I have explained about the distress it is causing all three of us to both landlord and agent I also explained all the things that are happening pre booked and how my son cannot cope with strangers in the house when I am there, let alone when I am not. I also originally asked the landlord why they'd denied the fact to me that they might think about selling up on three occasions when they knew it was going to possibly happen. Each time I said to them, I'd rather know, so I can get us out and into another rent without putting us all through the stress. So they have been aware for the last three years that I would far rather move out and let them get on with selling the property. Having worked part time in an estate agency I know how difficult selling a property with a tenant in it can be. I am registered with their estate agent's letting department, I did that the day the estate agent rang me to organise the first viewing. I think the other issue is the electrics, for me I cannot stay in this property whether it sells or not, it needs to be gutted to be rewired. I'm disappointed that they couldn't have just spoken to me of their intentions and we could have come to some agreement of say three or four months to see if I could find another home for us before he needed to take any action at all.

Thank you Stu. The estate agent is Miller Countrywide. I am aware he may well issue an eviction notice. The part we all three are struggling with most is the people coming in and walking round our home and having this onus placed on us that we should be presenting our home in a certain way to aid their sale. I am lucky that I have a supportive family around me and am currently looking into finding another private rent. I am on lists with sympathetic letting agents and have been assured that the situation is easing in my area.

