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I am 32 years old. Divorced with two sons. I was a stay at home mother, but entered the work force two years ago for a position with a national healthcare company. I have a MA degree and am paid for my experience, however at an entry level rate since I had no prior employment experience. I have been leasing the same apartment since I started my job, no previous serious issues with late rent.

I have not been able to save extra money due to having to pay fees associated with going through a prolonged custody battle with my exhusband (during which time I received no child support) for the past 3 years. I have no family to assist as I was raised by my grandparents who are both deceased. That has never been a problem, my wages were enough to cover expenses for rent and anything else I needed.

As usual, I wrote my check for the month of August and submitted it to my landlord in a timely manner. The next day, as I was checking my online account, I saw some activity that appeared to be fraudulent. I called the bank to address it and they said they would put a "freeze" on the account while the investigation was carried out, meaning that all checks presented would be denied payment. As it happened, my rent check was presented during that "freeze" period.

Not a problem, fortunately the fraud issue was resolved within a few days and my account was accessible again. I was given a letter by my bank to explain to merchants who may have presented checks during that period so that penalties could be waived and everything be ok. I promptly gave my landlord a copy of this letter after having received an nsf notice and assessment of late fees. I received a letter back from the landlord stating that he would waive the late fees but could not waive the NSF fee because it was being charged to him by his bank. If I could pay the balance due within 24 hrs, which was my rent + the $35 nsf fee, I would be current.

Having every intention to satisfy this amount, I went on to work the next day. I ended up getting stranded at work that evening (which was a Friday) when the serpentine belt on my car snapped. My intentions were to go to my bank and pull out the cash to get a money order to pay my rent. Long story short, other parts of the car caused the snap and the car needed to be repaired in addition to the snapped belt. The car was in the shop for the weekend, putting me past the deadline of being able to pay my rental fees. Needless to say the bank was closed by the time I got the car towed and everything, and did not have weekend hours. To make matters worse, it cost $1360 to pay for the car repairs, which was the amount I was saving for rent plus some lent to me by an associate.

I thought, not a problem. I will show this receipt for the car bill to the landlord and see if something cannot be worked out. In the meantime I am served an eviction notice with a summary amount due close to $2000 including rent for aug, sept, and all late fees due by 9/5/08 (with no partial payments accepted).

I am still thinking not a problem. I have a 401K I can request a hardship withdrawal from to cover a situation like this, which would disburse about $1500. in addition I get paid on the 5th my regular check, So I think everything is cool. I call my broker to request the application, faxed. They say it cannot be faxed, must be mailed. I waited patiently for that, and called again to get a fax # to send it back. They say it has to be mailed. I asked how long it takes to process and they say 5-7 business days, and if approved then the time it takes to wait for the check to arrive.

I just received this paperwork yesterday, and plan on mailing it priority back today. However, even if they do it in the minimum of 5 bus days, that will put the processing back to monday sept 8, because this upcoming mon is labor day and not a business day. Waiting for the check to come in the mail will push the actual cash in hand date back to monday sept 15, if it doesn't arrive over that prior weekend. I am planning give a copy of the application to my landlord hoping he can work something out, but right now since everything is going to fall after the 9/5 deadline, it's looking bleak.

this just goes to show that someone who has a job, and has some limited resources who tries their best to compensate for unexpected circumstances can still wind up with the same results as "lazy" or "irresponsible" people.