A ‘NIGHTMARE’ run-around which led to years of financial worry for a Zumba teacher has come to an end just before Christmas.

Dance and fitness instructor Patricia Meade, 66, has run a Zumba class at the Barn, a community hall on Nightingale Avenue in Greater Leys, since 2011.

But last year, the building’s owners, housing association Catalyst Homes, claimed Mrs Meade owed them £6,000 in arrears from hiring charges.

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The grandmother, who lives at Fern Hill Road in Cowley with her daughter Sian, started to pay back the arrears in lump sums as Catalyst requested.

These lump sums varied from £550 at once to £1,000, with no apparent explanation for the amount requested on each occasion.

Oxford Mail:

Patricia Meade.

Following a discussion with Mrs Meade and her daughter, the housing company recently agreed to write off the remaining money which it claimed Mrs Meade owed it, claiming an ‘accounting error’ was responsible for the high amount of arrears.

But the experience has taken its toll on her.

Mrs Meade said: “For me it has been a nightmare because I have been trying to keep the classes going and I didn’t want to get my customers involved in what has been going on.”

For a long time, she kept the payments a secret from her family, until other members of her family were sent a letter from Catalyst requesting Mrs Meade handed back the keys to the Barn.

She added: “I thought it was embarrassing because how can I not pay my bills?”

Because she had to set aside money to pay Catalyst, Mrs Meade said she had to ‘tighten her belt’ and was unable to spend money as she wanted.

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It also left her unable to think about moving her Zumba classes to a different venue, because paying for it on top of paying the hire charge arrears would be too expensive.

She also said last Christmas was a struggle for her, as she was not able to buy all the presents for her children and grandchildren she would have liked to.

Mrs Meade said: “I said then ‘not another Christmas like this’.”

Her daughter Sian intervened in the payments in March this year.

Sian used her experience of having worked for two high street banks to look at how the calculations for the arrears had been made.

She and her mother dealt with more than 10 members of staff at the company on separate occasions trying to work out how the £6,000 sum had been reached.

It soon began to change, with other members of staff saying she owed £3,000, £1,000, and most recently only £500.

Oxford Mail:

The Barn on Nightingale Avenue in Greater Leys. Picture: Google Maps.

Mrs Meade’s daughter added issues in the contract between her mother and Catalyst had compounded the family’s confusion about the hire charges.

While other users of the Barn paid £13 for every hour of use in the building, Mrs Meade was being charged £24 an hour.

When the family contacted Catalyst to ask about this, the company was unable to give a reason for the extra charge.

Following the meeting between Mrs Meade, her daughter and Catalyst members of staff, the company has apologised for what happened to her.

Ian McDermott, CEO of Catalyst, said: “I am sorry for an accounting error on our part which led to confusion. Having met with Patricia to go over her hire of the Barn for the last eight years, we worked with her to amend the accounts and resolve the issue. As a gesture of goodwill we have written off the money both parties agreed she still owed us.”

Despite the cancellation of the arrears, Mrs Meade and her daughter now want to take further action against Catalyst Homes and now plan to ask the company to reimburse her for years of worry and hardship.

The company said it is considering her claim for compensation separately.