Hi This is the third time in three years now. All for no fault reasons. This time the landlady wants to put the rent up £150 a month. We agreed to £100 a month which was her original request and because we wanted some security we asked to renew for a year. So she said she would have to do affordability checks and so on. The reason behind this is that I lost my job in November, but used my pay in lieu and a tax refund to ensure the rent was paid on time, but in April I was unable to make the payment on time and had to get a payday loan. So it was paid ten days late. I was very apologetic etc and had secured another job. I just told the landlady that I had changed jobs and didn't get on the payroll in time. No other payments have been late or missed. Anyway, she hassled me for proof of income and when she got it she said the letting agent said I didn't meet the affordability criteria which is gross earnings = 2.5 x annual rent. And so she's evicted us! Just like that. I would have agreed to the extra £150 she's now advertising the property for. A total of £1600 a month. Anyway, we've now got a Section 21 issued. She knows it's just me, my daughter and my daughter's babies ages 2 and 1. I am totally at a loss as to why she's done this. How do these people sleep at night. My query/problem is, I do not have enough money for a deposit on a place which will be at least £2200 plus agent fees of at least £400. We were considering withholding the rent (especially as we can't afford it anyway, apparently) for the next two months and just paying her two weeks rent before we move, assuming we are lucky enough to get something. Doing this creates its own problems though. She won't give us a reference. I could lie and give somebody else's details as the landlord but any fool can check on google and see which agent is letting the house. So my other option would be to say I live somewhere else, which causes its own problems in proof of ID etc. Catch 22. Again. I cannot bear this life. I think all these types of landlords should be taken out and shot. They cause so much misery with their greed. Going to the council would be a nightmare as well because of the lack of homes. My daughter would not subject her babies to some nasty B&B or hostel and I don't blame her. But there doesn't seem to be any other options at this stage. Any ideas? I know some of you will come back and say that dishonesty is not condoned, but this is a roof over our heads we are talking about - and my honesty has got us nowhere so far. So what's the point. I just overthink things and the end result could be homelessness. This is our worst nightmare. Plus we have pets and they can't go to a B&B or hostel. thanks

I will kick up a fuss as i've nothing to lose now the bailiff fee has been paid. But I hate injustice and unfair treatment of people who aren't in a position to fight back. MPs, well, don't get me started on what I think of them. I doubt i'm alone in thinking they're all self-serving hypocrites. I will find out the names of the councillors on this council and write to them, and perhaps send a copy to Pickles. I want the council to think twice about this in future, but more than that I want Rossendales to be at risk of losing contracts and that can only happen if enough people complain about them. I know there are some good MPs but I'm sure they are hard to find. My eyes have been well and truly opened over the last few years with dealing with debt and with renting our home. People are very vulnerable and it's only going to get worse as more and more people are forced to rent properties that are way overpriced rent-wise and with zero or low pay rises.

I've sent another email to them. They clearly violated sections 4.5 and 4.8.... plus. They lied to me about not being able to take control of the debt again. I'm really furious with them and will pursue it. They owe me the difference between £487 and £902 because of their lies, in my opinion.

Hi BA Having read that guidance I would say the LA has no idea how Rossendales operate. If it does then it's condoning bully boy tactics. I will cut and paste and send them another email for attention of the Chief Exec. Rossendales cannot carry on the way they have without answering to someone and maybe it should affect their contracts. thanks

This is what I've sent to the council. "Hello I wish to lodge an official complaint about your actions and that of your organisation's policies with regard to this type of debt. I know you will write back and say you did everything by the book but that doesn't excuse your actions and the fact you have outsourced debt collection to a firm who have no qualms about bullying people into paying what is owed. I had no choice but to pay Rossendales before the bailiff came round again this morning to take what little we have. BUT, and you need to understand this, I had to pay them from our rent money. That means we may not be able to pay our rent later this month. If you take a look at the consumer action group forum you will see a lot of information about Rossendales and their mode of operation. They are not a nice firm. And before you start sticking your noses in the air and making comments about people paying their bills, please remember that most of us are more than willing to pay the monies we owe but sometimes life kicks you in the backside and it's not always possible to pay on time. Rossendales take no notice of people suffering from depression, mental health, pure and simple poverty or anything else. When you have nothing and a bailiff then wants to take your furniture as well, what does that say about our society. This is a society that council's like yourself have helped create and someone in authority there should stop and consider this and whether it's now worth considering using another collection firm. I am appalled also at the fact I wrote to you asking for your help to intervene and instruct Rossendales to make a reasonable payment arrangement with me but you just ignored my email marked 'urgent'. So although I expect your response to be a simple cut and paste from your 'policy document' that doesn't excuse your role in all of this. Let's hope I can recover that rent money somehow! I want this message flagged up to your Chief Executive as that person should be aware of what Rossendales are doing to people." Doubt this will make any difference but it's what I needed to say to them.

