Merkinch family plunged into poverty after Highland Council take arrears payment without the consent of the account owner
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A family plunged into poverty – after Highland Council took the last of their cash in an unauthorised payment – have thanked the Highland News for stepping in to help.
Roddy MacLean (41), from Merkinch, contacted the newspaper after discovering he had no money to feed himself or his dad last weekend.
A bank statement showed the local authority had taken the last of the family’s money, only a month after his mum Florence died, aged 71, from dementia.
The council took a rent arrears payment of £111.08 leaving Roddy’s dad, Roddy MacLean snr (71), penniless.
Neither father nor son were told the payment was going to be taken – and Roddy jnr insisted a senior council official indicated they would be given time to deal with their change in circumstances after the end of housing benefit which Mrs MacLean qualified for.
Roddy jnr and his infirm dad – who have also lost access to Mrs MacLean’s mobility vehicle – had planned to visit her grave last weekend but could not afford the bus fare.
But after an intervention from the Highland News, the council is refunding the money.
Also – with the help of the HN – charities, including Acts of Kindness and Inverness Foodstuffs, rallied round to support the grieving family after hearing of their plight.
Roddy jnr – who is a full-time carer for his father, and before that for his mother – said: “We were in rent arrears through no fault of our own, and as it was a small amount, I thought we could come to an arrangement to pay it off.
“We obviously had benefits while my mum was with us, but they came to an end when she passed away. I know there are other benefits we should be applying for, but we have always tried to manage on what we had.
“After my mum died, we had a meeting with the council and explained that we would need time to pay. I was told by the housing officer that they would come back to me for the arrangement to pay off the arrears.
“It was purely because my mum’s benefits were stopped that we were temporarily put us into rent arrears.”
Mr MacLean explained that before this, he had been in discussion with the council over a number of housing issues, and he believed the money was knowingly taken without the family’s permission.
He continued: “I am grateful to the Highland News for getting involved. The council has still not apologised.”
After the HN contacted the council, Mr MacLean said: “A housing officer got in touch with us to say the money would be paid back into our account.
“But there are still a lot of questions to be answered.”
Mr MacLean explained that the council has sent him several emails and he is flummoxed because so many of them give contradictory information.
He continued: “When the money came out of the account I did not know what to do, the council were not listening and my neighbour suggested contacting the Highland News. I am glad that I did.”
A council spokesman said: “It is not appropriate for us to comment on the individual circumstances of our tenants, however, we can confirm that we have been in direct contact with Mr MacLean regarding his rent account.”
Through our HN Action campaign, we can look into a situation on your behalf. Email newsdesk@hnmedia.co.uk
