Tenant praises Muir's "brilliant" help after overcoming stressful money worries
A TENANT who received “brilliant” financial assistance from Muir has been talking about how the housing association helped her in her hour of need.
Claire Masterson, who lives near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, says she would advise others to get in touch with their Income Services and Tenancy Services Officers after benefiting from Muir’s help when she experienced money worries.
The 24-year-old mother-of-two who lives with her partner explained how she became worried and anxious before picking up the telephone and explaining their situation to Muir.
She has praised the help she received from Muir Income Services Officer, Stacey Parker (pictured), who says the housing association is always happy to help and invited other residents with money worries to get in touch.
“I was made redundant and didn’t have the income available to pay my rent,” said Miss Masterson, who has been a Muir resident for more than two years.
“At the same time my partner changed jobs and went from being paid weekly to monthly, so it was a tough few months.
“I was very worried and anxious about things and was panicking a bit about calling Muir because I was worried about what might happen.”
However, upon calling Muir, Miss Masterson discovered the housing association were able to help and find a solution.
“Stacey was very professional and arranged a meeting so we could discuss things,” she said.
“She set up a financial repayment plan and made sure it was something we could afford without putting us into greater financial hardship and it has worked really well.
“It is an amount we can manage each week and it has definitely taken the stress and the pressure from us.”
Miss Masterson said she would recommend the service to others because of “the good experience” she received.
And Stacey has also encouraged others to get in touch so she and Muir’s Money Advice team can assist more residents who are living with financial concerns.
“We want to help identify why people are struggling and assist them,” Stacey said.
“We are empathetic and offer to help in any way we can.
“People can raise these issues and concerns with us as their landlord.
“We can do home visits and build a positive relationship to help put people back in control of their finances and remove those worries from their everyday lives.”
Any resident who is worried about their financial position or concerned about their ability to pay their rent can contact Muir on 0300 123 1222 and ask to speak with their Tenancy Services or Income Services Officer, as well as a Muir Money Advisor.
“We can’t help unless we know there is a problem,” Stacey said.
“But once you do get in touch we can help you turn things around.”