Plan B Forum

A housing association has been attacked as 'insensitive' after it sent Christmas cards to its tenants containing a notice about how far behind they are with their rent.



Bolton at Home sent the cards which warned their tenants against over indulging over the Christmas period and ensure their rent is paid. The housing association apologised to any tenants who felt offended by the notices, but said they were just trying to ensure compliance with this 'gentle approach'. One outraged tenant told the Bolton News: 'When the card came through the door, I thought how nice it was for Bolton at Home to wish me seasons greetings.

'But when I opened it to see a reminder of my arrears and a warning about overspending at Christmas I was mortified and really angry. I found it extremely patronising. 'I felt pre-judged. I know what level of arrears I am in. It is under £150 and I am chipping away at it. 'There was just no need for this because they send us formal reminders every 12 weeks.'It is not an easy time of year for a lot of people and I just think the way this was done could push people over the edge.'

Bolton at Home chief executive Jon Lord defended the use of seasonal cards to warn against spending recklessly over the festive period. 'We have sent these cards out for about four years and the comments we have had back suggested that people preferred this approach at this time of year compared to a heavy arrears letter. 'I fully accept that it could be taken both ways, but it is certainly not designed to offend anyone and if that has happened then I apologise. 'There is no easy way to do this but this is the first time we have had complaints about the Christmas cards and we will certainly take them on board.'

bigskygal wrote:Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?

MajGenl.Meade wrote:Stupid leaches. I'd be way too embarrassed at being in arrears to even utter a peep in public. Daft spongers.

wesw wrote:leeches not leaches

Leach

Etymology
From Middle English leche (“leachate”), from Old English *lǣċ, *lǣċe (“muddy stream”), from Proto-Germanic *lēkijō (“a leak, drain, flow”), from Proto-Germanic *lēk-, *lak-, *likaną (“to leak, drain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leg(')- (“to leak”). Cognate with Old English leċċan (“to water, moisten”), Old English lacu (“stream, pool, pond”). More at leak, lake.

Pronunciation
•(UK, US) enPR: lēch, IPA(key): /liːtʃ/, X-SAMPA: /li:tS/
•
Audio (US) (file)

•Homophone: leech
•Rhymes: -iːtʃ

Noun
leach (pluralleaches)
1.A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.
2.A tub or vat for leaching ashes, bark, etc.
3.(nautical) Alternative spelling of leech.

Verb
leach (third-person singular simple presentleaches, present participleleaching, simple past and past participleleached)
1.(transitive) To purge a soluble matter out of something by the action of a percolating fluid.Heavy rainfall can leach out minerals important for plant growth from the soil.
2.(intransitive) To part with soluble constituents by percolation.

Usage notes
Do not confuse this verb with the verb leech.

MajGenl.Meade wrote:Joe? I don't ignore Joe...

Damn! I should simply have written "Ignoring who?"

Joe Guy wrote:

MajGenl.Meade wrote:Stupid leaches. I'd be way too embarrassed at being in arrears to even utter a peep in public. Daft spongers.

wesw wrote:leeches not leaches

Council tax arrears are now the most common form of debt, according to a report.

They now account for around 12% of debt problems reported to Citizens Advice, overtaking credit cards and unsecured loans during the last year.

The findings emerged in a report listing the top 20 ‘debt hotspots’ in England and Wales. Denbighshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Stoke-on-Trent and South Tyneside make up the top four with at least 0.5% of the population seeking help from Citizens Advice for debt problems.