How the story broke on Tuesday. (0631169)
HOUSING claimant Michelle Savident deserves nothing from the States, says her former husband.
He spoke out after seeing Tuesday’s front-page Guernsey Press story about his ex-wife living in a tent with two of her children.
She returned to Guernsey at the end of July, having lived in the Isle of Wight for 10 years.
When he discovered she had managed to find a house and was being supported by the States, he quickly wrote to the Housing Department.
‘While I harbour no personal grievance against Mrs Savident,’ he stated, ‘under the circumstances I believe it would be grossly unfair for her to obtain a States house under false pretences when our daughters have worked hard to gain a foothold on the property ladder by legitimate means.’
He claimed that Mrs Savident’s stated intention had, for the past 12 months, been ‘to obtain a States house and benefits by essentially rendering herself and her children homeless’.
She voluntarily left a three-bedroomed council house in the Isle of Wight to ‘deliberately destitute herself and her remaining son and daughter in Guernsey’, he added, ‘and made no attempt to secure accommodation or work prior to returning as she was confident she would be offered both housing and benefit’.
The ex-husband also claimed he and Mrs Savident purchased a property in Mont Arrive in 1980 and then jointly owned a property in the Vale from 1987 to 1990.
He stated that Mrs Savident got half the second property as part of their divorce settlement.
That would mean she had previously owned a property and so would not be eligible for a States house, although that would not stop her claiming benefit.
Mrs Savident refuted the claims.
‘This is an utter lie,’ she said yesterday.
‘I don’t believe we had joint ownership and he paid the mortgage. When we divorced, there was no way I got half of it.
‘I only got £19,000 as a settlement when that bungalow was worth hundreds of thousands. All I got out of that marriage was the settlement and a few saucepans.’
She was surprised that her former partner was trying to cause trouble.
‘I never thought he would do this.’
Housing said it could not comment on individual cases but would be looking into the claims.
Article posted on 29th August, 2008 - 2.30pm
10 Article Comments
This is just typical of the sexiest views of woman on this island ,if your a women on this island you get it all handed on a plate as a man you get nothing,i also used to own my own house and was made to sell it when my then girlfriend decided to play the field she was given a states house within a couple of months why i got told tough rent privately this women has 5 cars 2 motorbikes and a jetski outside her stateshouseERM!! i have my son living with me but i dont get any maintance it took 5 mths to get the family allowance paid to me only because i threatened to go to the media about this sexist system on this island!!!
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Mrs Savident is denying that she has ever owned a property with her ex-husband and that he is lying. If this is the case surely the States can check official records of house sales to see who is telling the truth.
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How can Mrs Savident expect to be supported by the States when she has not contributed to the system? She has no right to expect to be kept by the people of Guernsey who pay Social Security contributions.
And what sort of mother would arrive with no provisions for her children and expect to jump the housing list when many young families have been waiting for accommodation?
If she had a council house in the Isle of Wight she should have stayed there until she was certain she would have a roof over her head preferably paid for by herself) before returning to Guernsey to live on handouts.
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Heatherd
If you look back at the time scale in the article at the head of these posts, you will see that it is likely that Mrs Savident has paid some form of taxes in Guernsey.
As she is a “Guernsey girl” it seems odd that such a rich island seems to want to pass on the responsibility for one of its own to someone else..
I just wonder what your view would have been if someone from the UK came to Guernsey for 10 years, returned to the UK , fell on hard times and was told to go back to Guernsey, for hand outs.
Sams sort of scenario as Mrs Savident but in reverse.
Havinbg said that the comments about the lack of responsibility of the lady are appropriate.
Howeever, Guernsye has a responsibility for the family and it would be wrong to send her back to the UK.
I can’t see her being welcomed on the Isle of Wight after her silly and untrue outburst about the pweople of the IOW.
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Stephen John
It would seem that Mrs Savident has been back in Guernsey for at least a month. I would have thought that she would have made certain that she could find employment and housing prior to burning her bridges in the IOW.
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Heatherd
Absolutely agree with your 9.23am post.
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I think people making judgements on someones life who they know nothing of except a few words in the local paper is ridiculous!!!
1st how does any one know why exactly this lady felt the need to come back to guernsey? her home!!
yes it is irresponsible to knowingly put yourself let alone your children in a position like that but is it worse to keep your children the position they were in, it seems to me that father of her two young children is obviously not very supportive of his children or he would not be writting to the press to try and keep his children living in a tent!
what kind of good person let alone a father would try to stop a mother from housing her children, it disgusting behaviour!
As for the sexist views how ridiculous…each person who applys for any kind of benifits or states house gets a decision made on the circumstances they are currently in as well as how they were in that position in the 1st place. i am a single mum, born in gsy, all my family have been born here and raised here including my children, i was taken to england and brought up there yill i was 13 then moved out of home when i 16, i was told to leave the island so had to take it to court, even now 10ys later even though born here as were both of my parents, i am still not classed as local and not intitled to a states house, so should i be sat here complaining that its because i am female…no!! my point is people should realise every persons situation is different.
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In response to Emily’s comment, I would just like to make it clear, as I stated in my letter to the Housing Authority, that I am Mrs Savident’s first ex-husband and father of her adult children. The children who remain with Mrs Savident were not fathered by me.
Since our divorce she has subsequently been re-married and re-divorced.
I am equally disgusted by the notion that she has left her children with no other home than a tent – but this was of her own volition and is not my responsibility. Our three adult children are struggling to gain a legitimate foothold on the property ladder, as are many others in Guernsey. As a concerned and supportive father, it would be impossible for me to sit by while their mother is allowed to manipulate the media, using her youngest children as unwitting pawns, to gain an unfair advantage over her own adult children. This was my motivation in writing to the authorities.
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As a trader, I was acquainted with Mrs Savident and her children for many years during the period that she lived here on the Isle of Wight. I have never thought her to be a scrounger, I do know that she worked very hard for a living when she could, and certainly seemed a very caring mother to her 2 children who were always very polite and well mannered. Although the people of the Isle of Wight are generally very friendly, I believe that she was unfortunate in encountering undeserved hostility from a very small minority. One time her car was vandalized so badly that it had to be scrapped, and there were other incidents which, although totally uncharacteristic of the Isle of Wight, gave rise to the feelings she describes in the article.
I know, from my conversations with her, that for a number of years she just yearned to go home (she always referred to Guernsey as home) and believed her 2 children would be happy there, as she said she had always been.
With respect to the alleged proceeds from the house sale, I can definitely say that this lady did not ever give any impression of having money.
Although I understand the concern that she should be given a house after such a short time back on the Island (Guernsey), please remember she also made a house available on this Island (IOW) for a homeless family (we have a huge housing shortage here too).
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I cant understand why the lady cant just get a job. and rent a flat in the private sector like a lot of other well deserving families are doing.
At the end of the day the move was her choice and she should have thought more about her children, and their lifestyle before making the move.
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