Child Support Agency Help

Labradoodle11_2

I contacted the CSA last month about a change in my circumstances. I sent the letter by recorded delivery. I was last assessed about 8 years ago on the old system and I have no idea who my caseworker is. After one month had passed I had heard nothing from them, so I decided to ring them. After several calls to different numbers the CSA employee put my through to a domestic appliance company!! Luckily, the lady on the other end of the phone was used to receiving CSA calls and told me the number to ring. I was given the name of my caseworker and told that she would be emailed in order to ring me back later that day. I heard nothing.

I have rung again today and got told that the person that I thought was my caseworker is not. The employee referred to children by name, that are clearly not my children. I have been told that there is no record of my previous call or my letter (once I gave her the correct childs name). The best that she could offer me was to find out who my caseworker was and ring me back in 14 days time.

I find the CSA to be really poor and their employees rude. If it was me that owed them some money I would be threatened to reply to their letters within a specified time period. I do not know what to do next. I have considered stopping payments until I attract their attention - but I pay from source and I am unable to do this. Plus, I dont want the children to suffer by not receiving money.

I am at my wits end. What do I do next?????

Andy_Davies

Other than going down the complaints route, I'm not sure what else to suggest.

I asked the CSA to re-assess me in January this year (I returned to work after being unemployed and going back to university for a year), but have heard nothing further.

Everytime I phone up to speak to 'my caseworker' she's never there, she only works part-time, and no-one else seems to be able to handle my queries!

I wrote a recorded delivery letter to them about four weeks ago but have heard nothing more.

Ideally I'd like to be able to opt-out of the CSA process but not sure if it's possible (the CSA only got involved when one of my daughter's mother's friends persuaded her to claim income support when I was unemployed - even though I was still paying £250/month at the time)

If I don't hear back from the CSA soon I'm going to go down the complaints route as they really are a waste of space.

(I also object to the way the CSA is described as being for 'deliquent' fathers who won't pay for their child's upkeep - I've made payments to my daughter's mother every month for over five years (and yes I do understand there are those that don't))

Good luck, bang your head against a brick wall, it's good practice

System

From personal experience I can confirm that the CSA really like it when parents can come to an amicable agreement and have the maintenance paid directly to the parent with care. My caseworker ( and I can't speak highly enough about him) calculated how much maintenance was due for our kids and my ex pays it directly to me rather than to the CSA. Although our case is not closed we have the CSA as backup and when my ex's wages have change either up or down our caseworker has worked out the new maintenance and my ex adjusts his standing order to me as appropriate.
Our caseworker advised us to set up the standing order as that offered proof to both of us that the payments were being made. I have to say that in our case although my ex was a lousy husband he is a great father and this maintenance direct works really well for us and especially the kids.

calleyw

Pam17 wrote:

From personal experience I can confirm that the CSA really like it when parents can come to an amicable agreement and have the maintenance paid directly to the parent with care. My caseworker ( and I can't speak highly enough about him) calculated how much maintenance was due for our kids and my ex pays it directly to me rather than to the CSA. Although our case is not closed we have the CSA as backup and when my ex's wages have change either up or down our caseworker has worked out the new maintenance and my ex adjusts his standing order to me as appropriate.
Our caseworker advised us to set up the standing order as that offered proof to both of us that the payments were being made. I have to say that in our case although my ex was a lousy husband he is a great father and this maintenance direct works really well for us and especially the kids.

As you say that is all well and nice when it works. But my husband suffered badly and always pay through the csa now. Reason being his ex wife didn't check her facts when my husband paid her directly so she told the CSA that he was not paying back pay.

Which was an out right lie. He had to drag months if not a nearly two years worth of bank statements out to prove he had. She did not have prove that he hadn't. Good job he paid via DD and not cash.

So after that and to save hassle and grief he pays via the CSA.

Mind you I can't understand why the OP has not had any new assessements as I was under the impression they re-assessed every 3 years under the old system anyway.

Yours

Calley