Hi I had to pay it in the end. I cannot allow my family to have a bailiff come in a take all we have. I will somehow get the money back in time for the rent due date. I have no choice. It will be hard but I'm trying to remain optimistic. Despite my begging Rossendales and the council whose debt it was, nothing was done to stop this. The amount owed was £487 and then went to £650 when it went to Rossendales and this spiralled into £902 very quickly. It would have just kept building up. I will be making a complaint to both the council and to the body responsible for dealing with bailiffs. It won't do me any good now but I need to vent my anger somewhere. This is disgusting as far as I'm concerned and the actions of the local councils are beyond belief in my opinion. Money grabbing ********* I know it looks like I ignored everyone's advice not to use my rent money but believe me I wouldn't have if I wasn't reasonably sure I could borrow any shortfall this month. Just puts me in a position of having to get the begging bowl out which isn't good as people get fed up with it. I'm sorry if anyone thinks I just disregarded advice, I just didn't have a choice. thanks

Rossendales have just emailed me saying that action will continue despite me pleading with the to stop. And from what I've seen on other posts it sounds like they are a nasty bunch. It's no good, I'm just going to have to find the money and pay them before the bailiff turns up.

Thanks all. I will log in again tomorrow.

Hi I'm on Prozac but I'm useless at taking it so I guess it's not doing much good. But I've been depressed ever since my finances went belly up and the strain of being unemployed for long periods of time has made it worse. I understand that he cannot force entry but he will just take our car and we neeeed our car, trust me. My daughter has two very small children both babies. The car is the only way of getting them places together as we only have one single buggy. Also, I can't allow a bailiff to take stuff from our home. We only have essential stuff here, nothing fancy or worth loads of money. The kids would be distraught with no furniture or a TV for their CBBees etc. Life would be unbearable. I realise I shouldn't use the rent but I have no choice. All I can do is try and contact a few people and ask them to help me out when the rent's due. The bailiff told my daughter that he won't take instalments and that he works for Rossendales and we should contact them if we want to talk about instalments. Rossendales said the bailiff was self-employed and they have no control over what money the bailiff agrees to accept. Someone is lying, but we don't know which one! Does anybody know who can authorise an instalment plan even if we can get it down to 2 or 3 payments. thanks

Hi I've got credit card debts of around £23k (down from £69k so have been paying until I lost my job). I have old gas and electric bills, water bills etc but I've contacted them and made payment arrangements - which I can't keep anyway as I have no money, but I will contact them again. One of them advised me to contact Step Change but I was paying my card debts through them and they don't want to know if you haven't got a minimum amount each month spare. I've just got lots and lots of these things. I need to pay BT and mobile bills or that will just store up trouble and will leave me unable to try and get work. I also took out Sky before I was "laid off" so now I also have that to pay each month. Current council tax is in arrears from last year but they said they won't issue summons until May so I have some breathing space. They also said they would make an arrangement with me once summons is issued which will be affordable. The previous one that Rossendales are chasing did not make an affordable arrangement with me. So, yes, I am drowning in debt at the moment. I wrote to CAB before Christmas asking for an appointment but they never got back to me. It's a no-hoper my case. But I keep trying to keep it all under control. I've written again to the council who hired Rossendales begging them to intervene but they haven't got back to me. I doubt there's anything they can do now anyway.

