My Community
General => The REST Room => Topic started by: harv on January 28, 2014, 06:39:06 PM
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Any of you had problems..?
My landlord is an absolute skinflint. I realised not so long ago that after we had squatters in two of the flats downstairs E-On removed two of the four electricity meters because they were being fiddled. So for a while I've been paying for the electricity for my flat and one other and the guy in one of the flats downstairs is paying for 2 flats too. I've been taking the money for half of the electricity I'm paying for out of my rent and have been for a while even though I haven't put my heater on that much.
This has been going on for a while, he said he'd sort it out in the Summer and no dice. So last month I texted him saying I'd had enough and until he got it sorted I'd take all of the money for the electricity out of the rent. 4 weeks later he has contractors working for E-On doing what needed to be done before the meters are installed. Then an E-On bloke comes around to put the meters in. But he doesn't have a parking permit and neither does anyone in the building. So he fucks off lol.
So now we've had a dodgy electrician around to jerry rig the thing and now I have THREE FUCKING FLATS running off my electricity Lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Fucking useless. >:(
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I've just sent a snotty text to my landlord that I'm going to be charging £70 DET (Dodgy Electricity Tax) on top of what I'm paying already. That's an extra £70 in my pocket, paid for my new guitar! 8)
It's not as if I haven't given him ample opportunity to sort things out.
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Any update?
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Yup, got this reply back lol
Sorry about all this, why do you think that all 3 are on your meter. ? We are working hard to get it sorted, i didn't work out but was beyond our control. If it doesn't workout with Eon then we will just put sub meters and that it. Sorry again we are working to resolve this long outstanding issue. Good night. Josh
Lmfao, he makes it sound like it's all E-On's fault. It's been a 'long outstanding issue' because the fucker has been sitting on his arse for ages. He only got things this far because I told him that he was paying the electricity for the two flats instead of me until he got it sorted out.
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Has your relationship with him always been this way? Or did it start out good? Is this the only issue you've had? I don't mean to stick my nose in. Its just interesting. Being a tenant of a rented property myself.
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He's always been that useless lol. I've been living here for probably 12 or 13 years and have had 3 different landlords/letting agents in charge of the building and they've all been the same. Really slow to get things done and then when they are getting done they do everything on the cheap which long-term is a REALLY stupid thing to do. They pay a pittance for cowboys to do the work using shite materials and a year or two later they have to do it all again.
My Mum and step-father have a place that they rent and he's in the building game so everything is done properly, they've hardly spent a penny on it after buying the place and doing it up.
I think I'm going to move out soon, I'm just fed up with it all. >:(
£775 pcm for the flat too, and it's only a studio flat (although it does have a separate kitchen).
Mind you, now that I'm charging him £70 per month DET and he's paying for all the electricity I don't mind if he takes months to sort it out now lol ;D :P ;D
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Have you spoke to the guy downstairs who you said is also paying for two? What does he make of it all?
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He's had it worse than me lol, the other bloke in the flat downstairs that he's paying the electricity for has his heater on ALL FUCKING NIGHT :o
That other bloke has his own meter now so I don't think he'll be doing that for long lmfao ;D
I think he's been doing the same as I was until last month and taking half of the electric amount out of his rent.
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I thought you moved about a year or so ago harv ??
My landlady is excellent.. after the first year we ditched the letting agency she was using - she got more money back from the rent and I didn't have to pay stupid renewal bills. I don't think I've seen her for about 8-9 months when she came round to replace our shower - she just lets me get on with things now and I don't mind if she has to pop over to check stuff out, my neighbours are all old fuddy duddys though. I've been living there for 5 years now, I got the flat on my own, but its too small for both of us now.. we started a house fund in November.. we've saved 3k, but we need around 12k realistically before we can even think about buying a house... and because we will be relocating, it might mean I will have to move jobs.
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Nope, still in the same place. The wonderful Tory government put down the Housing Benefit that people get a few years ago. It used to be set so that you could afford to rent 5/10 places locally but they changed it to 3/10. And of those 3/10 I'm going to need to find a landlord that's okay with tenants receiving benefits and is okay with Georgie Porgie.
