Having been on carers allowance for 3 years it was stopped automatically and then started again when they realised the person i am caring for had had their PIP renewed. This flagged up as a 'change of income' on the housing benefit system and it was immediately suspended. Even though no actual change of income had taken place i still had to fill it out online and explain the carers had stopped then started again. I took in proof to the council that the carers had been renewed weeks ago and they still have not backdated the housing benefit and put the claim back on. The housing association are calling, texting constantly and sending out notice of possession letters. Nothing seems to speed the council up to activate the housing benefit claim and it's been weeks. They suspended it at the start of June. They just keep saying it can take up to a month to process the documents and despite explaining this to the HA they keep calling and sending letters. In the mean time i have been making small weekly payments to the HA even though i assume the housing benefit will be backdated once it has been processed. However they are taking so long to process it. What more can i do?

I'm not on Twitter but i was thinking about contacting them on livechat though rather than keep calling them as i don't seem to be getting anywhere with either issue over the phone. With regards to the engineer i called them after he left and they said he hadn't left any notes on the system about the phone. He told me it was a problem with the grey cable box outside and that he would have to get a service-engineer out. Now they have said they'll send an engineer out to my house on 1st June even though the guy told me it was the grey box outside that was the issue and they don't even need to come out to the house. I also assumed the problem is the transferring from Sky. My Sky line and broadband is still active as i have another week or so left on it before they end the services so i don't know if it's related to that.

Yes to register online so i can see a breakdown of bills and stuff. Also my phone line is not working when they installed it they said there is a problem with the phone and everytime i phone in they ask me for my account number. So it's easier just to answer with the account number instead of multiple other security questions which gets tiresome over and over. I haven't been given a username or area number. I have no idea what my landline number is. My phone isn't even connected up and everytime i ring they say something different "someone will call back", "we will send an engineer" and each time it's nothing. Then they look on the system and say "there's been no notes left about your phone", yet the guy who installed it told me himself there is a problem and he can't activate it yet. As i am paying for phone as part of the package i would like an active phoneline or at least some info as to what's happening with them fixing it. The contract i would like it for my own security and so i know exactly what i have signed up for. I have never signed up for anything before and not received any kind of introduction and information as to exactly what i have signed up for.

Yesterday when i called she even gave me a specific time they would "try" to send the email through. "look out for that email at 1:15pm". Of course at 1:15pm and for the rest of the day nothing from Virgin arrives, yet all other emails come through with no issue.

My current email address is a gmail one that they say these emails are being sent to. I have looked in the spam folder etc there is nothing there. On the follow up phone calls they don't even address why the letters and emails they claimed to have sent haven't arrived it's just a case of "we'll send it out to you". I wait, nothing arrives, and it goes full circle again. So annoying. Never had this problem before with Sky if i requested something it always came promptly. All i want is my bloody account number! lol

Last requested it yesterday afternoon. I have made 5 phone calls before that to Virgin all about the same issue. On each call they state an email or letter will be sent yet nothing arrives. Been ongoing for nearly a month now since i signed up.

Yep, full bundle. No i have not received any welcome pack or contract. They texted the installation date confirmation. There is no account number on the email, it's literally just a generic 'Hi, your services are up and running' type of thing. I have had no other emails, bills, welcome email, etc whatsoever from them. The letter i have about the direct debit also doesn't contain an account number. I'm guessing i have to wait for a first bill or something to get it but it doesn't explain why they keep telling me they have sent letters yet i don't receive anything.

Hi Andy, It has just been installed in my area over the last 2 months. I was planning on switching anyway because of countless unresolved issues with Sky but a guy from Virgin knocked on my door and i did the sign up process with him at the door as did a few of the other neighbours. He gave me a copy of the agreement and installation date, etc, but the agreement doesn't have an account number on. Only other correspondence i have from them is texts confirming installation and letter about direct debit details. Also the minute the guy had finished installing it all i had an email straight through saying "congratulations your services are up and running" so these other emails and letters are arriving no problem and yet when i continually request my account number and contract details they are saying they have been sent yet there is nothing coming through.

I just switched to Virgin from Sky. What is proving a nightmare with them is receiving a copy of my contract and also my account number which i need in order to do anything (register online etc) I have called them a total of 6 times about this issue and each time they say they will email it to me or send it to me in the post. I have received no emails and no letters at all from them, yet on the phone they insist multiple letters and emails have been sent out. I have confirmed they have the correct email and address over and over yet i still do not have a copy of contract or any email correspondence. They say they can't give it out over the phone yet no emails or letters are arriving despite them constantly saying they have been sent out. Other letters have come through such as the confirmation of direct debt so it's clear they do have the right address. Any idea what to do here? I just can't believe it can be this difficult to get a damn account number and copy of contract off them. It's driving me mad

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?

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

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

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

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.

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.

The letters and calls are from a company called CSL. It went into arrears because the water company (Severn Trent) at the time took forever to agree to a manageable payment plan and by the time they had arrears had built up and then we moved from that property so left behind the 200 arrears. She was paying them small amounts off it but they were constantly demanding more like £15 a week etc The problem is i don't know how to make payments direct to the water company regarding a previous address arrears. I have a water payment card here but that is for this address and the current vulnerability scheme she is on for current bill/usage. I don't know to pay them direct without dealing with these CSL debt collector people.