Hi I've checked paperwork. I realise this is all my own fault. The council sent me: 4 Sep 14 oustanding amount of £487.23 statement 10 Nov 14 Summons to each of us stating that we were to appear and explain etc, but on the reverse it says don't bother appearing unless it's to dispute liability 24 Nov 14 statement saying I have lost my right to pay in instalments 2 Dec 14 a financial statement template which I was unable to complete on time and get it back to them - I was (still am) in a deep depression and struggling to deal with debts I think I remember seeing a letter saying a liability order was being sought - sent to each of us - which would have been before the summons. But I cannot find it. Rossendales sent to me: 15 Jan 15 a Notice of Enforcement. We called them and they asked for more each week than we had available 26 Jan 15 a reminder NoE. 11 Feb 15 NoE Agent Visit - final opportunity. I emailed them asking them to take an amount lower than what they originally asked for. 23 Feb 15 they emailed back asking for proof of everything money wise within 14 days. A week later I sent them a package containing all this. I did not keep proof of postage. We didn't hear back from them until today when the bailiff knocked on the door. I can see to a large extent it's my own lack of action that has let it get to this stage. I have just emailed the council begging them to call off the bailiffs but I know it won't do any good - they've already said this morning that they can't. I'm am so upset. I can't stop crying. What will happen if all my other debts end up with bailiffs as there won't be anything left for them to take. Hi He hasn't been in our house yet, he only turned up today for the first time saying he would be back in 2 days for our stuff. My daughter told him that there won't be anyone in and we won't open the door to him. But it's an awful situation to be in. I've since called a couple of my other debts to make sure they hadn't got to that stage yet, which they haven't. I won't let this happen again. All I can do is use this month's rent to pay him off. And hope I can borrow the money back off someone to cover my rent. The worst thing would be to lose our home for rent arrears. I'm on a slippery slope to nowhere right now with all the bills backing up. What a mess.

Hi Thank you for replying. Me and my daughter each had one liability letter advising the case was going to court to determine liability. At that time I had a job and they told me I could not stop the order but would still have to pay a certain amount each month to prevent it going any further. A little while after that I lost my job. I was unable to pay them and all the other debts and current bills. I think that letter was around July/August 2014. They were sent to our current address but referred to our previous address. My daughter is on income support and I believe most of her council tax was covered by benefits but mine wasn't. So the majority of the debt is mine but we are jointly liable as it was a joint tenancy. Each liability letter stated the full amount due. The liability letters state the period the debt relates to. There is approx £657 outstanding but this has now gone up to £902 with the enforcement agent fees. I don't know when they were passed on for enforcement. Speaking to Rossendales today they just said we had 14 days to respond to them and they said they didn't get a satisfactory response and so we are where we are. I sent them the paperwork they asked for about 7 days after they asked for it so it was within the 14 days. They said today that they received info on my daughter, then they said they hadn't then they said they had received my info then confused it with my daughter's. I don't think they know what they have on file. I have a mountain of un-dealt with debts and those I've dealt with but can't meet the payments they want. I'm just going to go through it all now to see if I can find the dates of the liability letters and orders etc. The bailiff was not a nice person - he said "I'll be back in two days to get your stuff". I haven't called him yet to see if he will accept a few instalments but he indicated to my daughter that he wanted the whole £900 or lose our stuff. We don't have much. thanks

Hi I moved from a rented house to another rented house 8 months ago. There was an outstanding council tax bill of £650 on the old house which I hadn't paid. I gave them my new address etc and promised to sort something out but I then lost my job and have been unemployed since. They passed it onto bailiffs - Rossendales. They wanted £28 a week which doesn't sound a lot but when you add it to all the other debts and current bills etc it was too much I asked them to reduce it until I found work. I sent off the paperwork proof they asked for but never heard anything from them until just now. The bailiff knocked on the door and handed me an enforcement notice saying he would be back in two days to remove goods. I have emailed Rossendales and asked them why they didn't get back to me and what has happened to the paperwork I sent them and why haven't they looked at it. They haven't replied yet. I am at my wits end and don't know what to do. I have enough cash to pay the original debt of £650 but not enough to pay Rossendales which is £900. But if I paid the original debt it would leave me short for the rent which is due in just under 3 weeks time so that would be even worse - maybe!!! I just want to die. Can anybody offer any advice? thanks

