'I don’t owe this money but in fact they owed me': HOA tries to trick tenant into paying aunt's debts, tenant fights back

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  • 01
    Font - Housing association wants me to pay my late aunties debt? No, pay me the money I overpaid instead. M OC Not 100% sure if this is malicious compliance but it feels like its that sort of nature, also apologies for the length and formatting, I'm on mobile. Before I lived in my current place, I was living with my Auntie, she was the main tenant who sorted the bills and I would pay her a lump sum each month as board payments.
  • 02
    Font - In early 2021 she passed away unexpectedly, naturally I didn't want to continue living in this place, bad memories and bearing the responsibility for an entire place alone wasn't feasible for me financially at the time. After speaking with the housing association, I was informed the only way to end the tenancy would be by getting the tenancy agreement moved over into my name, before terminating the tenancy when I was ready to move out.
  • 03
    Font - What I didn't know at this point was that my auntie was in arrears on the rent payments, when it came to the point of leaving the tenancy, I had money in savings and just settled up the rent entirely (paying -£500 of my aunties arrears on top of the rent I personally owed from living there alone) I then stayed at the place for a few more weeks before closing the tenancy. In hindsight I probably should've queried the payment but at that point I just wanted rid of the place.
  • 04
    Font - After moving into my new place, I was getting pestered by the housing association who said I still owed -£300 on the previous house, there was a lot of back and forth, before I then asked for a copy of the rent statement. It was around this time that I was speaking to people about this money I supposedly owed, I was informed that I 'probably' shouldn't be liable for my aunties debt as I didn't receive the estate and was not the next of kin, however there was also an argument to be made th
  • 05
    Font - With this information in mind, I looked at the rent statement, worked out how much money I owed from the first week after my auntie had passed, and deducted it from my total rent payments made after that point, it turned out I had paid -£200 extra (assuming I wasn't liable for the debt) I presented all my working out in a thorough email and sent it over, I didn't hear anything back from them after that conveniently and assumed it was all over, I decided not to pursue this as I was sick of
  • 06
    Font - Fast forward nearly 2 years, I receive a letter last month just before Christmas stating that I still owed this ~£300 and that it would be sent to debt collectors if nothing was done, at this point I was pissed off, I spoke to someone who was able to tell me for sure that I am not liable for the debt in this particular situation, so I sent a firmly written email detailing how I don't owe this money but in fact they owed me, provided all the evidence and threatened small claims if the situ
  • 07
    Font - It took weeks of me pestering them via phone calls and emails for me to be get in contact with a lovely woman who apologised on behalf of the company on how I was treated, she then got the ball rolling and eventually my ~£200 refund cleared the other day. This was a particularly satisfying end because if they would've just left it I wouldn't have chased it up and they would be £200 better off, what a shame!
  • 08
    Smile - jahk1991 . 3 hr. ago Sounds like they got off easy. Good for you for sticking up for yourself.
  • 09
    Font - Joshieeeeeeee OP. 3 hr. ago Yeah definitely, if I would've been confident about it I would've chased it up sooner.
  • 10
    Font - +1-3 hr. ago I was informed the only way to end the tenancy would be by getting the tenancy agreement moved over into my name, before terminating Bobrakis the tenancy when I was ready to move out This isn't how it should work at all, I have no idea what the housing association employee who told you that was smoking.
  • 11
    Font - RevRagnarok 3 hr. ago +2. Should have taken them to court for back interest on the money.
  • 12
    Font - Joshieeeeeeee OP. 3 hr. ago I'm not sure how this works, I'm not too clued up, I was just glad to see the back of it.
  • 13
    Font - bigbigdummie +3. 1 hr. ago I have a similar story with the IRS. Long/short, they said I owed them, I redid the work, they owed me. Had they left me alone, they could have kept the overage.
  • 14
    Font - virgilreality +2. 46 min. ago Should have turned them over to collections for the 200.
  • 15
    Font - Trentdison 24 min. ago edited 11 min. ago I was informed the only way to end the tenancy would be by getting the tenancy agreement moved over into my name, before terminating the tenancy when I was ready to move out. Wow, that's crazy. That just isn't true, at all. It sounds like they did this thinking it was an opportunity to pass the debt on combined with a poorly informed position that a tenancy cannot be ended with a debt. Why let a little detail like the tenant has died get in the wa

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