My partner is already ill with mental health problems and the constant calls and letters from them are making it worse. Also, she refuses to ignore it and will answer their calls or even call them when i'm not there to make arrangements to pay. They coerce her into making arrangements she can't afford and say if she doesn't contact them they will send a doorstop visit to collect the full £220 in full. She of course defaults on these payments before they even start and then they carry on calling. She is already on the vulnerability water plan for the current bill/usage but this 2 year debt is from previous address and it's been ongoing for 2 years now. The letters are just constant and now they have the landline number due to her giving it them and they won't stop calling. I have argued with her constantly about this because she just will not stop talking to them and being bullied by them into payments she can't afford. My question is how do i get in touch with the water company directly to make an arrangement to deal with it? Since they passed it to debt companies i can't find any account number or anything referencing this debt to write to them about it. How do i correspond directly with the water if it's regarding previous address?

Just as i made this thread another letter has dropped through the door this morning stating "Thank you for your recent payment of £5.60 a new arrangement has been set up for you" and it's the same thing as the old one - £5.60 per week, and then it goes on to state the same thing that if you miss any of these payments they may cancel the agreement and take to court blah blah. But this time there is absolutely no mention of any arrears or anything. Just a new 'payment plan' stating £5.60 per wk is what they require. The problem is she cannot afford the 5.60 a WEEK, she can only afford to pay it fortnightly yet everytime I have written to them explaining this they ignore the fortnightly request and send a WEEKLY payment schedule again. If she was to pay weekly it would mean less gas and electric and with 2 under fives in the house i will not prioritize TV licence over gas and elec. I am definitely using the right card, yes, as it says on every letter they send "You can use your payment card you already have there is no need for a new card" or something like that.

Hi, my partner who is on disability was told by TV licence to pay £5.60 per week on the payment card via letter when she first set up the licence at this address about 5 months ago. This amount was too much to afford but they refused to lower it or accept fortnightly payments instead. of course she missed a few payments but i made them up for her since. They have sent letter after letter since these missed payments with a different amount owed each time. A couple of letters have come through from a debt collection agency and now there are more coming from the TV licence itself. The thing is I have been paying them regular payments of at least £12 a month (around 6 every 2 wks) since she first missed the £5.60 payments, only they don't reflect on the letters they send. I have all the receipts here of the payments i have made so why are they still sending these letters and acting like i haven't been paying them anything? The letter comes through "You owe £58.60" or something like that and then the next one says "You owe £67.89" or something even though in between letters they have had at least 12-15 pound off me. Why aren't all these payments i have made being knocked off their letters? Where has the money gone? Any clarity on this? I have heard you are only supposed to communicate with them in writing not on the phone? But the amount of letters they are sending is absolutely doing my head in. They are sending about 4-5 letters a month!

Okay I called them up, they said the payments haven't been stopped, she's just misjudged the date it was due in. It's actually due in at the end of next week. He seemed to imply this was just a mandatory review type of thing with this form but i'm still a bit confused about it. I mean what does it mean when they say they may need to consult a doctor? Does that mean one of their own doctors behind the scenes? She will be sent to a face-to-face assessment? This is the first time dealing with this type of 'break' in the flow of disability awards/payments. Everything she put on this form was the same as when she first applied for it and they awarded it. There has been no change in symptoms, medication etc

Okay, I will ring them in a minute but why are they reviewing it randomly out of the blue? There has been no change in circumstances at all and it said 2017 on the initial letter. Does that mean the carers allowance I receive will cease too until they review it?

Hi, my partners PIP payment was due to come in today or yesterday and has not come in. Has it been stopped? She has been receiving it regularly for over a year now and on the initial decision letter at the very beginning it said it would be looked at again in 2017. She received a Looking At Your Personal Independence Payment Again form in the post a few weeks ago took it to her doctor/psychiatrist and he helped her fill it out and send it off. They sent her a text saying thanks for returning it and they may need to consult a doctor before making a decision. That's all they've said yet the money has not come into the bank like it's been stopped. There was nothing on this new review form or on the text that mentioned anything about stopping the payment, so why has the money not come in? Thanks

Had a mandatory jobseekers back to work interview come through for my partner who is on my income support claim that I get carers allowance for and she gets PIP payment, she has called them and they say it's mandatory for anyone on any type of benefit. The letter specifically states that it's for a jobseekers claimant though. Also, the woman on the phone said she would only be classed as a dependent on my income support claim if she was under 18 and yet I've been told that her and our children are all classed as dependents on my claim because of her disability. It's all very confusing. Why have they suddenly sent her a jobseekers mandatory back to work appointment out of the blue when we aren't even on jobseekers for over 2 years?

Find it easier to use pay as you go and know what i am using. I've had paper bill format before and had 400 odd pound bills come through which I can't afford to pay in all in one sum, also I have too much on my plate to remember to sign into their site every few weeks and give a meter reading otherwise the bill is done on estimates and seems way too high? I might change the supplier but I have the gas with SSE as well and that meter works fine, it's just the electric meter that won't give any emergency out. I've found SSE to be a bit cheaper also and more helpful on the phone and easier to get through to. I've had Npower before and hated them.

I have an SSE electric meter where you top up the key at the shop, however no matter how much I top up it's being loaded on as straight credit with no emergency option given even once it drops below a pound. I've tested it, by leaving it to drop and drop until it clicks off there is no emergency being loaded onto the key/meter at all. There is no debt on the meter, I am not paying off any arrears It's been like this since it was installed, i called them up and they sent the guy out to replace the meter, the emergency worked one time the first time I topped it up after he changed the meter and now again it's back to no emergency at all. It's costing a fortune in electric and having no emergency to fall back on is impracticable with 2 under fives in the house, if it runs out near midnight for example how do i get to the shop? I am going to call them again but the thing is they take so long to send the guy back out, last time it was over a month wait for him to come and replace it