please help, i am FUMING!!!!

littlemisscarole

:mad: :mad: My partner owes £4700 in arrears to the csa and has been told the usual story that he must pay now.
He was going to pay by credit card as suggested and got a card in place in case he needed it.
Since then he has tried to negotiate further with the csa as he has realised that it leaves us very vulberable financially not to mention further in debt if we use this credit card.
He called them today to try to sort it out and told a white lie that he could not get a credit card and they quoted the exact amount that he had available on credit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe they actually have the cheek to check this what i thought would have been private information, but i guess they are entitled to know this regardless of the data protection act being a government body!
Most of this money is owed to the PWC so he is now going to negotiate with his ex to get it paid at a much more comfortable rate. She does not nknow the amount involved or that he has been asked to pay it in full.
Please someone answer me i am desperate for some common sense.
thanks
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Coolmum66

Hi littlemisscarole

Common sense?? - your partner should have paid the CSA assesment amount on time every time. I'm sorry - he has a child (or children) to support - that cannot be denied. Be responsible and pay the assesment. If he now owes £4,700 in arrears - how long has he not paid maintenance for? If he was genuinely unable to pay any money - then the CSA assesment would have reflected that.

I'm sorry if this isn't what you want to hear - my ex ducked and dived the CSA for 8 years - and now instead of having to pay £23 per month, he has to pay £200 per month. Common sense would have said pay the assesment each month - it's for your child after all.

littlemisscarole

Sorry i should have said, he does pay his maintenance very week and has done for years and years, the arrears are alledgedly from way back and we don't even understand how they came about, the calculations are never in plain english.
Please don't presume this is about not paying child support, he has always paid.

Coolmum66

littlemisscarole

Apologies for assuming that maintenance was never paid. I didn't mean to cause offence.

I'm still not sure what you want to hear? If you do not understand the calculations and assessments then maybe you need to take further advice? CAB or maybe even your MP??

Maybe try and pm Kellogs - they have given me good advice about the CSA and seem to know what is what.

Hope this helps

Coolmum

littlemisscarole

I just needed to bounce it off of someone else maybe in the same situation as many are, I cannot believe that we are sensibly trying to keep hold of our financial situation and the csa just don't want or care to know what your own situation is.
He is already paying nearly £400 per month for only one child and that is hard enough, but as i said he always pays this. To then expect him to find another £100 a month to pay the credit card is just not possible.
He and myself just don't know where to go or what to do next as every way we try there seems to be no way out and we are both at our wits end.
We have so far gone through the MP who has not helped, I know we can appeal but it seams like a constant battle that will probably just make the whole situation much more drawn out and confusing.
Sorry to drone on but we really have had enough but we have to find the strength from somewhere to carry on fighting.
Shouldn't the csa be chasing the absent parents who don't pay a penny and not just go after the easy targets?
Anyone in the same situation or similar feel free to get it all off your chest.

markeymark

copied this from another forum, legally they have to negotiate arrears, they try fob u off with this 2 year rule!!


Here is the relevant stuff from a child support website chairman, taken from chapter 3 of the enforcement guide for england and wales.

1. Arrears are legally to be negotiated.
2. There is no time limit stated in law in which debt is to be repaid. Your offer of repayment must be reasonable compared with the debt. One should consider repayment of debt within a maximum of 5 years. Offering repayments that will take in excess of 5 years could be deemed unreasonable.
3. CSA Chief Executive informed Government that they would be taking quick action against those that default on payment.
4. CS legislation allows deductions from earnings to be taken at a maximum of 40% of net income. However, such orders should only be imposed under certain conditions which involve non compliance of the NRP.
5. DEOs are discretionary decisions which should consider the welfare of ALL children, including those living in the NRP family.
6. The CSA are procedurally required to supply you with a copy of the DEO. If this has not been served on you, they have not followed correct procedure.
7. Under CS legislation, there is no defence against a DEO. Courts are not empowered to quash an order on the grounds of it being unjustly applied. This is a breach of Human Rights under Article 2 in which an individual should enjoy the right to a fair trial.

Loopy_Girl

I'm not entirely sure what you are asking to be honest or whether you are just on to sound off....1 minute you are saying you can't afford £100 to pay off the arrears that you would pay for a credit card payment and then you are saying that hubby is going to pay ex direct? Do you think she will take less than £100? and sorry to burst your bubble but she will know exactly how much the arrears are...the CSA do converse with both parties.

Would you pay BT nearly 5K if they asked and you dodn't know what it was for? I wouldn't imagine so so why are you doing it for CSA? I fail to see how 5K of debt could accrue without some knowledge of it...it's a large sum and by the sound of it the case is now with debt enforcement which means that normal channels have failed. Have you asked (or hubby asked) for a COMPLETE breakdown of arrears? use this link as emailing them get a very speedy response https://secureonline.dwp.gov.uk/csa/v2/en/complaint.asp

Ask that a hold is put on any action until you have received this letter (am not saying it will happen but at least there is a paper copy of the request)

You need to get this sorted ASAP I would say as, if they have your hubby's employer's then they may put an arrestment on the wages to get this arrear cleared.

Use that form and then see what comes back from that. If you are still disputing what the figure is then go to your MP again. If still not happy then go to a neighbouring MP. There is no point sitting fizzing away and you will feel better for being proactive and doing something.

littlemisscarole

thank you all for your advice, I will keep you updated.

apywell

I read these posts with interest. I am saddled with a debt of £6k because the CSA didn't act upon the information I gave them.

littlemisscarole
I feel just how you feel. I have been on the phone yet again with the CSA today. The end of your 1st post asks for some common sense.. unfortunately you will never get this from the CSA, I have been trying for 10yrs now to get any common sense.. They keep refering to the law. As for knowing your credit limit.... they have the power to do many things. They told me I had to pay £6K but you just need to phone them and arrange a monthly payment.

apywell

Coolmum66 wrote: »

littlemisscarole

Apologies for assuming that maintenance was never paid. I didn't mean to cause offence.

I'm still not sure what you want to hear? If you do not understand the calculations and assessments then maybe you need to take further advice? CAB or maybe even your MP??

Maybe try and pm Kellogs - they have given me good advice about the CSA and seem to know what is what.

Hope this helps

Coolmum

Never assume anything.

apywell

littlemisscarole wrote: »

I just needed to bounce it off of someone else maybe in the same situation as many are, I cannot believe that we are sensibly trying to keep hold of our financial situation and the csa just don't want or care to know what your own situation is.
He is already paying nearly £400 per month for only one child and that is hard enough, but as i said he always pays this. To then expect him to find another £100 a month to pay the credit card is just not possible.
He and myself just don't know where to go or what to do next as every way we try there seems to be no way out and we are both at our wits end.
We have so far gone through the MP who has not helped, I know we can appeal but it seams like a constant battle that will probably just make the whole situation much more drawn out and confusing.
Sorry to drone on but we really have had enough but we have to find the strength from somewhere to carry on fighting.
Shouldn't the csa be chasing the absent parents who don't pay a penny and not just go after the easy targets?
Anyone in the same situation or similar feel free to get it all off your chest.

Me and my wife have had the same thoughts as you. A couple of years ago we were given the maximum compensation of £200 from the CSA because they messed up and it cost us a small fortune. We went to see our MP who was Margret Beckett (cabinet minister at the time) and she was useless. They just say it is the law. I have often thought that the CSA give honest people a hard time because we are easy targets.