The ex-tenants from hell?
My husband has had a number of tenants over the years. Some were just tenants, some became friends and have remained so. Some ... not.
After we got married and I moved in to L's house, the phone did not ring too often because he used dialup internet which was connected from 7 pm to 7 am and all weekends. As a result, friends and family have only ever used his mobile number, and at the times when the phone could receive calls, both of us were mostly at work.
I noticed that whenever a call came thorugh, it was usually someone calling for his most recent tenants, about unpaid bills. This always bothered me. I might not be terribly fond of paying bills myself, but unless I genuinely forget, I usually pay on time. The last lot of tenants moved out in 2005, and went abroad a while ago. Because more than three years have passed, any debts incurred by them before they moved out would have prescribed by now, so the phone calls should have stopped.
L got a new internet provider and switched to ADSL , so now his home phone can deal with calls and internet at once. All of a sudden, the calls are coming in thick and fast.
A picture of what I have to deal with.
Friday night, phone rings.
It is Yolande from a debt collection agency. She tells me that Standard Bank is looking for R21,717.90 that Cheryl Kuhn owes them. Yes, that's over 20 thousand rand.
Saturday morning, phone rings. It is Naomi, from another debt collection agency. She tells me that Miss C Nicol owes Dr A an amount of R1,406 for a gastroscopy. Just when was this procedure done, I ask. June 2007, is the answer. So she gave a false address, that is fraud under these circumstances.
This morning, the phone rings. It is Thapelo from (you guessed it) a debt collection agency. He tells me that Cheryl Kuhn owes money to Woolworths. How much, I ask (because as you may have noticed, I am keeping records by now) He is not able to disclose the amount. When I volunteer that Standard Bank is allegedly owed R21K, he tells me that it is "also a big balance".
I lost my sense of humour on Friday night already. What they are doing is not OK. Leave the country and a trail of debts behind you? I wonder if I am still going to get any more calls, there are one or two stores that I haven't heard from since last year.
After we got married and I moved in to L's house, the phone did not ring too often because he used dialup internet which was connected from 7 pm to 7 am and all weekends. As a result, friends and family have only ever used his mobile number, and at the times when the phone could receive calls, both of us were mostly at work.
I noticed that whenever a call came thorugh, it was usually someone calling for his most recent tenants, about unpaid bills. This always bothered me. I might not be terribly fond of paying bills myself, but unless I genuinely forget, I usually pay on time. The last lot of tenants moved out in 2005, and went abroad a while ago. Because more than three years have passed, any debts incurred by them before they moved out would have prescribed by now, so the phone calls should have stopped.
L got a new internet provider and switched to ADSL , so now his home phone can deal with calls and internet at once. All of a sudden, the calls are coming in thick and fast.
A picture of what I have to deal with.
Friday night, phone rings.
It is Yolande from a debt collection agency. She tells me that Standard Bank is looking for R21,717.90 that Cheryl Kuhn owes them. Yes, that's over 20 thousand rand.
Saturday morning, phone rings. It is Naomi, from another debt collection agency. She tells me that Miss C Nicol owes Dr A an amount of R1,406 for a gastroscopy. Just when was this procedure done, I ask. June 2007, is the answer. So she gave a false address, that is fraud under these circumstances.
This morning, the phone rings. It is Thapelo from (you guessed it) a debt collection agency. He tells me that Cheryl Kuhn owes money to Woolworths. How much, I ask (because as you may have noticed, I am keeping records by now) He is not able to disclose the amount. When I volunteer that Standard Bank is allegedly owed R21K, he tells me that it is "also a big balance".
I lost my sense of humour on Friday night already. What they are doing is not OK. Leave the country and a trail of debts behind you? I wonder if I am still going to get any more calls, there are one or two stores that I haven't heard from since last year.