landlord pursuing me for rent i don't owe

[getsmart]

Hi all on the 13/05/09 i made a payment to my housing association of 150 pounds however this payment went missing on the 4/06/09 brought in proof of payment from my bank however at the time of writing there are still pursuing me for the said sum i have 2 questions i paid the rent in their office on my bank card so the fact that it has gone astray is that my problem or theirs ? also can i pursue them for cost from the date of payment at 8 percent a day till present any feedback would be appreciated also i am a assured tenant and have lived at property for fifteen years

[blitz]

Interest on what? You can't claim interest on money you are not owed.

 

Is this a monthly payment or weekly? What have they said in regards to the missing money? I would be inclined to provide the proof and demand any further correspondence on the matter must be a court summons disputing the balance.

[getsmart]

hi blitz at the time of the payment i was self employed the amount was part of arrears i owed totalling 800 pounds. I paid £650 cash and £150 on my debit card both pay at the same time 2 people was present at the time of payment, now they are saying that i never paid 150 and there is no evidence even through i got the notes from 2009 proving this stating when i came in the office and made payment i have a new rent officer who started in september 2009 and she is pursing this and trying to evict me out of my property i thought i could claim interest on the 150 due to their incompetence as they are stating it i haven't paid it when i have

[what_todo]

gave you got a statement with the Co name with £150 taken oot?

[getsmart]

yes i also have a print of from the housing association stating when i brought in proof

[Aviva]

Hand in a copy of the bank statement showing that the money was taken out of your account with a letter stating when you orginally provided proof of payment. Ask them what they have done to find the money, what they are now going to do to resolve the situation and for them to suspend all rent arrears action until this problem is resolved. Also state that you are making an official complaint as you have already tried to resolve this problem.

 

Sometimes the money can come out of your bank account but does not actually reach where it's supposed to go. However, your HA should be able to help track what has happened and get the money paid in.

[getsmart]

hi aviva firstly thanks for your input i have a couple question's if you know the answer's would like to know who's responsibility is it that the money as gone astray,am i in my right for refusing to cooperate,what laws are there. I am going to make a formal complaint as the way this as been handle i think is very poor i didn't even think they could bring grounds agaisnt me to evict when it is clearly i have paid lastly can i make a claim agaisnt them from the date of payment at 8 percent a day sorry for all the question's

[Planner]

You should coorporate with them fully to show you have paid the amount. Im not sure why you would do anything less?

 

You arent entitled to the money back or 8% interest on the money.

 

The 8% point is in relation to interest on a county court claim from someone who makes a claim for money owed i.e. workman claiming £1,000 form a customer who as not paid or a tenant taking a LL to court for a £500 unreturned deposit.

 

As you arent owed money theres no claim or interest for you to pursue. (By the way the interest would only be approx £11.57 a bit of a non-issue).

[getsmart]

thank you planner for clearing that up its not that i have a problem with the housing association its this new officer who is very rude and doesn't know how to do her job and as got my back up stating their is no evidence of me ever making payment

[Aviva]

It is both your responsibility and the HA's responsibility to ensure this situation is sorted. You need to supply details like when the payment came out of your account, your bank details, etc so that they are able to trace the money. They need to contact your bank to ensure that the correct payment details were used, etc and also check their systems to see if the problem could have occurred at their end.

 

Who is responsible for the problem occurring - hard to say the problem could have occurred at the HA end or could have happened at the bank.

 

Not sure what you mean in refusing to co-operate. If you mean are you right to continue to chase the missing money and not just make another payment to clear the arrears then yes. If you mean not co-operating in trying to resolve the situation then no. It's always in your best interest to co-operate as much as you can.

 

If money is owing then the HA can take action but if the case went in front of a Judge (and it must if they want to get any kind of court order or an eviction warrant) they would not be happy. The minute they knew there was a possible missing payment the Judge would want to know what actions the HA have taken, etc and would adjourn the case until the situation was resolved. So it's not really worth their while taking action against you in this situation especially if you only owe the disputed £150.

[getsmart]

ok i understand your points they are all valid its just i will be basically doing what i already done it just seems i am being punish even through i have paid and supplied proof in the past that is why i don't wish to co-operate i will try again one last time

[Planner]

You need to use the HA 'official' complaints procedure.