - there is no money in her account because she has spent it. As for her sick note that goes to the DWP and is nothing to do with the council, I don't see where the bank come into her and her missing sicknote either:rolleyes: What she needs to do if the DWP haven't received her sicknote is to get a copy from the doctors and send it recorded delivery so it has to be signed for at the other end.

I'd be more inclined to believe the council when they say that they have paid her the HB and have been paying her since 11 May - councils are good when it comes to paying out.

Its all delaying tactics on her part to avoid paying...once a scammer always a scammer - perhaps you ought to think about taking her to the small claims court too and maybe dob her in for benefit fraud - well, she has been in receipt of housing benefit and has spent it on herself rather than paying you with it.

Jowo_2

I am more confused than ever. Apparently today the HB department have managed to suspend a claim, that according to the lodger, was already suspended?!

Also, I don't understand why she is only just verifying the non payment of nearly 4 months worth of housing benefit with the bank rather than checking with the DSS where they have been paying her money.

I think Badger Lady has to inform the local council that she is claiming that the money never arrived in her bank account to suggest they verify the account details they have for this.

Jowo_2

Horace wrote: »

maybe dob her in for benefit fraud - well, she has been in receipt of housing benefit and has spent it on herself rather than paying you with it.

It is not a criminal offence for a LHA tenant to spend their HB payment as they please - the whole purpose of paying LHA to tenants instead of landlords is to promote 'self responsibility' - squandering it on other things than the rent just means they are irresponsible, not that they can be prosecuted for fraud.

Her failure to pass on the LHA to pay the rent is a civil matter for Badger Lady to take up with the courts if she wishes to take legal action against the arrears.

The council don't pay the rent twice, nor do they sanction tenants who fritter away their housing benefit on themselves instead of paying for their accommodation.

I don't know the inner workings when it comes to claims but I find it extremely suspect that the DWP would suspend all payments to someone who is applying for disability benefit - imagine the outcry at leaving those claiming to be disabled without a penny to their name for months?

I would imagine that the DLA and HB are separate matters - perhaps Badger Lady can provide a summary of the claims of the lodger on the Benefit Board to see if they are correct and what the lodger could do to resolve them (i.e. visit CAB three months ago!!).

Is it possible that the lodger has had the medical assessment and has not passed it, therefore feels entitled to use the LHA to replace it? Most people going through the ESA process (replaces Incapacity Benefit) are actually judged capable of working, albeit some with conditions attached on the types of work they can do. I imagine its even harder to get DLA.