Santuary Housing

[finaldj]

I contacted Sanctury housing in August 2023 after informing them my father in law who had Dementia had moved into a Nursing home December 2022. We kept the flat for 8 months until such a time we could accomodate some of his furniture that my wife wanted to keep.

I contacted them in August 2023 to let them know the situation by email as I was the named person that could speak on his behalf. I informed them that we had left it to late for POT and were seeing a solicitor for Deputyship of his financies.

I asked them what information would they need in order to give notice on the flat and we could provide details of his condition and nursing home.

This went ignored I left it a month and then called them October 2023. I was promised a call back from a manager over the next few days. This never happened and it was end of November when I contacted them again and they had no record of me calling them. I explained the email and again I was told the local manager to the area would call me. This never happened and I ended up emailing them in January 2024 with a copy of the email from August.

Again this went ignored and I had explained to them that we couldn't just go to the bank and stop the DD as we had tried. This email again went ignored.

I then had a letter written to our home address in February asking us to get in contact with them (local manager) as they were concerend nobody was living in the flat. He had an email address so I copied in the last 2 emails to say I had been trying to give notice since August 2023. I also stated that I would like the rent that was paid from August 2023 refunded back to his account as I had officially tried to give notice then and it went ignored.

He replied to us about wanting to look at the flat then notice could be given once he had contacted the nursing home to confirm he was actually living there now. Notice was giving for the 22 March 2024 and this would be when rent would stop and no further payment would be taken by this point. The fact I asked to be back dated went ignored.

I have since noticed on 2 banks statement for April and May that they are still taking Rent payments of £501 from his bank.

Further to this which seems very strange. He was with Eon Next for his utility bill again we were having problems getting this stopped as they needed a named person on his account which there wasn't one despite me managing his online account for him.

I didn't check the email address that often that I used to set it up and went to check as noticed the credit he had built up with not living there was all getting refunded in February. The email said £600 would be refunded to his account with a (sorry you are leaving us message) but how can he leave as nobody but himself had access to speak with them.

I also noticed the lady in the flat above him had a letter from her bank sent to his address with his address details but his name which was dated 4th March well before we had given notice and it said (thank you for giving us your new address details) we have set all this up for your account.

 

So Sanctuary housing must have been aware he wasn't living there from the ignored emails for the lady above to start changing address details to move into his flat before the housing manager had even got in contact to ask if anyone was living there.

What I basically want to know his do we have any legal standing to claim the rent back from when I first contacted them in August 2023? There is roughly £3000 to come back

 

[jk2054]

Hello,

Just to check I understand things right, he moved to a nursing home, you then kept paying the rent for a period of time whilst you sorted his belongings.

You have asked to give notice and asked for backdated payments of rent from when you first asked which went ignored?

They are still taking rent payments.

 

Have I understood correct?

 

If I've got anything wrong please correct me.

[dx100uk]

go do a Direct Debit Guarantee Clawback to your bank if you've now got control of his bank account finny.

[finaldj]

JK:

Yeah That's correct. We left rent payment coming out of his bank account from January 2023 - August 2023 until we could find somewhere to sort out his belongings which was fine.

I tried to give notice a few times from August 2023 asking for advice from Sanctuary housing how we went about this explaining his condition and that he was in a Nursing home from December 2022.

I explained we don't have any legal powers to his account like POT but were in the process of going for Deputyship and that I was the named person to act on his behalf to speak with Santuary housing.

I said we could provide details of his condition and proof he was now in a nursing home with date he moved in.

This went ignored despite repeated attempts to contact them until a housing manager contacted us end of February 2024 and notice was finally accepted with his tenancy coming to an end March 22 2024.

Although they have continued to take rental payments for the flat despite someone else living in it from the 1st April.

I wasn't aware payments were still being taken till I checked his May banks statements.

I had asked them to back date rental payments to August 2023 when I gave notice rather than just giving notice in March 2024 but they've ignored that bit. I don't see why they shouldn't give it back they've taken money they shouldn't have.

Thanks DX,

I wasn't aware we could do that for that length of time. I'll ask my wife to check with the bank this week

Edited May 21 by finaldj

[jk2054]

I see you said you tried to stop the DD but it seems that didn't work.

May I please ask why that didn't work? You should be asking your bank to cancel the DD and I don't see why they would have objected, hopefully you can clarify this.

I agree that you should be making a claim here against your bank and ask them for a DD refund. There is no timeframes for this.

[finaldj]

My wife is the named person to his bank account with him having Dementia being his daughter (I say named person she still is but he recently passed away and the deputyship application has now being stopped by the solicitor as it's no longer needed) We've only just got the Death Certificate so the bank will be the next step informing them.

She went to the bank and explained the situation but even being his named person the bank said she didn't have the power to stop DD without any legal documents (virgin money) was the bank.

She could have copies of bank statements that was about it.