I have rented my property for 9 years, good tenant, paid rent on time every month. I originally signed up to the house via an agent who credit checked me and did all 'setting up' paperwork. They suggested I applied for a deposit bond from my local council and helped me fill in the paperwork etc and I was awarded this bond - something I'm now struggling to find information on. I am a carer for my 25 year old son, diagnosed with autism and I am currently trying to get him looked into again as what he has is more cerebal palsy like than autism, but that's another issue. He is in receipt of PIP and ESA and unable to work. I am in receipt of carers allowance and income support. My 11 year old son also lives with us, he is diagnosed with autism too and starts secondary school this September so is a ball of anxiety and fear right now and is worried with the house issues he won't be able to attend his chosen school. I am a victim of domestic abuse too and come with my own issues of depression and worries of still living in the same area as my abusive ex who is still behaving and talking about me threateningly - I left him in 2005! My landlord got a grant around three years ago with the help of benefits I receive to put a new boiler in the property. Around this same time period the landlord asked me if I would pay the deposit to him as the bit of paper he had in lieu of the deposit wasn't worth the paper it was written on. I didn't have the money and I said no,' sorry I can't afford that sort of money'. A couple of years ago the landlord sent in someone to value the house, it wasn't an estate agent but I did worry at the time it might have been and it did cause to me to ask if he was thinking of selling the place and he said no it was because they were re-mortgaging. A couple of years ago an electrician came in and checked all the electrics, I've never seen the paperwork but I do understand that the whole place needs re-wiring and indeed I am used to now and again the trip switch flicking off for no known reason. He replaced the two electrical boards I have in the house with metal boxes but no other wiring was carried out. At the beginning of August I received an email that stated they wanted three agents to enter the house and value it as they were undertaking a check on all their properties to see where they stood and what everything they had was worth. I don't believe they were checking all their properties, just mine. I asked via email if they were planning on selling the place and was told 'no' in one sentence and then 'maybe not immediately' in another, all in the same email. On the day of the four estate agents looking through the house I stood outside my house with the landlady for two hours and verbally asked her if they were selling and said I can start looking for elsewhere if I know what is happening. I told her that I bid on the home choice register every week that there is something that I am eligible for but am currently up at around number 90 on the list. She told me 'no we are just assessing all the houses we have and what they are all worth'. The estate agents came on a Wednesday and by the next Tuesday I had an email to say they were putting the property up for sale and I was to remove some things belonging to my daughter and my sister that I was temporarily storing for them and I was to make sure there could be some 'nice' uncluttered photos to help market it. They wanted the property ready to be photographed by a certain date but I had a pre booked week holiday with my 11 year old son in London so I explained I was unable to meet that deadline. I did contemplate cancelling our holiday but family talked me out of it. On my return I sorted out removing the items I was storing and three days later the property was photographed, there were also four lots of viewers that came through on that day too. I explained at length that they couldn't have picked a worse time and it was a shame there couldn't have been a discussion as I face the busiest August, September and October I will ever have known due to things being booked pre lockdown having been moved on each year to allow us to travel when COVID restrictions were lifted. I turned 50 in lockdown and a present from family was to see a band of my choice once lockdown ended and things were back to normal. I chose Coldplay and spent three days away last week to see them live, this again was booked before I had any idea my landlord was going to sell. Whilst I was away, I had a voicemail asking if there could be a viewing on the Tuesday after the bank holiday at 4pm. I called the estate agent the next day to let them know that I could only do Tuesday morning as I had a zoom call with a dietician at 3pm to discuss getting a diagnosis for an eating disorder my youngest child is currently battling with and it's very worrying for myself and his Dad. I didn't feel I'd be emotionally able to cope with strangers traipsing through after that call so thought I had been perfectly reasonable by offering the morning instead. It turns out that the estate agent I spoke to didn't pass on the fact I had offered Tuesday morning to the woman dealing with my sale, as she rang me gone 11 am annoyed and asking if I was denying the visit at 4pm, so said yes and again explained it was because I had a medical zoom call that afternoon regarding my son that we'd been on a waiting list for four months. I explained that I had told whoever answered the phone on Friday all those details but it seems he didn't take notes to pass on the info! As an aside to all of that happening, a close friend was sat in the local hospital having been called back in from the day before after something worrying had shown up on a brain scan, the local hospital were waiting to hear from a bigger hospital two hours away, my mind was on what was going to happen next and whether I needed to organise a hospital bag and whether I needed to get myself to the hospital to be with my friend. I hastily agreed I could probably do Thursday or Friday at a guess given what was unfolding at the time. Estate agent rang again on Thursday and I agreed for a viewing on Friday at 4pm. I reminded her then that as per my original conversation with her colleague back in August that I was away from Monday 5th September until the 13th for a pre booked holiday with my siblings. This is a holiday that should have taken place in 2020 and has been moved three times since then because of Covid. She sounded miffed and annoyed, I also asked why it was that the listing for the property doesn't mention it has a tenant in it and she snapped at me that they don't have to declare that. I just stated oh ok, it just seems counter productive to me and I hope I don't get people banging on the door thinking they are talking to the owner. She went on at length about how she is answerable to Mr ******* and they do what he tells them to do. The estate agent rang again on Thursday afternoon and asked for a viewing on Saturday morning and I said I was sorry but it wasn't possible, and I explained why. I go away on Monday first thing, my whole Sunday is spent with my Mother, she turns 90 and there is a big lunchtime family get together in celebration for her. Saturday is my only day to sort the house out to leave ready for my son and ready for the carers coming in and out, do the food shopping of ready meals for him which we then draw up lists and mark up what day he will eat each meal etc. I then need to hand over my youngest son to his Dad along with his school uniform, school bag, PE bag all organised for his return to school on Tuesday. At some point I need to pack. I sadly cannot just walk out the door, passport in hand and I feel stressed enough without having another viewing to prepare the boys for. The Friday viewing happened, the people that came in looked awfully uncomfortable to the point I felt sorry for them!! They apologised profusely for inconveniencing me by looking around and asked me how long I had lived here then apologised again. I don't know for sure but can only assume they had only just been told there was a tenant. Prior to that the estate agent came in and put her head round the living room and said 'How many have you got in here today?' I was taken aback, it was myself and my two sons who happen to live in the house just like the last time! What did she mean by that? Meanwhile the landlord got the wrong end of the stick and thinks that as I am away they can access the property whilst it's empty. How wonderful that would be and so much easier for me to cope with if it were true but my eldest rarely leaves home for an hour let alone a holiday as much as I try to get him out the door! But the fact is my oldest son will be here with family and friends acting as his carers calling in to make sure he is ok everyday, they are on hand to stay with him in the house if they feel he's not coping. This is what happens every time I get any respite breaks from caring and it takes a lot of organising and sorting so much effort goes into all the things that need putting into place for me to go away I often wonder if the bits of respite I actually get are really worth it. So I've let the landlord know that it will be just my son and carers here. I've not yet answered his email where he states that the estate agents 'ought' to be allowed access throughout next week and that my son and carers should allow it. He is making no allowances for the vulnerability of my children of which he has known about all throughout my being here. To the point he has asked what I thought the school meant when they were raising issues with him about his son and daughter, and I do recall his poo pooing the points the school were making and him saying it was all nonsense. In their first email informing me of the house going on the market they stated they needed to sell because the mortgage was due for renewal in December and they wanted it off their hands by then. They said it might sell, it might not sell, it might go to another landlord and you can stay. They also said they had a loan than needed paying off the beginning of next year and thats why they were selling. Then a couple of weeks later they tell me that the electrics all need replacing and I would need to leave for that to be done and they haven't the money to do it. But they also mention how I might still be able to stay anyway but then they'd have to somehow sort the electrics! I no longer know what the truth is, but just can't understand why they haven't officially just told me to leave and given me the chance to save us all from this stress. They had to know this was all looming earlier this year and no doubt sooner. I am trying to work with the estate agents, whilst protecting my children and still living my daily life but I can see they are trying to make me seem unreasonable and wonder if they might be trying to provoke me somehow. I live with a very real fear that my ex husband could book a viewing and just walk into my safe space just to cause further torture to me. It's very hard to find out what my actual rights are, it seems I am just at the mercy of the estate agent and the landlord. I am still paying my rent and will continue to do that no matter what.

