CSA payments for alleged daughter - what can we do?

Marli

Poppy9 wrote: »

Does he know the mother of the child?

No.We had to get a copy of the girls birth certificate as the CSA wouldn't tell us the mother's name (Data Protection) and the letter only had her initial and surname. She(the mother) has a very unusual name, not one you'd forget and my husband is 100% sure he doesn't know her.

Kellog - what do we have to do to appeal it? We've been told all avenues for debate and appeal have passed due to their insistance he has ignored letters. I was lead to believe the only hope would be our MP - who hasn't help at all yet. They say they cannot insist on a DNA test as the "window" for that has passed. It's up to the mother now if she wants one and she is refusing they say so we just have to take her word for it.

They also won't hear a second of the fact that they could easily have the wrong person as my husband has a very, very common name - not quite John Smith, but not far off it which was something the last CAB person (who admitted themselves they didn't specialise in CSA stuff) told us to point out to them.

We have an appointment at CAB on Monday morning and a solicitor who specialises in family law in the afternoon.

I am absolutely worried sick. My husband has been so down for the past few weeks he is back on anti-depressants and just keeps crying all the time because he would give anything in the world for there to be any chance that she is his daughter as he'd love nothing more than a child. It's downright bloody cruel what they are doing to him. I realise they have a job to do etc, but I'm honestly not sure how much more he can take.

On a related but not note, can they seriously expect people to cough up thousands for children they didn't know existed within a few weeks? Thats utterly ridiculous. It's alright for some snooty mare on the phone to tell you that you should have been putting money by, but if people don't know how can they?!

kelloggs36

However, if they accept that the letter was not sent to a confident address then that will mean that assumed parentage will have to be reversed as he was not in a position to deal with any such enquiry.

abbecer

I am absolutely flabbergasted by your situation and the unfairness of it. I have no advice to offer but want to wish you and your poor husband good luck in sorting out this appalling injustice.

Take care of yourselves

Rebecca x

marksoton

Marli, i would seriously consider NACSA. At the very least they will be able to advise you as to avenues that are open to you. Be wary of solicitors, many claim to know CSA law but few do.

CAB are very good at what they do but limited in their knowledge of the CSA ( which varies depending on which branch you are at ).

You have been treated disgracefully by the agency. As kelloggs says if you can get them to acknowledge it was not a confident address then you stand a chance of getting the DNA test through the CSA.

This is the sort of case that has given the agency the reputation it has. Keep fighting all is not lost !!

DirectDebacle

I find this whole scenario quite bizarre. Probably because I am not au fait with the workings of the C.S.A.

The dispute is simply one of paternity. If he really is the father then he should accept the situation and everyone will have to come to terms in dealing with it.

If he isn't and I have no reason to doubt the O.P. version, then surely it must be a simple matter for this to be proved by D.N.A. This is in the interests of all parties, mother, father, daughter and even the C.S.A. The family lawyer should be able to shed light on this but I would in any event find out which labs the C.S.A. recognise as acceptable for providing D.N.A. evidence. Have one of these labs perform a D.N.A. test on your husband. Do not pay the C.S.A. any money but put the same amount on one side. Sooner or later the C.S.A. will wish to take some sort of legal proceedings to recover money. This would present an opportunity to put your side of the case and the court may well order the mother to submit herself and the daughter for a D.N.A. test. If she refused then the court would probably order that your husband is not deemed to be the father and not liable for child support.

Hopefully the solicitor can discuss these sort of options. Either your husband is the father or he isn't. Either the mother, C.S.A. or both have made a terrible mistake or the mother is attempting a fraud.

Good luck to you both and I hope this worrying dispute is quickly resolved.

kelloggs36

sorry but that is not good advice in how to deal with the CSA in this issue. The legal procedure won't allow the NRP to dispute this issue if they apply for a liability order. He needs to get it sorted before it gets to that stage. I would contact NACSA and your MP sharpish - make an appointment to go to the MP surgery and see himher about it. What evidence do you have that the address the CSA sent the letters to was incorrect? I mean, do you have evidence that he was residing elsewhere and what is that evidence?

marksoton

DirectDebacle wrote: »

I find this whole scenario quite bizarre. Probably because I am not au fait with the workings of the C.S.A.

The dispute is simply one of paternity. If he really is the father then he should accept the situation and everyone will have to come to terms in dealing with it.

If he isn't and I have no reason to doubt the O.P. version, then surely it must be a simple matter for this to be proved by D.N.A. This is in the interests of all parties, mother, father, daughter and even the C.S.A. The family lawyer should be able to shed light on this but I would in any event find out which labs the C.S.A. recognise as acceptable for providing D.N.A. evidence. Have one of these labs perform a D.N.A. test on your husband. Do not pay the C.S.A. any money but put the same amount on one side. Sooner or later the C.S.A. will wish to take some sort of legal proceedings to recover money. This would present an opportunity to put your side of the case and the court may well order the mother to submit herself and the daughter for a D.N.A. test. If she refused then the court would probably order that your husband is not deemed to be the father and not liable for child support.

Im afraid it does not quite work like that. The courts have very little to do with the CSA and if you do get hauled in front of a court it is simply a case of them rubber stamping a liability order.

To get a DNA test through the CSA the OP now needs to prove that all paperwork was sent to the wrong address.

As for " put your side of the case ". You would have thought so in this country wouldn't you ?

You would have thought wrong ...!

marksoton

Incisor wrote: »

Oh, horrendous. The challenge now has to be through Human Rights legislation, I would think. Article 10.

A chap did try, he run out of money to fund the fight.

The OP in this case does have the opportunity to correct all this but needs to act swiftly and by contacting the correct people. No need for human rights law etc here.

Just quick action on their part before the problem escalates.

Marli

kelloggs36 wrote: »

sorry but that is not good advice in how to deal with the CSA in this issue. The legal procedure won't allow the NRP to dispute this issue if they apply for a liability order. He needs to get it sorted before it gets to that stage. I would contact NACSA and your MP sharpish - make an appointment to go to the MP surgery and see himher about it. What evidence do you have that the address the CSA sent the letters to was incorrect? I mean, do you have evidence that he was residing elsewhere and what is that evidence?

We have our lease, our council tax bill and his employee clock-in card (which he used to hate having to do, but is now very grateful) showing he was working in Scotland at the time as well as bank & credit card statements. We also have the letter from Royal Mail telling him that his mail redirection would finish on X date as he hadn't renewed it. We have also contacted the letting agency that he used to rent his flat from and they have said they will send us a letter (or will send it direct to CSA if that is better) confirming the date he moved out and the date his new tenant moved in (the following week). Do you think this will be enough?

We haven't been able to get in touch with our MP at the weekend, but have managed to contact our local councilor. He is the same party as the MP and has promised to call her tomorrow morning and ask her to contact us urgently.

I don't understand how they could tell us on the phone that there was nothing we could do when it appears there is. Thank you for your help.

DirectDebacle

I have to admit I am aghast at this. I would have thought the system should be geared with the benefit and welfare of the child at the heart of the matter. Does this mean that a woman with a child can just pick the name of someone out of a phonebook, name him as the father of their child and then just sit and wait for the money to roll in? Are their no paternity laws to protect people from such things?

Forgive my ignorance but all this is coming across as some faceless tinpot Govt. organisation doing as it pleases as if we were living in a dictatorship and not a democracy.

I am all for absent parents supporting their children but surely there is something in place to protect people from malicious or false/mistaken accusations. Isn't there? Please tell me there is.