[jk2054]

Hello,

Firstly, and most importantly I am sorry for your loss.

I would go back to the bank with the death certificate and ask them to step in. Remind them firmly but politely that there is no limit for DD claims

 

Please let us know how you get on.

Edited May 21 by jk2054

[finaldj]

Hi

Sorry I probably wasn't clear enough.

He had lived in the flat until December 2022 with Dementia by this time it was unsafe for him to have capacity to live on his own and he had to move into a nursing home. We had left it too late to apply for power of attorney so approached a solicitor in March last year for Deputyship.

We were still in the process of dealing with it by May 2024. He passed away a few weeks ago and the solicitor was contacted to halt the application and we will just pay the fees of what work he has done up until now.

My wife was the named person on her dads bank account but we didn't have the ability to alter any direct debits hence the reasons for applying for Deputyship as we were having problems trying to stop some payments coming out of his account Eon being another difficult company.

We kept his flat on from December 2022 - August 2023. it was at this point I contacted Sancutary housing to inform them he was no longer living in the flat, it had been cleared out and was ready for a new tenant and that he had Dementia and had moved into a nursing home December 2022 and explained the reasons why we kept it on.

As the named person to speak on his behalf I asked them what proof they needed in order to give notice on the flat e.g proof of dementia and proof that he was living in a nursing home and anything else they wanted.

The lady in the upstairs flat and some of the other residence in the street had asked about him and we had told them he had moved into a nursing home. The lady in the upstairs flat wanted his flat for medical reasons so asked us once we had given notice could be let her know and she'll ask them if she can have it. We explained the difficulties and it was left at that but I did tell her I would let her know once notice was given.

I contacted the company by email a number of times and also telephone conversations and nobody followed it up and it wasn't till the end of February this year that the housing manager for the area wrote to our home address to ask about him that he had been to the flat a couple of times and nobody answered and he had asked some of the residence in the street and they hadn't seen him for sometime.

There was an email address on the letter I contacted him and copied in the last 2 emails I sent Sanctuary regarding me wanting to give notice on the flat for at least 9 months explaining that it went ignored as well as telephone calls.

I also stated I wanted to have his rent payments returned from the date I wanted to give notice which was from August 2023 as the bank wouldn't let us stop the DD without POT or deputyship explaining we were in the process of Deputyship.

He gave some excuse about not having POT to cancel on his behalf and spoke to someone in HR and said he would contact the nursing home to confirm he was there with Dementia and if it all checks out we can give notice on the flat which came to an end on the 22 March 2024. There was not mention of back payments for the rent already paid or the fact I had asked to give notice in August 2023.

Despite someone living in the flat from 1st April they continue to take DD payments for the flat and have taken another 2 payments of £501.

another concerning thing despite Eon not allowing us to cancel the DD to his account the lady upstairs informed Eon that she was moving into the flat February 2024 and Eon refunding the account to his bank and said in an email sorry you are leaving us and cancelled his account. Something they wouldn't let us do but a stranger.

She also changed her bank account to his address despite the fact notice hadn't been given on the flat yet. So we need to find out how much information Sanctuary actually had for her to tell her power company she was moving into the flat in February despite the housing manager only just getting in contact to find out where he was.

a complaint is going into Eon and Sanctuary and we are going to take advice and ask the bank to charge back the rent. My wife hasn't taken the death certificate to the bank yet to inform them of his passing.

 

[Ethel Street]

Did your FiL leave a Will and if so who is the Executor? Strictly speaking banks could refuse to take instructions until Probate is granted but In practice I would expect the bank to take instructions to cancel the DD if the Executor presents the death certificate and a certified copy of the Will

[finaldj]

She's an only child and he as a brother and sister.

He has no will and we have done a check on this to find out if he had left one and nothing has come up. He has savings of around 28k

His sister and brother are well off so 28k is nothing to them and aren't interested in his money.

This just leaves my wife/his daughter. Would this still need to go to probate there is no estate e.g house or business to sell and the amount left in his bank is just small?

When his wife died they just closed her bank account and moved her money across to his account and we just assumed that once my wife has handed in the death certificate and shown evidence of who she is the same would apply to her?

We don't know yet the council have only just written to us today with a guide of what to do next.

 

Edited May 21 by finaldj

[Ethel Street]

Banks have different limits above which they require Probate. So it may be Probate is not needed, although as he died with no Will that could complicate things.

Is all the £28k with Virgin Money?

Your wife should contact all banks who hold his money with the death certificate and ask them what they need to release the funds to her. Most banks have a central "bereavement department". Check their websites. Use that department rather than general call centre or bank branch if they have one. Nearly every bank website has a section on "what to do when a customer dies" so have a search for that.

Your wife may also have to provide evidence that she is his daughter.

When his wife died it sounds like they had a joint bank account so that's why her money just went across to him. But as it isn't a joint account now transfer to your wife won't be quite that simple.