CAn anyone out there help

desperatedave71

Hi, I'm hoping someone out there can suggest a way out of my situation. My wife and I are divorcing, and I recently started work back in july and sent her various amounts of money each week as maintenance for my 3 children. The CSA have contacted me saying I have to pay through them and I now have arrears! I told them I was sending my wife cheques, and sent them proof. She then told them that she was not accepting this money i sent as maintenance but as payments towards 'her' debts!(she failed to declare this against her benefits!) I argued this with the csa and sent them copies of the cheques but they will not accept these payments and I now have to pay £108 a week leaving me very little to live on! As i work through an agency I dont get holiday pay, so if I have to take time off I get paid less but the CSA will still take the same amount!
Anyone out there suffered anything similar?
Any help or suggestions would be gratefully received:eek:

frugallass

I can't believe that you provided proof and they won't believe you - well, this is the CSA we're talking about so yeah, I do believe it :mad:

from now on you have to keep a record of any payments you make to your ex - try to set up a standing order and make sure in the 'info' section you state 'child maintenance payment for **** ' Never pay her cash !

keep a record of any conversations you have with CSA, including names of people you spoke to, which office they're based at and time that the conversation took place

don't give in and don't accept what they say to you - try to make an appointment with your MP - it may be early days but it can be a long, lonely road sometimes

tamsin1982

so the CSA have accepted her reason for these cheques as being for her debts? how can they believe you'd be so nice as to pay her debts off but not to pay for your child/ren!!!
as said go straight to your mp, I dont think there are many options and seeing as they will wont money very soon its best to get the correct amount sorted asap

N71

Are the debts in hers or joint names?

desperatedave71

Thanks for all your replies.
frugallass, I now have one person assigned to my case at the csa and all money is now paid through them to her by standing order, more than I can really afford due to the so called 'arrears'!! I may very well spaek to my mp and i have spoken to my solicitor about it too, and am waiting a reply from him!
tamsin1982, i said exactly the same thing regarding the debts! they didn't wanna know! my ex even took all furniture and electrical, i got naff all!
N71 we both had debts, but most were in her name so she was told by her solicitor they were her responsibility, and as far as i know, she paid them all off before i was sending the money!

If anyone thinks of anything else, let me know, and again, thanks for your replies

NACSA_CHAIR

Quite a common problem....but if the payments were made between the effective date of the calculation and the date of the first notification it should be treated as a voluntary payment...I would raise this through the complaints, and yes doing that via your MP is worthwhile.