Hi I posted on here about 12 months ago as my family were evicted (s21 no fault) from a house we were renting. Of my deposit of £1600 I had £300 deducted for 'sham' cleaning. Because we struggled to get another place the landlord took us to court to get the house back. Corporate landlord who didn't want pets in the house. We managed to find another home eventually. It's much scruffier than the last one but we painted it and made it nice etc, but things keep breaking, dodgy plumbing and so on. the owner now wants to sell (she's not a professional landlord). She uses an agent who probably take a large chunk of the rent each month. Agent has sent a s21 and given us a bit longer than the statutory minimum of two months. We paid £1575 deposit and £400 check-in fees to the agent. I have a job after being unemployed for nearly two years, and still catching up with lots of bills each month so I have no savings whatsoever. I have no idea how I'm going to find the agent fees and the deposit for the next house. We have to pay these amounts up front. The rent is going to cost us around £1300/month (Surrey area) and so deposit will be about £2000 plus fees between £400 and £500. My current deposit is not returnable until 10 days after I vacate. Even then I'm still going to be £1k short. My daughter is on HB and income support. She has a very young baby and is expecting another - boyfriend is an ex boyfriend. What a mess! Daughter is suffering post-natal depression so we need to move nearer to family and friends and the rents are not cheap. They aren't cheap anyway, but it is what it is I guess. £1300/month is on the lower end of the scale, with many being more like £1500. Will the council that we plan on moving to help with a deposit? How can we determine which council it will be because we can't put an offer in without the fees available. I'm so lost at the moment and can't see a way round this. I've maxed on credit and don't know anyone with £2.5k sitting in their bank account. Any advice? thanks

thanks, you've put my mind at rest. Much appreciated.

Thanks DX, but I tried phoning the council once I realised it had gone to court/bailiffs but they told me to deal with Newlyn. I have managed to borrow half the amount and I will pay that electronically tonight but there's nothing more I can do.

Thanks. I won't let them in. But the text came out of nowhere - no letters or calls etc, just the text. I was hoping to stay under their radar for another 18 days when I could pay the monthly amount. I 've got about 2 or 3 payments left to make. But I have to pay out over £2k per month before we can even buy food. Honestly. And that doesn't cover gas, electric, water etc. The cost of rent is horrendous and I have a loan on that flat which expires in June so I've got to sell it by then. I'm in a financial mess, on a DMP and losing the will to live. And these collectors won't listen to anything you say - just pay up or else. I don't know what a levy is? But I guess I'll have to try and borrow some money from someone just to get them off my back. thanks for your quick responses.

Hi I've just received a text from Newlyns saying they will attend tomorrow to remove goods. I also accidentally deleted the text!!! so can't remember the exact words a nd don't have the mobile number it came from. I remember it said to call 'this number' now. This debt is a liability order from Canterbury Magistrates for non payment of council tax. I own a small flat near there which is way too small for my family and which I'm trying to sell. I've never lived in it. Council have charged me a full year's tax with no rebate - which I will need to look into as it's 25% rebate most other places for single occupant (or no occupant?). I have been unemployed for nearly two years and now have a job. But Newlyns demanded I pay the £1200 over 6 months even though I was unemployed when I spoke to them. Having been unemployed for so long it's really crippling me trying to catch up with all my unpaid bills now, to the point where I have nothing left each month within a week of pay day. Sometimes I have to cancel a standing order. I didn't pay Newlyn in November and I didn't pay them in January. I'm just too broke. I'm facing a huge council tax bill where I'm living now which will probably need to be paid by April, which is £1100 and I'm hoping my daughter will have her housing benefit sorted by then so they will reduce the bill. I don't know how to deal with Newlyns. I've read some of the sticks about bailiff actions etc but I think this firm are really hard. I think it's disgusting that a bailiff company can be successful enough to be a PLC in this day and age. I'm scared. Does anyone know what I should do? I have never had them visit my current address or discuss any belongings with them. I know they asked for my NI number when I originally spoke to them. They said it was to check I wasn't working. thanks

thanks Antone. That's useful to know and puts my mind at ease. The house we are living in has three bedrooms - although one isn't big enough for a bed. But will be for a cot. How do we split the claim? half and half or 2/1 for my daughter and me. Or shall we just let the housing people decide. This is a situation I'm not used to and don't want to let the system trick me out of what I might be entitled to. I've paid in enough and now I need the State's help.