Hopefully when I eventually get the Social Worker I've been waiting years for he/she will be able to help me get out of this place. It's really not helping my mental state living here at the moment. :(
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Arthur, the bloke downstairs that has his heating on all night, is now the only flat in the building with his own meter. He had 10 quid on his meter last night and had 3 quid left this morning lmfao. I think he may need to get another duvet lololol ;D
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Key meter? I'm not keen on them. The cash flies off them meters.
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Yup, but it's very handy to keep small regular payments going for people like me on a low income.
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Hows it going with the landlord harv?
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Haven't heard anything back since his reply and don't mind lol. He's paying for the electricity for the three flats plus £70 per month DET so I don't give a monkey's how long it takes him sorted, it's all coming out of his pocket until he gets it sorted lmfao :P ;D ;D ;D
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Lets us know if any updates. Interesting stuff. As it's probably a very common situation. You hear some right horror stories of slumlords etc.
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Yup, will do.
My hot water has also been dodgy for a while but I was putting that down to the (what was at the time) two flats going through one meter. It's a bit weird. If you turn the water on fully the light comes on the thingy on the wall but the water is luke warm. So you have to slowly turn it on until the light comes on and it'll get hot but after 30 seconds or so the light goes out and it goes cold...so you have to turn it on a little bit more for the light (and heat) to come on again. Once you've done that a few times the light stops going out and the water is hot.
Will see how things go once he eventually gets the meters sorted, might need a new element or something but it's pointless getting it looked at until I know the electric is sorted.
Am also going to get him to sort out some new furniture, both of my armchairs have springs gone so you need to put a pillow down to stop yourself falling down the hole lol. Baby steps...baby steps lololol ;D
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Josh is going to get a shock this week when he looks at his bank account. I've spent £210 on electricity plus £70 DET, he's only getting £470 rent lol. Think he's going to sort this out sooner rather than later lmfao ;D ;D ;D
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So what do the other 2 tenants think about their electric being on your meter?
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One hardly speaks a word of English so fuck knows lol, he's in Flat C. I'm in Flat D. I was originally paying for my flat and Flat C. Not sure what sort of deal he had going with the landlord, I just know that for a good while I was taking half of what I was paying off the rent with me not knowing how much juice I was personally using. Last Winter I hardly had my heating on and was paying a fortune for electricity I wasn't using.
Then I recently decided to take the whole lot off the rent meaning the landlord was paying for both flats. It was only then that he got off his arse to actually do something about it. And now I've decided to levy him with £70 per month DET.
The guy in Flat B was in the same position as me, but even worse, because the guy in Flat A has his heating on all night lol. So he's also been badgering him to get things sorted. I think it was me having enough and insisting that he pays for all of the electricity (first for Flats C and D and then more recently for Flats B, C and D) that's finally spurred him into action though. And this DET should help to spur him on a little more hopefully.
The guy in Flat B, Kevin, did offer to give me some cash since 3 flats have been using my electricity but there's no point in him doing so because I'm not actually paying for it anymore.
I'm doing fine with this arrangement now, he can take as long as he wants now because I've got free electricity and am getting an extra £70 in my pocket every month until it gets sorted out lol. That's what's paid for my new guitar 8)
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So what do the other 2 tenants think about their electric being on your meter?
Wow, you really do ask all the questions, don't you? lol
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I like to know all the facts ;D
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How did josh enjoy his reduced rent and DET add on today??
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No idea, not heard anything yet. ;D
And he's going to have more bad news soon. Kevin downstairs told me earlier that he's being sanctioned by the DSS because he hasn't applied for enough jobs during the last fortnight...which probably means his Housing Benefit isn't going to be paid lol ;D
Silly sod. He's not the sharpest knife in the draw so probably doesn't understand about agreeing to do these things with the Jobseekers Agreement thing. He's in his 50s and I think this is the first time he's been out of work for a while. And it wouldn't surprise me (given that he's white) if he's been the victim of racism by some fat black African woman with attitude. Happens all the time.
