14 DAY TRIAL // Council officials believed it would be a good idea to remind tenants about their debts with a special holiday card, and sparked a whole debate about the insulting and threatening character of the message. The controversial item was distributed around west London tenants, in approximately 17,000 households.
The card that features a coin dissolving in a glass of water send a not-so-festive message “Don't overindulge this Christmas. Pay your rent!” and then ads that if tenants have trouble paying their rent, they can always get help by calling the helpline's phone number.
Residents who saw the card were outraged and called it “insulting,” especially because it was supposed to be a holiday greeting and not a threat. The well-intended message was heavily criticized even if the Council's purpose was to advise people not to get into more debt over the holiday season.
The card was supposed to be some sort of guidance for those who are experiencing financial difficulties and that may be even more burdened after Christmas. The card is part of an ongoing campaign focused on reducing the number of tenants that face debt and financial issues.
“Research shows that this is the one time of year that many families will consider forgoing their rent. This brings stress and worry as it can often be very difficult to catch-up. We want to prevent this from happening while offering support to people who are experiencing financial hardship,” Councilor Andrew Johnson said, according to BBC.
Tenants living in the council's area were completely disgusted by card, especially the ones who were never behind on rent and always struggled to avoid financial problems. Maybe the card is meant to impact the ones with severe financial problems, but for the ones who are fair and respect their obligations, the message was an insult.
In an attempt to avoid eviction proceedings for the tenants who don't pay their rent, the council managed to anger most of the residents. The worst part is that they associated Christmas with this particular issue, they could have made a separate card for the campaign without involving the festive aspect, and that would have been safer.