Child Maintenance (CSA) questions (merged)

SCREAMIN_BABIES

::)Please can somebody help me ive been fighting the csa for over eight months now . my ex partner pays them £45.20p a week for his son ive ive got loads of reciepts to prove to me that he has paid them . ive spent hundreds of pounds in phone bills but they are saying that they have only recieved a few payments and what i have recieved im not entiteled to yet . i dont understand how this can be and i dont know who to turn to next it is making my life a misery i hate the csa someone please help me ..........

Aztec_2

Visit your local Citizens Advice (CAB) they should be able to help, they will also write/phone for you if you allow them permisson to. This will save you your phone bill for a start.

Former_MSE_Abuse_Controller

Hi SCREAMIN_BABIES,

I have moved your topic here as it will hopefully increase your chances of people with the right knowledge to add to what Aztec has said and help you out

Regards,
Abuse Controller

XXJULESXX

Hi

For 2years I have fought with the CSA as my son has never received any maintenance payments whatsoever, and in this time I have had only 3letters from them. Each time I phoned them I was receiving conflicting information!

Then one adviser I was speaking to actually told me to contact my MP and get him to intervene! He said that my case was going back and forwards between the three offices- Falkirk, Northern Ireland and Belfast, and that no one was taking responsibility for it.

He told me that when an MP says jump, they say how high, and that this is the only way he could see for me to get any results.

Before I moved house, my MP was very helpful- he wrote to the MD of the CSA and received a reply within a fortnight, enlightening me to the hold up, and that I would be kept up todate of progress.

I would certainly ask your MP for help, it's not going to do any more harm, and it might actually speed things up.

Goodluck

ravenlooney

I would certainly ask your MP for help, it's not going to do any more harm, and it might actually speed things up.

Goodluck

Id definetly recommend going to your MP for help too. Ive not had any probs with the CSA but had a lot of bother with the Inland Revenue and hadnt been paid tax credits for 5 months. I was going round in circles trying to sort things out. I emailed my MP, he phoned me to get details and that same day there was an interim payment in my account with everything sorted out the very next day!! They do seem to have a lot of power to get things done!!

Hope things work out for you.

missprice

you could also ask to be referred to the ice team (independent case examiners) the csa's own troubleshooting team

they take a while but generally they get the job done.

a little known fact too

you can apply for compensation from the csa. it is usually around the £50 mark but i have known more to be given. if you keep applying for compensation they may actually decide to get yours sorted instead of brushing you off.

jsut a minor query. does your ex pay to more then one child/ex partner. if yes then maybe all the money is going to them instead of being split with you.

also what does the proof of payment look like. most customers of the csa pay be dd or s/o. very few pay cash because it costs more.

jellyhead

i don't get maintenance (the CSA can't find my ex) but just a thought, if you are on good terms with the ex could you arrange for him to pay you directly instead of going through the CSA?

missprice

jellyhead

you can always come to a private agreement about child support.
however only if you are not on a prescribed benefit
those benefits include JSA, Income Support. cant remember which others count now.

if you are on a precribed benefit then the chancellor wants his share, and you will recieve a fiver of any money the ex pays.
wftc is not a prescribed benefit so any child support you recieve is all yours.

simone

Prudent

I have had two years of very stressful dealings with the CSA and know just how frustrating they are to deal with. It is a very common experience to be passed from person to person, with no-one willing to take responsibilty.
Always note the names of the people you speak to and keep a log on your computer. I now always put everything in writing after the phone call and send a letter recorded delivery confirming what was said in the call.
Do write to your mp and enclose your log and copies of all letters to and from the CSA. They can make a difference. Mine has helped at points. The appeals unit are very good (totally unlike the rest of the CSA) and may be worth taking your case to.
Hang in there and keep fighting Things do take for ever and it is easy to give up hope at some points, but don't. You will get there in the end.  :)

Also once you get this sorted do apply for compensation.
I went through a lot of grief, but in the end managed to get compensation payments of £60 and £887 ;D

I am now in the process of yet another stressful argument with them. However I am now learning to just keep plugging away.

Good luck. If you have any questions do pm me. I would be glad to help.

Prudent

Sorry, forgot to add that you can also claim compensation for the phone bills. This is easy if you have an itemised phone bill.

Careful_Shopper_3

Many moons ago I too had problems with the CSA - they took over 2 years to sort out the maintenance payments.
As has been mentioned, contact your MP.

At the time of my problems there was a lot of publicity about absent fathers wanting to commit suicide over the outrageous payments!!! I wrote to my MP saying that I as a mother with no money felt the same way; I explained the stress I was under, the frustration etc and - within the week he contacted the CSA within two weeks I received £1,697 from the CSA (not maintenance from my ex husband). The letter that was sent with the cheque said that this was in no way compensation! Doh what was it then Father Christmas early!