Whenever I've had any sort of problems with members of staff in the Job Centre or Housing/Council Tax Benefit offices it's almost always been with fat black African women with an agenda, the only exception was a black African bloke. You always know you're going to get a fair shake of the dice with white Europeans, black Europeans and especially black West Indians but as soon as you see a black African behind the counter you're guaranteed to get grief of one sort or another. :-\
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Oh dear. Its all mounting up to blow then.
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Hows it going harv??
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Still no change, which suits me just fine lol ;D ;D ;D
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Madness. He's losing money.
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Yup, I know. And I reckon he only started to get things done when I told him he was paying for all of the electricity lol. Not sure what he's up to tbh, I just know that I've got my heater on full blast all day and most of the night lol ;D
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Another week gone. How are things ticking along??
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No change lol. I'm also putting money on a week in advance ie, I still have 50 quid on the meter but have put another 70 quid on my key today...just in case he gets it sorted out tomorrow. Means I'm always going to be 70 quid up whenever he does eventually sort things out lol :P ;D ;D ;D
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Still nothing? Blimey he really doesnt give a crap.
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Nope, although the electrician that jerry rigged my meter talked to Kevin downstairs to ask him to get a parking permit for the E-On guy last week so something is going to happen soon I think. Got to make sure I put another 70 quid on my key so that I'm still at least 70 quid up no matter what happens lol ;D
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Why has kevin downstairs got to sort out the permit issue? Why isnt the landlord sorting that?
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Because the landlord isn't a resident here I think.
If I had known weeks ago when the guy from E-On was here that he needed a parking permit I would have paid his parking fee instead and taken it out of my rent. Would have solved a lot of hassle.
Like I said before, I'm glad it's worked out this way because I'm £70 up if he gets it sorted tomorrow and £140 up if he doesn't sort it before I pay my rent lol ;D
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Any update Harv?
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Nope, no news. Suits me though lmfao ;D
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Aw bum, Kevin just gave me a shout and told me the electricity is getting sorted on Thursday. Oh well, it was good while it lasted lol ;D ;D ;D
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Let us know how it goes. Had any contact with josh? Or is the other tenant just updating you? Time to stick 70 on the key :)
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Stuck 70 on the key on Monday lol
Means I'm only going to be 70 quid up this month and that's currently on my key. There's around 70 quid on the meter and 70 on the key so I won't have to reserve any money for the meter out of my budget for a good while so I should have a good extra few quid in the bank for a while. ;D
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Oh, and haven't heard from Josh at all, just Kevin downstairs.
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Sorted???
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Lmfao, no. Not completely lol. Forgot to post an update yesterday.
The guy from E-On only put in one meter, for Kevin's flat. Turns out Flat C is under a different supplier lololol. So I've gone from 3 flats running off my meter back to 2 again. Oh well ;D
Quite handy for me as long as the other supplier doesn't sort it out before I pay my rent on the 31st. Although it does mean that once it gets sorted I'll have £40 in reserve on my key instead of £70. So I'll be £110 up instead of £140 (£40 on reserve on my key and £70 on DET).
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Forgot to update this thread. Received a letter on Saturday saying that I was £1,180 in arrears for my rent. Tried phoning the office earlier but the woman that sent the letter isn't in the office until tomorrow.
She's actually got to couple of things wrong. Firstly I'm £1,300 in arrears lol.
She's also got the payments wrong too. I've always paid my rent in arrears because the Housing Benefit is paid in arrears so my payment on the 9th January, which she's put down covering 09/01/14 to 08/02/14, is covering the rent period from 09/12/13 to 08/01/14.
So that goes in my favour. They've also got electricity paid credit incorrectly down as £670 when it should be £330, so no idea where that's come from lol. ;D
My rent arrears are £1,300 which by the time I pay my rent on the 31st will be covered by £760 electricity receipts + £210 DET + £330, the correct figure for last year's electricity receipts.
Going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I told Josh in a text on the 28th January that I was charging them £70 per month for DET and he didn't mention it when he replied which I've taken as acceptance of my terms. Probably won't stand up in court lol. And I'm certainly not paying that £210 quid no matter what happens.
