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Ongo Housing for Local Council Rented property - Disgusting Facebook derived threats/use & con to force money out of vulnerable renter


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Hi

 

You still need to answer my questions 1 - 3 from post#12 as we need this information

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I’m so sorry, I thought I had.

 

 

Questions time:

1. What type of Tenancy Agreement did you have? It was an assured tenancy

 

2. This is important before you move to Canada did you handover your property giving the required notice as per your Tenancy Agreement and have confirmation from Ongo Housing?

 

No I did not, 4 weeks after moving in we moved to Canada. But in the December of 2019 which was 3 months after we left I got an email from Ongo telling me that they were taking the house back as I wasn't living there.

 

4 weeks prior my father had passed away so I wasn’t sure if I was going to stay in Canada as my mum was now on her own. So I reached out and told them I am returning from Canada. I got an email back stating they were still going to serve the notice to quit. I do have all the emails.

 

3. Were you in any Rent Arrears before you handed over the property/moved to Canada or was your rent fully up to date? The rent was up to date when I moved but obviously went into arrears after we moved.

 

I know I have done wrong and I know I have to pay this money back, it’s just the way they have gone about it all and deceived me in the way they have. I don’t think they understand what it is they have done to me mentally and right now, I can’t even put it into words....I’ve not left the house since it happened, I couldn’t even go with my husband shopping today and tomorrow I am meant to be going to see my grandson, which I don’t feel I’m going to be able to do. 
 

Thank you for all you help.

 

mandy

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Thanks for the above info just some further clarification if you don't mind my error for not asking as dates are important.

 

So you had an Assured Tenancy now exactly what date was it signed?

 

Exactly what date did you leave the property without giving the Housing Association Notice?

 

Exactly what date did you get the email serving Notice to Quit and do you still have that email?

 

Exactly what is the amount Ongo are claiming you Owe? 

 

When Ongo Staff made you sign a Payment Plan did they give you a copy and explain your rights i.e. if you missed a payment under that Payment Plan they can then withdraw that Payment Plan and proceed take legal action via the Courts? (don't panic with this as it is only a question so do not worry yourself) 

 

 

Now the Notice to Quit was the start of there Eviction Process to get the property back and they would have had to followed that through to the Courts to claim the Property back to then be able to Re Let the property to New Tenants with a New Tenancy Agreement. (can you see why I told you to ask the question to them as to when they re let the property to a new tenant but they tried the data protection get out clause as personal data which that date is not)

 

That date is important to you as from the date they re let the property they could then not continue to add rent arrears to your account as they re let the property to a new tenant but the can add all there Legal/Admin/Court costs to your account until the Court granted Eviction and they Re Let the Property.

 

As for there actions which led you to use you have done the right thing in seeking help due to there underhanded tactics.

 

You DO NOT want to discuss nor speak to this lot on the Phone irrespective that they have said they record all calls and you are doing the correct thing by following my advice that you need to keep a good paper trail from this lot.

 

Your Health is important so try not to let this worry you and if you want to ask anything here please feel free to ask.

 

 

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I cannot give any advice by PM - If you provide a link to your Thread then I will be happy to offer advice there.

I advise to the best of my ability, but I am not a qualified professional, benefits lawyer nor Welfare Rights Adviser.

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So you had an Assured Tenancy now exactly what date was it signed? I signed on the 22/08/2019

 

Exactly what date did you leave the property without giving the Housing Association Notice? We moved to Canada on 29/09/2019

 

Exactly what date did you get the email serving Notice to Quit and do you still have that email?

I was given notice to quit on December 9th 2019 which gave me till January 5th 2020. I do still have the notice to quit. I got an email on January 22nd 2021 telling me that on November 3rd they got a possession order, I have a copy of this order.

This is what she said in the email on the 9th December 2019 and then what was said in January 2021.

 

09/12/2019
 

Hello ...

