Welcome to this weeks edition of you couldn`t make it up!!..
This weeks winner of the "you couldn`t make it up award" goes to North Lanarkshire Council for their new policy of making sure all new tennants recieve a "settling in visit". Now I know what you`re thinking - "what`s so bad abou that, where is the injustice??". There is off course nothing wrong with that - if the tennant wants one that is! But what if you decide you don`t want one....
As mentioned on the home page, I moved in to a property owned by North Lanarkshire Council not so long ago. Picture this scenario - you have lived beside the neighbours from hell for most your adult life, you finally get a property in a quiet street where no one bothers you. You walk in the door after a hard days work to find three letters from North Lanarkshire Council awaiting you. "It will be another one of those stupid surveys" I thought. I was about to chuck them in the bin but something told me I should open the letter just incase.
So I opened all three letters. They all read as follows:
"Dear Mr Stephen R
I write with regards to my concern in relation to visits to your home by the housing officer to carry out the Settling In Visit for new tennants.
I note that you have failed to provide access for the previously arranged appointments and have failed to contact this office in response to the matter.
It is my belief that you may not be occupying the home and I would strongly advise you to contact this office within 7 days to arrange an appointment for the Settling In Visit to be carried out. Failure to contact the office will result in abandonment procedures being initiated to recover you tenancy."
Now listen - I`m a fair man, I concede that I had made arrangements to meet with the housing officer. There was no time arranged, just a date. Infact the day the housing officer was due I had sat in all day waiting for her, but she showed up just as I was going out to work. She gave me her card and told me to phone her to arrange another date. I just thought to myself "screw that, I`m not waiting in all day again just for a silly settling in visit". I never did call her back and just thought that it wasn`t important, and that it would be forgotten about.
Now I know some Smart Alec out there will say it`s my own fault. But consider these facts before you judge:
- The Housing Officer seen me leaving my house as I was going to work
- I am £300 in front with my rent payments.
Now cast you mind back to the part of the letter which read:
"It is my belief that you may not be occupying the home and I would strongly advise you to contact this office within 7 days to arrange an appointment for the Settling In Visit to be carried out. Failure to contact the office will result in abandonment procedures being initiated to recover you tenancy."
Can you spot the madness? Well if not let me walk you through it....
It is the belief of the Housing officer that I am not occupying the home, yet she seen me leave from my house just a few weeks before. Oh, and if that that didn`t convince her otherwise then why didn`t she just look up my record - she would have seen I was in front with the rent payments. How many people do you know that have abodonend their homes that continue to keep up with their rent payments?
I rest my case!
Oh and another thing. I went to see them the other day in person - I was told that this is a new procedure and that it must be carried out. Anyone not contacting the office regarding the matter would have these same letters sent out and further action taken against them if they did not act regardless.
Now think about this a second, for me it`s a form of bullying. It`s like saying:
"You will have a settling in visit wether you like it not, you will obey if not we will take your away your home wether we know you are there not and I don`t even care if you are paying the rent, so do as your told or else!"
This maybe a slightly trivial matter, but surely in this day and age the people of this country can have a bit of peace and quiet to settle in to their homes with out getting bullied in to having one of these silly visits. Or on second thoughts, maybe not....
Mind how you go!