I don't think they're going to be willing to take me to court over it anyway because the flat and communal areas are in breach of several conditions that Councils have in place for private rented accommodation. And they're serious safety breaches too. :o
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Sorted. ;D
Blimey, that woman was a bit of a pushover :o
I felt like a bit of a bully lmfao :-[ ;D
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What is the end result?
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The end result is that they've accepted my £70 DET and my rent is going to be up to date when I pay £550 on Monday. I didn't ask her when the meters are going to be sorted out though because I'm more than happy for things to continue as they are lol. ;D
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Hows your situation with josh, harv? Spoke to him?
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Nope. Everything is still the same. Think they might get things sorted soon though, but I'm just enjoying the free electricity and DET while it lasts lol ;D
Arthur downstairs has moved out today so he's not getting any money for it until someone moves in.
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Any news harv?
Also, im moving to a key meter harv. Any trivks or tips you can tell me about from personal experience?
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Two people have now moved in downstairs and they're fucking pikeys :o
Been as good as gold so far but I can't see that lasting :-\
They're coming round to sort out the meters on the 24th I think, by which time I should have £60 in reserve on my key so I won't have to put any money on it for a while...probably 6 weeks.
No tips or tricks mate, it's all pretty straightforward. You may find it handy to change to Economy 7 billing rate which has a cheaper rate from 7pm if the flat is empty during the day.
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Hows it going harv?
Been on key for a couple of weeks now. Electric doesnt seem to bad tbh. Gas however flies off the card....
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Still no change but on Monday the guy that's in charge of maintenance came round with an electrician. They came to put my flat on it's own meter and switch the 2 flats downstairs to sharing a meter lol. The letting agents wanted to do that because they're getting the hump with paying for all of the electricity plus DET every month lol. Both flats downstairs get their rent paid directly to the landlord so it was a poor attempt at transferring the problem from the two flats up here to the two flats downstairs...but Kevin downstairs quite rightly told them it wasn't happening lol ;D
So now we're still waiting for N-Power to come and fit the meter, the longer it takes the better lol ;D
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Looks like they've seen sense and switched that odd flat to Eon now. Expecting them around on the 4th and this long running saga will finally be over. :o ;D
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Oh well, so much for that idea. The fuckers didn't arrive lol ;D ;D ;D
Maybe I got my dates mixed up and they're coming tomoorow instead..? :-\ :-[ :-\
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There's a Channel 5 documentary in this, Harv. Get yourself on the telly!
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Lololol ;D ;D ;D
No Eon today either. Bloody useless twats.
Oh well, suits me fine lol ;D ;D ;D
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Aw bollocks. >:(
Talked to Josh today after getting a letter about rent arrears. Got a demand for £2020 lol
Have got £1320 worth of electricity receipts and once he sorts out the electricity he wants the £700 worth of DET back. Told him I didn't have it and I wasn't happy, said he will look at sorting out a payment plan of some sort. I'm not giving the fucker any more than £10 per week otherwise he can sing for it, the dodgy fucker. :o ;D
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Blimey. I thought you rang them up to sort this? You did say that woman was abit of a pushover. How was josh about all this? Sympathetic or angry about not getting the money? Surely he must feel some sort of responsibility with the electric situation.
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Nope, he's in denial saying it's all Eon's fault lol. He's the boss so if he says he wants the money then he's going to get the money...but I'm not giving him more than a tenner a week lol.
I'm certainly going to be getting something for my money when I start.paying my full rent again. Going to demand a 2 seater sofa and a door on my shower to replace my curtain. I've got 2 armchairs but the springs have gone so I have to sit on my pillows from my bed to stop falling down the holes lol :o ;D
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Looks like this is finally getting sorted. Am expecting Eon around between now and 3pm. Mind you, they have said this before lol ;D
Got £66 on my meter and another £20 on my key so I'm £86 up which isn't too bad 8) ;D :P
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One of my best friends hasn't paid for any electricity for over 10 years now... since he moved into his house.. he's never had a bill, never had any demands for money, phonecalls from a supplier and never been cut off - lucky bastard ;D ;D
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Lol, similar thing happened to me in a flat.I was living in years ago but with gas. Had something to do with British Gas changing their meters or something and my flat slipped through the cracks so we had free central heating lol. British Gas basically didn't know that the meter existed ;D
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A pikey couple have moved into the flat downstairs from me. The bloke keeps on slamming doors, the fucker woke me up at 3am this morning. Have just put a complaint in with the landlord. I wish there was some way we could fuck the lot of them back to Ireland, pure scum the fucking lot of them. I think he regularly hits his girlfriend/sister too.