 

Thank you for your email . I am so sorry to hear about your father.   I will still be serving the NTQ today and have sent you a copy earlier via email.  I will need to visit you at the property to carry out a full property inspection to prove if you are using your property for your principle home or not.  Please contact me before 18 December 2019 to arrange a time for me to visit.


 

22/01/2021
 

Dear ...

 

On 3 November 2020 we were granted Possession in 14 days. We have applied for the Warrant but as yet have not received a date when this can be executed.  This will go ahead as it is Mandatory Possession but due to the current restrictions in place we cannot give a timescale on this.

 

The arrears as at today on your account are £8917.67 and rising weekly.  Have you considered signing a Termination form and handing the keys back to end the Tenancy as this will be at less cost to yourself. We can discuss a payment plan with you regarding the debt and this would ensure that in the future you are able to bid for housing with Ongo.

 

 

 

Exactly what is the amount Ongo are claiming you Owe? 

it’s £10,800 and some odd pence.
 

 

When Ongo Staff made you sign a Payment Plan did they give you a copy and explain your rights i.e. if you missed a payment under that Payment Plan they can then withdraw that Payment Plan and proceed take legal action via the Courts? (don't panic with this as it is only a question so do not worry yourself) 

 

I didn’t sign anything, they wanted to see evidence of any bills and our income, then she referred to the email she got from me that morning (that’s how I know she got my email) asking if I can still make the payment I had offered.

 

I said I didn’t have much choice and she said you can do the direct debit now, the other woman then made a phone call and asked for the bank details for Ongo and gave them to me as I set the direct debit up.

 

I told them about my health issues and also that my husband was the only earner. I also told them that I have memory issues and that I struggle to deal with these situations, they just said “it’s ok, as long as you pay you’ll be ok” They told me that if I failed to pay, they would take this straight to court and get a CCJ.
 

Yes I see now why you need to know the date of someone moving in and I have emailed what you said to say. I have every email from them and every response from me.

 

regards

 

mandy

 

Additional info:

 

This is the email I got on Thursday just gone, and my response

I received this is 09:09 and I responded at 09:35. She clearly says that if I want to discuss it by email that would be ok, yet by 12:48 they were at my house and never did respond to my email.

 

Good Morning Mandy,

                                        I have been trying to contact you to discuss your former tenancy with Ongo. It is very important that you make contact with me today. Failure to do so will result in me commencing proceedings for a County Court Judgement tomorrow. To avoid this you can discuss an affordable plan to reduce the debt owed to Ongo by you. We can discuss your current situation and also see if you require any additional support or advice. If you do I can refer/signpost you to the appropriate support.

                                        Avoiding contact with me today WILL result in the commencement of the CCJ tomorrow. Please respond to my email and advise me what time I can call you today. It is much more beneficial to you to speak to me. If you would prefer to initially discuss this via email I am happy to do so.

 

Regards

 

 

My response:

 

Hello,

 

I can’t afford to pay this money off, I’m on universal credits and disability benefits.

I can afford £10 a month, which I’m sure won’t be acceptable.

 

Regards

 

Mandy

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Afternoon all,

 

After all this started last week, my husband emailed a few solicitors to get some advice on what we can do. I’ve just had a phone call from one of them who asked me to briefly explain what happened, I did this and she said there is nothing that can be done about it...it’s actually really upset me! How can a company deceive me in this way and nothing can be done about it! I feel shattered by it all.

 

Regards

 

Mandy

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I’ve just had this email come through.

 

Thank you for your below emails. 

 

In relation to the Subject Access Request, this has been sent to the appropriate team and they will make contact with you via letter in the next 7 days with details of our Data Protection Officer. 

 

Please can you confirm what your preferred correspondence address is? We have the Hemswell property where we believe you’re currently residing or the Waddingham property, of which I believe is your mums address?

 

Pisses me off because they know damn well where I live because that’s what this is all about!

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I’ve just had this email come through.

 

Thank you for your below emails. 