Morrison's 'Savers Nappy Sacks' are 12p per 100 and are green in colour.

I sincerely hope you do from now on bag their poo! I used to own dogs and picked up their poo each time they were walked. I now own a toddler and am sick of him not being able to run free in any of our parks because it's full of dogs mess. Also sick of arriving home to find the buggy wheels are full of it. I always took it that fines were 'on the spot' but not at all sure if they've changed things now. Let us know how it goes, be interesting to know if they fine for a verbal 'report' or if there has to be evidence of some sort.

I have a debt with South West Water, starting back in 2007 when I had a breakdown and stopped coping with daily life. There appears to be a debt of around £4,400 which has been passed on to Orbit Debt Collectors. I have registered with Southwest Water online and see that there is another £1,400 also outstanding. Nowhere can I see a simple breakdown of how much is owed for each year. I rang the South West Water Debt helpline number today to organise setting up an online account to deal with this current years bill and to organise a second account for the debt so I can keep paying that off. The guy on the phone wasn't at all nice and just kept telling me I have to deal with Orbit, so I pointed out that actually I wanted to deal with SWW and just pay the debt not Orbits fees but he insisted that I can only pay the debt through orbit and that there are no fees?? Surely that can't be right can it? Meanwhile I have a calling card from Orbit telling me to call their agent, I'm hesitant to do so and end up in some war of words with him, South West Water were bad enough and for someone trying to start to cope again it sure as hell makes me want to just re-bury my head.

This is why I feel you really need a solicitor, if convicted, then yes you will have a criminal record. Sadly, it will also possibly appear in the local court round up section of the newspaper. Did you state you were arrested at work? Do your bosses already know of what is happening? If not then maybe you should let them know, explain it as you have here.

Is the solicitor experienced in Benefit Fraud cases? If so, I would personally think it would be £500 well spent if they have the experience to convince magistrates you did not 'intentionally' set out to commit fraud. This process won't stop now, what you need to be doing is reducing the long term damage it could do you and the solicitor is the one that can approach it in the right way.

I don't think it will stop proceedings, although repaying it in full before your next court date might make them deal with you more leniently along with holding your hands up and admitting what happened, you didn't notice the money was still coming in and you should have, you're sorry, you've learnt your lesson to check monthly bank statements in future etc etc and have paid the full amount back as you know it wasn't really yours to have etc etc. Someone else may think differently don't know what is your solicitor saying you should do? You mentioned one in a previous post.

Make sure you tell the new doctor exactly how you are feeling, tell her you were offered counselling and just don't feel ready to talk yet. I was the same, doctor agreed I was/am depressed, referred for counselling but I just don't feel ready to go. I'm frustrated they can't offer me anything else for the time being, it's been a hard slog. You need to make it very clear you are harming yourself. Can you write down how you feel and hand it over to the doctor, you'll get so much more down on paper before you go than when sitting in front of the doc and wondering, where or how to start. I went in with two sides of A4 full of notes of how I'd been feeling over the week prior to seeing the doc which was just as well as all I did was cry, couldn't get any words out! Good luck with it all, I've also been through the IUC and then had a trip to court, it was all horrible and not something I'd want to re-live, but I'm still here, I made it through as others have and so will you

Thank you for the link, pity my advisor couldn't have given me more information lol I'll check again with the nursery at my daughters school where she went what their provision is nowadays, hopefully it will still be the same in a years time when I'm looking for childcare. Although, it's not my first choice this time around so we'll see when the time comes. I hope it will be beneficial for me to work when my lad turns three, my brain needs more stimulation than it is getting at the moment!

My youngest is not two yet, let alone three but I listened with interest at the 15 hours free and asked my advisor what that actually meant. She avoided answering my question by changing the subject. I remember my now 10 year old daughter being entitled to a certain amount of hours of childcare when she was younger, but there were restrictions in that she had to be attending a nursery group session, maybe you can answer my question lol Are there still restrictions on this 'free' childcare, which shouldn't really be labelled childcare if that is the case, not every single parent is going to be able to find a job that fits in with school hours, there aren't enough schools for a start! That was my advisor's answer to all my questions, 'you can find a job in a school' which makes me think these 'free' hours of childcare are actually just free access to nursery sessions.

Once your child is three they are entitled to 15 hours free childcare, you are then 'encouraged' to work and yes when the child starts full time school, you 'have' to find work.