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Is Josh likely to do anything??
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Turns out Josh isn't looking after the property now, some other bloke in the office, David, is for him. He said he'd have a word with him and I haven't heard the door slamming again yet today so hopefully he's managed to talk to him. Mind you, the fucker came in at 3am this morning so I guess we'll have to wait and see lol ;D
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Managed by the estate agent now? Seems better. Saves you doing the chasing with the landlord. They do all the work and get back to you. Is josh even about anymore? Or don't you hear from him at all?
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It's always been managed by a letting agent, although I think that Josh owns both the property and the business. I always call whoever I'm dealing with a 'landlord' anyway, makes things easier lol ;D
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What news then harv? How are things going with josh and your neighbours these days?
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Well the pikeys moved out and another two moved in lol ;D ;D ;D
Someone came round to measure up for double glazing but I'm not holding my breath :o :-\ ;D
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Lmfao ;D ;D ;D
Josh has given the management of these flats to someone else in the office. Had a workman in to give a quote for LOADS of work that needs doing in both my flat and Kevin's flat. It's going to cost him a fortune, although they can afford it - my flat is £775 per month and Kevin's is £800 per month so they're getting plenty of money in for the 4 flats in the building :o
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Harv how's your flat and landlord these days?
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Harv how's your flat and landlord these days?
No different really. My mate Kevin downstairs is going to get evicted soon. He managed to get himself a job and fell behind with his rent a bit and then for some reason the council started paying his rent again. We both thought it was because he's on a low wage. So a good few months back he had the letting agents moaning at him about the rent and threatening him with eviction and then they contacted him again thanking him for sorting the rent out. So we thought that was that. But then a few days ago the head honcho from the letting agents came round and told him that his rent hadn't been paid for 4 months lol.
He's not psychic ffs lol :o ;D
I think he's just going to let himslef get evicted and then get himself somewhere better and cheaper to live. I'd do that myself but I want my own flat instead of a room in a house sharing a kitchen and bathroom that he's going to go for.
And no double glazing yet, I've got three tops on and two pairs of socks on at the moment lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
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Are we going to see him involved in an episode with Paul Bohill?
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Who the fuck is he..? :-\
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High court enforcement agent for the TV programme Can't pay we'll take it away. He does evictions.
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Lol, nah...he'll just do what I did 16 years ago when I had a Landlady from hell. Wait for it to go to court, go to court so that I wasted some of her time, got the eviction order giving me notice to evict and move out at the last minute lol ;D
It took her MONTHS to get me out. If she hadn't messed me about with my deposit I would have moved to a new flat around the corner without a problem. She decided to sell the flat a few months after I moved in. She took her time getting me my deposit (I don't think she had it tbh, I think she was selling the place because she was desperate for cash), so much so that I lost the flat so I decided to dig my heels in.
I didn't have a problem with her selling the flat so sson after I moved in, in fact when the couple came around to buy it I pretty much sold it to them. :o :D If I had my deposit when I needed it I would have moved out without a problem, but her stalling to get my deposit to me made me lose my flat so I decided to fuck up her flat sale. :P
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Well I hope you're all sitting down.
I have some news that some of you may find difficult to believe, it's quite shocking.
After living in my flat for 17 years ago I haven't had any double glazing or central heating. My flat is an ice box.
I've been to the Looney Bin to help me with my depression and saw a Social Worker there. This Social Worker sorted me out a Haringey Keyworker to help me out with things, and she got my landlord to refurbish my flat, get me a new fridge and GET DOUBLE GLAZING FITTED!!!!! :o
The double glazing people are coming round on 22nd of this month.
I'm so happy!!! ;D 8) ;D
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Am now in my 4th day with double glazing and it's amazing. I no longer have to wear 5 layers of clothing and 3 pairs of socks lol ;D ;D ;D