 

In relation to the Subject Access Request, this has been sent to the appropriate team and they will make contact with you via letter in the next 7 days with details of our Data Protection Officer. 

 

Please can you confirm what your preferred correspondence address is? We have the Hemswell property where we believe you’re currently residing or the Waddingham property, of which I believe is your mums address?

 

Annoys me because they know damn well where I live because that’s what this is all about!

 

Should I replied with this?

 

Dear Mr ....,

 

Please send all correspondence to the address that your staff obtained under false pretences:

 

Address here

 

Regards

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Hi

 

Please don't send that my reason is all the information that you have now provided.

 

just send the following:

 

Dear Mr XXXXXXXX

 

Thank you for your email dated XX/XX/2021

 

As you are already aware of my correct address since your staff already attended my present property address this is to confirm that all corrospondence is to be sent to the following:

 

(Insert Full Address, Phone Number, Email) 

 

Regards

 

XXXXXXXX

 

 

From your updates I can now see why the Arrears have reached so high and there advice to enter a payment plan before they proceeded to Court to obtain a Warrant of Possession is IMO correct as the Court/Legal/Admin Cost would have added considerably to the Arrears it does not help that this has been during the Pandemic and the rent arrears will only add up until they get a Warrant of Possession.

 

Let me have a good read and I will get back to you

 

 

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I cannot give any advice by PM - If you provide a link to your Thread then I will be happy to offer advice there.

I advise to the best of my ability, but I am not a qualified professional, benefits lawyer nor Welfare Rights Adviser.

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Hi Stu,

 

I know I have to pay it and I don’t have any issues with that, hence why I emailed her that morning and offered a payment plan.

my issue is, how they went about obtaining my address, for me that has done so much damage to me mentally that I’m struggling with everything now.

 

ive sent that email and thank you so much!

 

mandy

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Hi

 

You are more than welcome as we are here to help.

 

What you have here are 2 seperate issues.

 

1. Rent Arrears/Termanation of the Property/Warrant for Possession

 

With the Rent Arrears I would advise to enter a Payment Plan but you must be aware that they will ask for your income & expenditure to set this up and if you default on the Payment Plan even just one payment they will reserve the right to withdraw that Payment Plan and proceed with Court Action so you must be fully aware of that.

 

I would also advise writing to them that you wish to Terminate the Tenancy of your Property (insert address) from reciept of this letter as per the Tenancy Agreement.  (if you do it this way and they accept that rather than going to court for warrant of possession to end your tenancy of that property you will only have whatever the time limit is on ending tenancy in your original agreement rent added to the rent arrears rather than all those added court costs etc.)  If you do it this way I hope they accept this and fingers crossed.

 

2. The way they obtained your present address via facebook and then turning up at your address without notification.

 

 

 

In there letter they ask what outcome you are looking for now this is only my thoughts:

 

1. That they argee and accept a Payment Plan for those Rent Arrears.

 

2. That they agree to accept your letter to End the Tenancy of your Property as per the Tenancy Agreement Signed.

 

3. An apology for the way your staff pouported to be a buyer of an item I was selling on Facebook only to obtain my new address and then your staff appearing at my new address causing me distress and anxiety by the way the acted at my property.

 

These are only my thoughts on the matter but you can change or amend anything to suit yourself

 

 

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I cannot give any advice by PM - If you provide a link to your Thread then I will be happy to offer advice there.

I advise to the best of my ability, but I am not a qualified professional, benefits lawyer nor Welfare Rights Adviser.

Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

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I received a response this morning, he has put in it about finding tenants who owe money, but I had already been in contact with them and had just responded to an email that morning to set up a payment arrangement.

let me know what you think about their outcome:

 

Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback on the service you have received. I would like to share with you my findings and the decision I have made in regards to your complaint, which is currently at stage one of our process. 

 

You let me know you were unhappy that a member of Ongo staff had obtained your address by deception, posing as a private buyer and that she then used that information to attend your home without notice.  