But... but...I've been told... 'no one who is a single parent and works is worse off'' was spouted to me several times at my last single parent meeting I'm a single mum too, knowing that when my youngest reaches the right age I'll be out working too, don't get me wrong, I want to work as I'm fed up being stuck home. I questioned whether we will be able to make ends meet as so many of my friends in the same situation are not any better off, just more stressed than normal. Childcare is their biggest problem, then finding yourself in a situation where you can't afford to pay bills is just going to make people ill with the stress. There certainly needs to be a better incentive, we actually need to be able to 'live'.

I would starve in my local hospital, they have no idea what celiacs can eat and the menu's don't provide options for them every day. On the odd occasion Gluten Free shows up on the menu they are foodstuffs that are obviously not suitable! When in a larger hospital nearly two years ago after having my son, I had to exist on baked potato with butter everyday, for lunch and evening meal. Even the pre grated cheese they buy in was packaged with flour to stop the grated cheese sticking together. You can't even depend on the salad as one day it will come un-dressed (fine) and another it will be dressed (not fine)! Not a good balanced diet to be on whilst recovering from what ended up as major surgery and whilst also trying to get a baby established on breast feeding.

Technically, he should issue the loan in your own home. Just mention this to her and request if you do want another loan then you'd like him to call. If they both have the same initial do you know for sure it is not her signature. Agents can certainly have trained 'deputies' to collect money with no problem.

Who signed the loan forms on behalf of Provident. Ask her outright if she works for Provident and is a recognised signatory if you're concerned. Agents are generally self employed so I don't really see a problem. Monies credited to your account are going to be delayed, there is a once a week collection of paperwork by courier, therefore if that collection happens on a Monday at 10am and the Agent visits you on a Tuesday there is going to be a time delay before the paperwork gets to your regional office. Ask the Agent why the longer time period occurred, it could simply be they were ill or maybe they went away for a few days.

That seems incredibly unfair. I was in the same situation a few years ago, had the meter installed and the company were taking around £2.50 per week, by agreement it was put up to £5 a week in the summer but it dropped back to the £2.50 for the winter months (not the same company though).

I forgot that point as my maintenance started coming in well after I had made the original claims. At that time I would have declared nothing and the CSA were put on the case, he stopped paying them and agreed to pay me direct, that stopped when he lost his job. Re-payments started a week before my review and I declared them at the review. That could be the problem here, it's only a few months since the 'do you receive any other payments' question was asked and nothing was declared.

No worries, I kind of agree with the suggestions above that no fraud has been committed. It's a technicality on what needs to be declared and what doesn't really. Anyway, unless you go looking it's hard to know that you are meant to declare any maintenance, have a read through this site http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/how-does-child-maintenance-affect-benefits, it states: but there is also this on the same site: http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/index/information-and-services/parents/child-maintenance/what-is-child-maintenance.htm which is what was happening in both parents eyes at the end of the day. If your friend wasn't told about the maintenance needing to be declared when applying for HB or IS how would she know? I only know now because I had to go looking, after years of no maintenance I suddenly started getting paid a regular amount by my sons father.

I don't know, they don't take that money into account anyway if it is declared. Did he know at that point his job was possibly ending, could he have made a payment whilst he could, knowing that in future he may not be able to do so. If she still has that money she could argue that point, claiming she's kept it earmarked for expenses, ie school uniform, school trips because she knows that at present there will be no more money due to his redundancy.

I think the declaration part Estellyn was referring to is you must make them aware of any Child Maintenance received, that includes telling the DWP. Even though they no longer take it into account they still want to know of any Child Maintenance you are receiving. I guess it just saves any unnecessary investigations if they come to find out there is an undeclared amount of money appearing in your account.

No worries, to me at this point it seems not as serious as it could be if that makes sense. I'm not entirely sure, but I read it as maybe Estellyn is in the legal profession, therefore she's more knowledgeable on these matters than me! Surely a point can be made at the interview that even though the couple had split, he wanted to ensure his child had a roof over his head, therefore he paid rent to ensure they were settled back in the UK. There was never an intention for this to continue but was just agreed to in lieu of maintenance for his child whilst both the child and mother got themselves sorted. That's more a question for Estellyn really, don't want to advise you to say something the authority may not accept at all!

My apologies, I assumed it was an Interview Under Caution. No, don't think she's needing a solicitor at this point then. So has she only been receiving Housing Benefit for three months then? Otherwise I can't understand why they only want to see three months back statements.

I think you're right, maintenance is no longer deducted from benefits. I didn't think of it from that angle, just that if they've seen the 'income' if it has been paid to the friend they'd be suspicious.