Morning.StarYeah I thought so. The plot reveals itself.
I wrote about what smelled like entrapment, and its coming home to roost. Back when I moved in, I was in a Council property that was inadequate for humans, never mind a disabled one. It was a hovel, and this was supposed to be mitigation.
Lovely, on the face of it. But, its an isolated community within an isolated community - social housing on an estate built on the outskirts of a village, filled with people carefully chosen by local authority, and myself. I'll cast no aspersions on anyone, but I'm not one of them much as they seem to have welcomed me.
I do feel welcomed, despite the hassle I've had with Bea, and the hassle with the tenancy.
The Plot
When you move house, you end one contract and begin a new one, but somehow this wasnt the case with me. For some bizarre reason Arun District Council, who administrate the housing, didnt terminate my old lease for 5 weeks after I moved out.
Now, living on social benefits in a council property means the council pays rent to itself interdepartmentally, and they ask for a small contribution from the tenant. Normally this would be fair, but as Bea is on benefits herself as a disabled adult she is classed by them as 'non-dependent' ie she has an income and thus contributes to the rent. However, as a disabled person she is clearly dependent, and the council are unfairly taxing us. I cant get around it without changing our regulations though, so I pay it.
When I moved, that money was supposed to then be paid to the agency along with the housing benefit to cover the rent. Except it wasnt, the council held the lease open and continued to take the payments but they didnt give them to the agency. Now the agency are asking for the money, and I have paid it so I'm refusing to pay it again within my legal rights.
* edit. On review, the council had been recovering money from my account for 3 months, until the agency complained.
Well, I didnt expect the council to blatantly break the law. They have a duty of care to Bea that they have reneged on by handing her off to a private agency, and then they defrauded the agency.
The housing agency sneered and told me they could evict me on short notice even from a secure tenancy because it was probationary, and they didnt need to involve local authority to do it.
Yep, cardboard box on the streets and Bea in care because I cant house her, it wasnt like I didnt see that shit coming.
Well, as soon as I suspected there was a ruse I took steps against it. I employ other tenants for starters, so if I am evicted they lose their jobs and litigate. And, I'm no longer Bea's carer, I'm her care manager and thats a very different beast indeed. The Social didnt expect me to take responsibility and then be responsible... They thought I was going to screw around given the opportunity, however instead they got law enforcement chasing them for entrapment.
Annoying, isnt it? Thats what you get for playing games with me.
Now the jaws of the trap close on thin air, and the mercenary faces the beast at close quarters with completely inadequate weapons and no backup;
I have a meeting with the supervisors of the agency to resolve this on Monday, I asked Igor to be there to represent Social Services but he declined. That was a mistake he will live to regret, because he just gave me permission to speak for him and it was him that organised this clusterfuck with the agency in the first place.
I'm sorry Igor, if you are questioning your miserable existence again. Dont make me question mine.
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Igor not showing up is exactly so that your speaking in his name would be contestable. Besides, you may talk, but can't sign off the rent pay in Igor's name, and whatever you promise in his name, he can decline. Agency's position is "we want our money", not "who screwed up?" From their POV, You and Services are bundled "the other side", a client who is not fulfilling its obligation, and they don't care about what goes on between you among your ranks. You don't have their money, it is in Services' account, so Agency has no use for You, as they will find out from You at the meeting. But they do have use for the space You are occupying, they have a leverage of ownership (or managing the housing), either way they can get You out and get someone else in to keep getting paid.
You have to force Services to come face to face with Agency, or else You would be litigating Services from the street for all the damage they caused to You and Bea, and that is supposed to strain You, to wear You down and soften You. Don't get in the gap.
So, do whatever is needed to force Igor to come and face the music. Also, ask the policeman you already met to come to the meeting in capacity of a witness, if possible.
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Way ahead of you, but thanks for clarifying my position so clearly dude. I'm so frustrated by all this its hard to get any focus.
I'm not sure I can get law enforcement to the meeting; they have to be investigating wrongdoing and to my knowledge the agency are as much a victim of this as me and have done absolutely nothing wrong either. They wont investigate the council defrauding me, thats the job of a solicitor in crown or high court. And Igor just refuses to communicate because he loses every time. Well, he is incompetent lol.
Now is where the agency and I negotiate a way out of this, because the agency cannot make Bea homeless, or force her into care because I cant provide accommodation for her, under law, where before I was fighting local authority regulations which are amoral and not law, by definition. But they can employ me because I am not a threat to them, where I am to local authority. I have a vendetta that must be settled before I can sign their contracts, the agency has no such issues.
Monday is the crux, but it decides my path, litigation or not...
Cheers for the input, most appreciated. :-)
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yeah, hacking is constructive and not real escapism...
There is no better choice than to build.
All my thought for Bea and you
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Thanks dude. We appreciate this more than you know.
If it werent for the most intelligent people on the planet, free of politics and dogma, and open-minded enough to accept others for what they are, I'd not be alive.
It it werent for being rewarded for my efforts with the highest accolades our planet has to give freely I would not be hopeful there was an end to it either.
If it werent for the efforts of a bunch of greedy and filthy excuses for humans who try and give you a bad name, I'd be enjoying it all but thats my problem I guess. ;-)
Thanks for the strength to fight it my friends.
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I know guys, I know.
This has got way out of control and I'm sick of it. All I have left that makes any sense and doesnt piss me off is hacking, and all I want is Bea cared for properly so I can get on with it.
The rest is just bullshit...
Well I had words with the agency, and true to form got passed to management to handle it. I can only imagine the brass panicking as the full gravity of the situation becomes apparent having been lied to by Social Services trying to cover up their crap and the Council trying to get me off their books so they dont have a responsibility.
The poor girl went from crowing to despondent in about ten minutes while I patiently explained who she was talking to.
I hate that part about all this. And dont call me Shirley... ;-)
@Yann Guidon / YGDES I wake up every day and lay in the predawn darkness. You know, that comfortable few minutes before your brain boots up and you remember what you have to deal with today.
Those words are usually the first thing I say. Then I sigh, and get up because there's no point laying there... True story.
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WTF
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Aww, you sunk or are sinking their battleship....
Yup, it is all coming around full circle back to them and they still think they can best you ? ........
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This meeting will be interesting; its not about besting anyone, its about them not getting trodden on in a war between titans.
Nobody else I know has access to the 'weapons' I can bring to bear, and the tabloids and litigation both worry even me on the scale of destruction they will cause... So I hesitate, and I slap my own hand off the button in moments of anger.
I will reiterate to them one of my terms of engagement - Employ me. They have the resources available to them and are not an authority even though they are extensive and behave like one. My services for my keep, sounds fair to me.
I'll see about justice for Bea.
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