 

You have also requested information in relation to our policies and procedures and requested a subject access request.  

 

From the information, you have provided I have now carried out a full investigation of your complaint. 

 

These are my findings:

• We have provided you with the Customer Policies in regards to our services that you have requested 
 
• A Subject Access Request has been submitted to our Data Protection Officer and he will comply within the statutory timeframes and will send you the details separately to this complaint. You may have already received this letter. 
 
• I have investigated the issue around the staff member obtaining your address through deceptive means and my findings are that this action did take place as you stated and the staff member did get your address from interacting with you over Facebook, posing as a private buyer of a piece of furniture.
 
• The two staff members did arrive at your home after obtaining the address and you did then engage in conversation at your home to make arrangements to repay your former tenancy arrears, which I am of the understanding a positive arrangement was made. 
 

On this basis, I am upholding your complaint and would like to take the opportunity to say how sorry I am that the service you have received fell short of what is expected of us. It is important to us that we locate former tenants that leave owing money and who may not offer a forwarding address.  We also use information available on public forums and tracing agencies to do this to then make contact with the customer in order to recover any monies owed. Our intention is always to recover the debt and support the customer in repaying this as tenancy debt can cause further issues and distress for customers in the future.  

 

The methods used in this case not the correct procedure to obtain an address and we have addressed this matter internally with the individual concerned.   

 

To help to put things right,

firstly the staff member would also like to extend her apologies to you for any upset caused.  

 

I believe this will have caused you some distress and concern and on that basis and in line with our Compensation Policy I would like to offer you a financial sum of £100 due to us not following the correct procedures.  As you have arrears on your former tenancy account, I will ensure that this sum is deducted from the amount you owe.   

 

Secondly, I have reviewed the guidance and the training provided to the Income Collection team along with the Income Collection Manager and Customer Services Manager. I am assured this was an isolated case however to make sure this won’t happen again in the future we will be delivering a  further briefing and refresher to ensure that all staff are aware of the appropriate ways to use social media and ensure we are clear on our correct practices when recovering rent arrears.

 

Lastly, this now concludes Stage 1 of our internal complaints process and I will now close the complaint, however should you feel there is anything further you want to add in the meantime please make contact with me so we can discuss this. Your feedback has been fully considered and investigated in line with our Complaints Policy.

 

Should you remain dissatisfied with this decision, then you should reply within 14 days explaining why you remain dissatisfied and what you are seeking as an outcome. Your complaint will then be reviewed by a relevant Senior Manager or Head of Service at Stage 2 of ONGO Homes internal complaints process. I have also attached a leaflet that gives advice on the role of the Housing Ombudsman

 

Once again, thank you for your feedback. All feedback is an opportunity for us to improve our future services.

 

Anyone?

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Hi

 

Just read your post#40

 

What has surprised me is usually a Housing Association would prolong something like this and not admit any wrongdoing but in this case with that response they have held there hands up admitted those staff should not have done what they done in they way they done it to obtain your address.

 

1. They have offered a full apology and £100 compensation which will be off set with your arrears.

 

2. They are also retraining there collections teams.

 

3. As this is only at Stage 1 of there Complaints Procedure I am surprised they held there hands up but due to your complaint it has made changes to the collections teams procedures/re training, you got a full apology and compensation of £100 although off set to your arrears.

 

4. They have Upheld your Complaint

 

What they won't tell you is those staff that didn't follow correct procedure will be repremanded for there actions but as it is an internal business matter you are not entitled to the information.

 

What you will also not be aware of is your Complaint will now be offically recorded on there system that it was Upheld and the reason for your complaint and the actions they took and when the Regulator does an Inspection they will be able to view all the recorded/Upheld complaints.

 

IMO you have been given a good offer with the above but that is just my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I cannot give any advice by PM - If you provide a link to your Thread then I will be happy to offer advice there.

I advise to the best of my ability, but I am not a qualified professional, benefits lawyer nor Welfare Rights Adviser.

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