Very Very Sad Story - Pay Or We,ll Take It Away !!

[dieseldick]

just watched it last night ( pay or we..ll take it away ) elderly british couple from london worked all their lives untill recently then welfare cuts came in last year, bailiffs called to the old couples home, they had one hour to pack their belongings and get out. had no where to go and probably slept on streets . the old girl was crying her wee heart out. god bless them .

truly heartbreaking, actually had tears in my eyes .

what the hell is happening in our society, migrants and scum are rewarded while elderly and ex servicemen are persecuted by the system and left penniless and homeless.

sad

[TWR]

I remember that well HC, Mutton dressed as lamb, she showed her true colours on that show the silly cow.

[hc4361]

It's the most recent one, Eddie. My tv guide doesn't state the series or episode number, sorry.

These agents evict for rent arrears and take goods for other debts.

[hc4361]

He wasn't much better, TWR. All big talk. On his twitter feed he was going to sue the agents, the tv company, his creditors - it all came to nothing.

[hc4361]

Neil Ruddocks.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/do-you-know-who-i-24036/

[hc4361]

Regarding the particular couple the OP refers to, they could have taken responsibility for themselves and moved to a cheaper home when they realised they could no longer afford the rent. Many people have to do it, whether the rent or have a mortgage, when their circumstances change.

[dieseldick]

i think they fell behind on payments when the old guy lost his job as a caretaker a year before then welfare was paying the rent but then welfare cuts came in and they were not able to make up the shortfall. the county court were giving them time it seems but the high court bailiffs turned up and gave them an hour to get out.

does not matter what way , it is still a shocking situation for these old couple to find themselves in , imagine that were you or your children, you never know the day !!

[hc4361]

That's the point, dick, they did 'know the day'. They knew they were being evicted and failed to make alternative arrangements for themselves. They would have had months of warnings and a county court judgement but preferred to await for eviction so that the council would be forced to help them.

[dieseldick]

from what i gather they were waiting on and given some breathing space by the county court unknowing that the high court was allready on their heels to evict asap giving them no breathing space.

[hc4361]

They had been living in housing provided by his employer when he was a caretaker and naturally when he retired he had to find alternative accommodation and rented the home he was eventually evicted from.

The proper procedure of the courts has been followed. The county court had made the decision in the landlord's favour because the couple owed him a lot of rent. The couple would have been given a copy of the judgement as well as several notices before court action. They took the judgement to the council who told them they could do nothing until they were actually evicted, which is true.
Eviction day passed and they chose not to leave voluntarily. County court bailiffs have limited powers so the landlord chose to pay for an application to the High Court, which was granted.
This would have been at least three months after the CCJ was issued, more likely 6 months at least.

In the meantime, the couple's rent arrears are growing and the landlord may be struggling to pay his mortgage on the property because of that.

With the letter of immediate eviction that the high court officials gave them, the council were able to help them, albeit with emergency accommodation but that put them in the system.

They could have avoided all of this by finding a cheaper home to rent when they realised they were struggling with the rent. He said he had been using his savings to make up the shortfall - he should have used that as a deposit on a new flat.

As for being penniless, they are both of state pension age so would be getting that. They were also claiming housing benefit, which they will get in their new flat in Birmingham.

[trt]

What a coincidence Dick that you posted this today, as when I watched this programme last week, I e-mailed Ch5 to see if they could contact the couple, as I would have liked to donate a few bob to help them out.

I had a reply this morning, saying that, they do not produce the programme, & don't have direct contact with the people whose cases are featured, as its Its Brinkworth Films in London who produce it.

I think this one hour to leave the household is well out of order, and would have thought that a day would be more fair.

[trt]

I forgot to mention that I think they were in their 80s, or the wife was, so a bit of consideration would have been in order.

[dieseldick]

fair play trt....wish there were more good people like you in the world !!

[ummmm]

trt...They don't have 1 hour to leave. They would have had plenty of warnings.

[hc4361]

trt, as I've said many times on this thread - they had been given plenty of warning that they have to leave. They had ignored the eviction date given by the county court, so in reality they had months to prepare.

This couple don't need your money any more than other pensioners living in rented accommodation on housing benefit.

[viv41]

Well done trt.

[hc4361]

They knew the system and worked it to their advantage, to the cost of the landlord.

[tamborine]

Imagine your the landlord of a property rented to DHSS tenants at council agreed rates. The council pay rent to tenants to pass onto landlord & this is where tenants get greedy to spend the rent on themselves. Months of rent lost before sheriffs involved. No way of recouping losses & trashed property returned.

[trt]

## This couple don't need your money any more than other pensioners living in rented accommodation on housing benefit. ##

How come you know they, or other pensioners don't need my money HC, I bet you there is thousands that would!!!!!

[hc4361]

What I meant is they are not living on the street with no income, trt. If you want to give your money away, good for you. There are plenty of charities that help the elderly.

[trt]

## There are plenty of charities that help the elderly. ##

To much money goes on staff, paperwork & others with reg charity's HC.