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Changes to SCC tenancy conditions

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SCC have recently changed some their tenancy conditions. As part of this they are very much pushing paying rent by direct debit and have given the impression that paying by direct debit is mandatory. It isn't mandatory and they cannot refuse to sign you up to a tenancy if you refuse to sign up to direct debit.

 

If you are on benefits and receive housing benefit then think carefully before signing up to direct debit, because if your housing benefit stops for any reason they would be able to amend the direct debit to take the full rent, which would wipe out your benefit income. Standing order gives you more control, they cannot change the payment amount.

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Err actually you have more control with a direct debit under the direct debit refund guarantee.

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Err actually you have more control with a direct debit under the direct debit refund guarantee.

 

How do you mean?

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I wouldn't trust SCC with a direct debit ever again!

 

Any idea of the legal side of forcing it?

 

I can see why they want it but if you pay your dues without issue and on time, could they force it legally?

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I wouldn't trust SCC with a direct debit ever again!

 

Any idea of the legal side of forcing it?

 

I can see why they want it but if you pay your dues without issue and on time, could they force it legally?

 

No they can't. They would not be able to take any action against a secure tenant for not paying by direct debit.

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Err actually you have more control with a direct debit under the direct debit refund guarantee.

 

The need for a refund implies something kind of went wrong. :) That's what the OP is really saying - if you pay what you want to pay, when you must or want to pay, then you retain more control. Trusting a third party to a Direct Debit might well mean that you shouldn't lose out in the case of mistakes, but mistakes can be made and then you'd be in the situation of trying to arrange a refund... a possibility that should not have arisen when you retain the control.

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Having spoken to a friend 'in the know', setting up a Direct Debit allows the council to control how they get their money.

 

If there's a rent increase, they can automatically increase the payment amount to compensate. If someone is in arrears, it helps to ensure that the tenant sticks to any agreement and SCC can control the agreed amount. Obviously, a lot of tenants refuse to pay their rent and find themselves in arrears. DD allows the council a better chance of receiving rent.

 

Also, DD is cheaper for the council as opposed to using rent cards etc.

 

Not saying whether I agree either way, just explaining what I've heard.

 

I suppose, if more people had bothered to pay their rent in the first place, or at least worked with them instead of ignoring the problem, SCC wouldn't have to go down this route.

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The DD Guarantee is under the Bank of England's supervision. See http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/27/27-directdebit-guarantee.htm

 

I still don't see how being reimbursed after you've been left with no money to buy food and pay for gas and electricity is better than having complete control over how much money leaves your account

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I still don't see how being reimbursed after you've been left with no money to buy food and pay for gas and electricity is better than having complete control over how much money leaves your account

 

Agree on that a refund from any form of government can take a while which can put folks who live from payday to payday at risk. Better to maintain control of your own money as you say. I am a big fan of direct deposit for my income but I am not keen on direct debit for outgoings, mind you I have very little in outgoings anyway.I pay online when a bill appears on my account, it's just as convenient and much safer.

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I still don't see how being reimbursed after you've been left with no money to buy food and pay for gas and electricity is better than having complete control over how much money leaves your account

 

Again, maybe if more people attempted to actually pay their rent, the council wouldn't have to introduce such measures.

 

The council are owed quite a bit by tenants in arrears and rehousing services are paid for through rent. If they don't receive the rent, the rehousing services suffer.

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I fully agree that anyone renting either private or from a council/HA should pay their rent. There's no argument there.

 

But... SCC and their billing and payments is a joke. They frequently took too much or wrong amounts from me and the end result was I stopped ALL direct debits to them. I was lucky in that I had a couple of quid to cover it. There are many people who simply don't. This would cause huge problems to them. The last one was £300 too much council tax. It took them nearly 13 weeks to repay me, that would mean disaster to some families! The online bill pay is yet another joke as it takes something like 5 working days to show! On what planet does electronic money transfer take 5 days in this day and age? I'll answer you, it on planet SCC! I called them once as they said I hadn't paid, when I pointed out it was paid nearly a week ago and gave the reference, they were fine with that. I asked why it wasn't showing and the reply was so beyond belief it was funny "all the money paid via online pay goes into a single account and we then issue it to the right department" For anyone who has used the online bill pay, you select which department it's for and add your account number... not sure why SCC need to check it all again or have a single account for online payments.

 

One day they might get their house in order, until then, no DD from me.

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