A GREENOCK woman who is unable to pay her rent because of a lengthy delay in her new universal credit payment has been threatened with eviction.

Kirsty Bryne is living in fear of being thrown out of her house after receiving a warning letter from housing association River Clyde Homes.

The 30-year-old, who has had three miscarriages in under a year and suffers from ill health, has found herself trapped by the controversial delays in the revamped benefit system.

But now she has been told by River Clyde Homes bosses that if her arrears continue to mount up they will go to court to evict her.

Kirsty, of Sir Michael Street, said: “I am living on fresh air. I couldn’t believe it when they sent me a letter threatening me with eviction.

“How can I give them money if I don’t have any?

“Surely someone at River Clyde Homes must be aware that there is a delay in getting universal credit sorted out?

“I have done everything that I can to prevent this.

“I’ve had to go to Financial Fitness for help. I received a discretionary housing payment and River Clyde Homes were paid that in March.

“They are now seeking to go to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and take money without my permission. I had rent arrears in the past but I have been paying it all back, right up until my benefits stopped.”

Kirsty, who suffers from severe arthritis, says this is the latest blow to hit her and she  feels has been left with nowhere else to turn.

She was devastated after suffering three miscarriages over a nine-month spell and ended up in hospital with a cyst in her ovaries.

When Kirsty received the letter informing her about the prospect of eviction she went to River Clyde Homes in a panic.

She told the Tele: “They never gave me any answers and couldn’t explain why they were doing this.”

Kirsty’s financial problems started after she lost her employment support allowance earlier this year and was declared fit to work.

But she said: “Some days I can barely crawl and can’t leave the house. 

“I now have to live on universal credit and I don’t know how I can afford to pay everything.”

Kirsty claims that River Clyde Homes have also left her exposed to anti-social behaviour by failing to address complaints, a point which is disputed by the association.

She said: “It has been a living nightmare in Sir Michael Street.

“I have had dog excrement smeared on my walls outside my door.

“When I went down to speak to them they said they have no record of the anti-social behaviour complaints.

“But I have had the police involved and the anti-social behaviour team has been there – they tell me to contact River Clyde Homes and I phone them every time.”

A River Clyde Homes spokeswoman said today: “Whilst we would not comment on individual customer’s accounts, we recognise that some customers have struggled with the move to universal credit.

“We have pro-actively offered a range of support and advice to help these customers and would always try to work with them to set up an affordable repayment agreement which suits the their individual financial circumstances.

“For customers who are more than eight weeks in arrears we may approach the DWP to request that the housing portion of the benefit is paid directly to us.

“As a social housing provider we do everything we can to avoid court proceedings to ensure people can stay in their own homes.”

River Clyde Homes maintain they have never been contacted by Ms Byrne about anti-social behaviour.

But their spokeswoman added: “We will arrange to meet with her to discuss these issues.”