Here is a question to the blog clinic from John who is a tenant
I am a tenant and pay my rent on time every month without exception. I have always paid in cash in the agency because it is close to my work and easier than going to the bank.
I had a letter saying that the agency has now changed and I need to pay someone else who is further away. I did not receive this letter in time and paid my rent to the old agent by mistake but they said they would forward the rent on.
The new agency has contacted me to say my rent is late, so I told them what had happened and sent them a copy of my receipt. But they have rejected it because it does not show my address, just an amount and a date, they also said that the old agency has no record of the rent being paid.
I went in to see them and they said they would look into it but nothing has happened, also they were very rude to me and suggested this is my fault because I should of paid through the bank.
This is making me really upset because I am not a bad tenant and I am worried that the landlady will want me to leave if she does not get her money.
I would be very grateful if you can you give me some advice.
This goes to show that it is better, on the whole, to pay by standing order through the bank as there is then indisputable proof that the payment has been made.
Still you do HAVE a receipt. They might not like it but that does not mean, if the matter ever went to court, that a Judge would not accept it as proof of your payment.
I assume you have all your other receipts and presumably they are in the same form as the receipt for the rent which they are disputing.
I suggest you send copies of your receipts for the past few months, and point out that they are all in the same form. So as the earlier payments were clearly made (which they are not denying), this goes to prove that the most recent payment was made also.
As you were not aware, at the time the payment was made, that the agents had changed, your payment was properly made and they are not entitled to require you to pay twice.
I suspect that the first agent has not passed on the payment, maybe because of some dispute with the landlord or the new agent, and the new agents are using the form of the receipt as an excuse to claim the money again from you.
However this just goes to show that tenants paying rent in the form of cash should be careful to obtain a receipt which shows very clearly what the payment is for.