Hi Thanks for replies. I am putting in a claim today for JSA and HB. My daughter is also going to put in a claim for HB today. As joint tenants, can DWP say something along the lines of "if one can't pay the rent, then the other is responsible for paying all of it"? Although we are broke at the moment, I am hopeful of getting some work soon, or at least selling the flat. Either of these will make me ineligible for HB, but will they still pay my daughter's? Our tenancy agreement is for the full monthly rent in both our names. Should we make new agreements in two separate names showing half the rent on each? I'm just worried that I will get knocked back by them. Rent is due in 3 weeks and we are totally broke now and cannot pay it or anything else for that matter. Don't know what will happen about all the other bills. Any quick replies would be most appreciated. thanks ps just had a horror thought - will I (without any dependents) actually be eligible for HB at all??? Really got myself worried now. Just checked the benefits advisor site and the 'what if' tool. I won't get any housing benefit. All I can get is £86 a week. I added the asset, and I also did it without the asset. Have I understood this correctly? Am I going to lose my home and end up on the streets? I feel like topping myself. There is no hope. re-read some stuff and I think the Benefits Advisor site was telling me what I might get in addition to housing benefit??? Still a big question mark over the asset though. I am putting it on the market this week but it could be months before it sells and I have some cash in the bank. I have a job interview Thursday but my luck has been sh*t so far on the job front. I'm just panicking but after working for 39 years and having nothing to show for it I expect the worse to happen.

Hi I have been trying to sign on since April but have come across a few obstacles. I have been unemployed for about 2 years now (despite good CV etc - ageism/can't get interviews). I am renting a house with my daughter who is also unemployed and is a new mum. We are joint tenants on the rental agreement. I own a small flat near the coast and have had to borrow in order to get this done up and ready for sale, and hope to get it on the market in the next week or so. There's no profit left in this, it's going to give me just enough to put by for future housing I reckon??? I paid the rent up front here for six months, but that six months is over in a few weeks time and we will have to pay a full months rent up front each month. What problems am I/we likely to face in claiming housing benefit? Do I need to declare the property? Will they say that, as joint tenants, we need to look to each other to pay the rent or will they give us each our half without too much hassle? I'm really worried that this won't be in place in time for next month and we'll be threatened with eviction. The landlord/agent stipulated no DSS so we hope the council won't contact them if we provide a copy of the agreement. It's impossible to get DSS housing around here Surrey/Sussex. Any advice? thanks

Challenge why this has suddenly come to light three months down the line!!! Keep an eye out for the man and boy as well - they probably live local and if you saw them again, you could get their address for the insurers to get a statement. Plus, technically, it's not just your word - your family will state you weren't reversing. I know they're connected etc, but do the insurers really think you are all lying?! What about the neighbours? Finally - it's a long shot because of the three month delay, but what about CCTV showing you leaving the supermarket or surrounding streets - anyone could then work out the time it took to drive home etc. best of luck - karma's a b*tch and that driver will get his one way or another!

I agree. I think they are all a rip off. I calculated the calories on the WW old points system and it worked out on average 850 calories a day. Anyone can lose weight on that I reckon (when I say anyone I mean healthy people, not those who might have a medical condition/take meds that affects their weight). I might try a different approach like maybe smaller meals, lighter foods. I feel really bloated after eating some foods and sluggish, which leads to more eating ultimately and no exercise. I'm only short and don't carry the extra weight well - it looks awful and affects my mobility. 5' and 11 stone!!! Need to lose 2 stone ideally but even a stone would be good. thanks Eve

I love the UK! A terrorist can shout 'Human Rights' to avoid getting evicted (from the country), but a little old lady can't have a pet. I would have thought it was every pensioners human right to keep a pet - I am disgusted at the behaviour of this landlord. When you're 70 years old, sometimes the only company you ever get is that of your cat/dog. It makes me want to cry when I read things like this. Sorry, I know this is of no help to your enquiry, but felt I had to say it.

Hi Thank you KatyKatz and Dotty for the help you have given me. I am really pleased that I can hit Leaders with something. I know I've broken the agreement with the cats, but that's a bit different than breaking the law. I will take legal advice and if there is any way I can sue Leaders then I will. I feel violated now, and everytime we leave the house we are wondering whether they are in there snooping around our stuff. It is unbelievable that they thought they could just do this. My daughter and I are decent people - we are clean and we respect the property. So for nearly thirteen hundred quid a month, I expect to be left alone and not harrassed by a letting agency. Since that incident, my daughter has found out she is pregnant, so we are urgently looking for another rental. This is a major stress that neither she nor I need right now, so I will take this up with CAB or a barrister we know. I still haven't discussed the incident with Leaders or acknowledged their eviction letter - I wanted to be sure of where I stood before speaking with them. They really are scary!!! thanks again Eve