My partner who is on disability benefits keeps getting letters and text messages relating to rent arrears from when she last lived in a council property nearly 4 years ago. It's just under £400 and the bailiffs are stepping it up with 3 letters so far this month and 2 text messages saying she needs to call them urgently to pay or they will enforce action.

They also call both her mobile and the landline but i have no idea where they got the numbers or even this address from.

I can't really remember much about this arrears i think it was because she moved and left the property early before she gave the keys back and then they had started paying housing benefit on the next property or something like that so she left the property still owing a months rent. Because it was 4 years ago we don't have any correspondence or housing benefit letters or anything from that time, we have moved twice more since then.

How to deal with this? Can they enforce anything for old rent arrears? She is worried about doorstop visits. She has agreed payment plans with debt collectors before for other things like water bills that were simply unaffordable which only caused more stress and worsening of her mental health condition, and i can't monitor her 24 hours a day to ensure she won't do it again. I can never ever reach Citizens Advice on the phone and the mental health team she sees now are not much help.

Think your partner needs to contact the council concerned to find out more and explain circumstances .Get the full details sent in writing, so this can be looked into. Without the full information it is very difficult to know best course of action.

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/information/debt-types/Pages/Rent-arrears.aspx?gclid=CIj4kNabktMCFdMW0wodPrQOLg

i don't think Council rent arrears are dealt with in the same way a council tax. The letters received are more likely to be standard debt chasing letters, as if it had been a bailiff issue they would have visited by now. There is therefore opportunity to resolve this with the council concerned.

who is sending these letters?

and texts

dx

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?448509-Housing-Association-rent-arrears-from-4-years-ago

is this the same?

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?448509-Housing-Association-rent-arrears-from-4-years-ago

 

 

is this the same?

No that was a separate one from when i had my own tenancy. What happened was she had her own flat (council) and i had my own flat (housing association) but we then decided to live together in a house so gave the separate tenancies we had up and during the crossover/transition period for housing benefit i believe some arrears had built up on both the properties.

The letters are coming from some company called Dukes bailiffs.

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/information/debt-types/Pages/Rent-arrears.aspx?gclid=CIj4kNabktMCFdMW0wodPrQOLg

 

i don't think Council rent arrears are dealt with in the same way a council tax. The letters received are more likely to be standard debt chasing letters, as if it had been a bailiff issue they would have visited by now. There is therefore opportunity to resolve this with the council concerned.

Dukes bailiff is the one sending the letters. The letters are written in the standard debt collector way such as "You have a week to pay to avoid further action" then another comes through saying "7 days to pay to avoid enforcement" etc

go ring the council concerned..

what are the titles of the letter

notice of enforcement?

dx

go ring the council concerned..

 

 

what are the titles of the letter

notice of enforcement?

 

 

dx

The title of the letter is "URGENT - DEBT OUTSTANDING"

then underneath it says "payment due immediately to avoid debt recovery action"

We have not received a satisfactory response from you etc

need to see the letters

have you a mobile phone camera or a digital camera ?

I bet they are simply operating as debt collectors here

A financial debt can be pursued for 6 yrs (longer in certain cases).

Action may result in CCJ on her credit file, affecting future credit Contracts.

need to see the letters

have you a mobile phone camera or a digital camera ?

 

 

I bet they are simply operating as debt collectors here

Here is a picture of the most recent letter that arrived http://imgur.com/a/PLTUC

So Dukes are just acting as debt collectors, not bailiffs. It would seem no CCJ has been obtained and it is simply a debt noted on the councils accounts system. It would be up to the council how they wanted to pursue the debt.

Bankruptcy is not an option, as the threshold for that is £5000. The council would need to obtain a CCJ by issuing a court claim first and the enforcement methods would come after such as attachment to earnings.

Your partner should check their credit record to see what is noted.

Also your partner should write to the council asking for full details to be providing in writing, as no previous communications have been received about any rent being owed.

yep safe to ignore

it'll be what the council call a summary debt

they cant prove it

but they'll get someone to chase it

just in case you are mug enough to fall for their threat-o-gram.

they should be using the word bailiff anywhere

you could complain about that letter.

dx

Another one just came through this morning stating "Urgent notice your credit score is under threat", and it says ignoring it won't make it go away etc.

The only thing it can be is a months rent arrears from 4 years back as there is no debt on council tax or anything else to do with council it has to be that.

The reason for leaving the property at the time was disrepair and the accommodation was riddled with mice and damp etc and the council continually refused to do anything about it.

I do have recollection of these arrears but no paperwork or housing benefit forms or letters from that long back.

Is it best to continue to just dismiss them or contact the council?

Which department of the council would i need to contact anyway?

I wouldn't bother