Child Maintenance (CSA) questions (merged)

salamjanab

Please help and advise.

I temporarily left my house due to my safety and my wife’s abnormal behaviour later she changed the locks!!! I bought the house before marriage and still the sole owner – she never worked after marriage. Although I am not living in the house but still paying for mortgage, council tax, service charges, ground rent etc for this house where she and my children are residing – in addition to the rent I am paying for my separate accommodation – which I just found for the interim to put few of my belongings but literally I am homeless at the moment!
The matter is now in court as I have filed for the divorce.
I am also paying for bank loan and personal loans I borrowed to buy the house (before marriage) and then to remortgage the house (during marriage).
My salary has now reduced too (salary sacrifice by increasing pension contribution – scheme provided by employer).
CSA has asked me to pay a huge sum each week – as a matter of fact, I wont be able to pay what they have asked as I simply wont have the money for this!!
I am already struggling to meet my living hence going to more and more debts each month by differing the rent or loan etc.
Should CSA not consider the loans I am paying and my Income Vs expenses?
Should they not consider the rent I am paying in addition to the mortgage, council tax, service charges, ground rent etc for the house which I solely own and where my children & wife are residing?
Should they not recalculate based on revised lower salary?
Should they not consider that I am now homeless?
She they not consider if I can prove my wife’s reckless spending habits and ask to either provide everything myself or ask to see invoices at month end.
My wife’s sister did exactly the same and they have a history of these cons – I am just another victim.
Any help or any advise will be really appreciated.
Thanks

kelloggs36

The only thing you can get the CSA to do is to recalculate based on your new income. Because you are the owner of the property, you cannot offset the mortgage payments against maintenance - if the house was not yours but you were paying then you could have. She should be applying for social housing and not living there in all reality.

What was the loan for?

salamjanab

kelloggs36 wrote: »

The only thing you can get the CSA to do is to recalculate based on your new income. Because you are the owner of the property, you cannot offset the mortgage payments against maintenance - if the house was not yours but you were paying then you could have. She should be applying for social housing and not living there in all reality.

What was the loan for?

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Thanks for the reply. Would CSA not consider if I am paying both rent and mortgage?
If my salary has reduced due to increased pension contribution (salary sacrifice) - would they consider?
loan was to help me paying for the deposit and to buy household items when I bought this house (before marriage) AND
majority of the chunk was to repay all the loans I accumulated (to pay off my credit card, to pay off car on HP, to buy furniture etc) - at the time of remortgage, th elender asked to repay all the loans I had before proceeding further.
When I bought the house, i bought it jointly with my friend - he later bought another house and becase wasnt allowed to keep to residential mortgages he asked me to either sell the house or buy his share - I put the house on market but no luck and later decided to buy his share but we agreed that I will pay him once the house gets sold as I intend to donwsize. My wife has changed the locks and has stopped viewing means I cant even sell the house. My friend's circumstances have now changed ie his wife isnt working any more and just had a baby; plus he knows that selling house doesnt seem possible - he is insisting to repay in instalments - I borrowed fhalf of the money I am liable to pay him from the bank which I have given to him - in addition I also agreed to pay him something each month in instalments.
Can I write in my letter to CSA or bank that she should be applying for social housing and not living there in my house? In reality I dont want my children to be shelterless. I am reluctant to pay child maintenance first becasue I know I am struggling secondly I am 100% sure she will misuse the money and my children wont benefit from this.

Mips

kelloggs36 wrote: »

The only thing you can get the CSA to do is to recalculate based on your new income. Because you are the owner of the property, you cannot offset the mortgage payments against maintenance - if the house was not yours but you were paying then you could have. She should be applying for social housing and not living there in all reality.

What was the loan for?

But they were married and have kids together?!

Should those kids be uprooted pronto so the man can have his house back?!

kelloggs36

In the eyes of the CSA he has a legal interest in the property, so he cannot have a variation to have the payments taken into account. I'm talking practically - the courts could decide who stays there but that won't change the CSA law.

salamjanab

kelloggs36 wrote: »

In the eyes of the CSA he has a legal interest in the property, so he cannot have a variation to have the payments taken into account. I'm talking practically - the courts could decide who stays there but that won't change the CSA law.

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and what about the rent I am paying separately? If I move back in the house and only pay for mortgage (not both rent and mortgage) then I will be able to afford child maintenance.
What about the loans I am paying (both personal & bank) taken to buy the house, household items & to repay other bank loans/HP to complete the remortgage.
TIA

kelloggs36

salamjanab wrote: »

---

Thanks for the reply. Would CSA not consider if I am paying both rent and mortgage?
If my salary has reduced due to increased pension contribution (salary sacrifice) - would they consider? Provided that it is a reasonable amount, ie not most of your income.
loan was to help me paying for the deposit and to buy household items when I bought this house (before marriage) possibly you may get a variation if she has the full benefit of what you borrowed the money for AND
majority of the chunk was to repay all the loans I accumulated (to pay off my credit card This figure will be deducted from any amount allowed as debts arising from credit card spending regardless of the reason, is specifically excluded, to pay off car on HP does the PWC have the car? If not, then this will also be deducted as she has to be still getting the benefit of what the money was borrowed for to be eligible, to buy furniture etc) - at the time of remortgage, th elender asked to repay all the loans I had before proceeding further.
When I bought the house, i bought it jointly with my friend - he later bought another house and becase wasnt allowed to keep to residential mortgages he asked me to either sell the house or buy his share - I put the house on market but no luck and later decided to buy his share but we agreed that I will pay him once the house gets sold as I intend to donwsize. My wife has changed the locks and has stopped viewing means I cant even sell the house. You need to seek legal advice here - it may be that she is relying on the fact that as mother of your child, she has right of occupancy. She may be right, but as the house is yours and when it does sell, you stand to gain from it, you will not get a variation. My friend's circumstances have now changed ie his wife isnt working any more and just had a baby; plus he knows that selling house doesnt seem possible - he is insisting to repay in instalments CSA cannot take this into account as it is not a legally binding agreement. Your friend may need to seek legal advice to recover the money from you, as you are not bound at present to be paying him anything as far as I can see. I suggest you also seek legal advice to get this sorted out- I borrowed fhalf of the money I am liable to pay him from the bank which I have given to him - in addition I also agreed to pay him something each month in instalments. this is a personal agreement - you can revise that agreement. Did you get anything drawn up legally?
Can I write in my letter to CSA or bank that she should be applying for social housing and not living there in my house? I would be putting this as part of my argument in terms of recovering your property, but it won't change the CSA situation. reality I dont want my children to be shelterless. but you still need to be able to live yourself. I am reluctant to pay child maintenance first becasue I know I am struggling secondly I am 100% sure she will misuse the money and my children wont benefit from this. This argument is totally irrelevant - you have no say on what the money is spent on and therefore cannot choose not to pay.

Your sticking point which could free up some money is your payments to your friend - you need to seek legal advice as he could I suppose take you to court to recover the money, but it would depend on the agreement you made, and I have no idea how you or he would stand legally on this.

The CSA don't take your circumstances into account regardless of whether you have 2 lots of housing costs to maintain. Does your ex pay rent to you? You may win if you can show that she doesn't pay for living there, afterall, there is another option of social housing if she is not working.

salamjanab

kelloggs36 wrote: »

Your sticking point which could free up some money is your payments to your friend - you need to seek legal advice as he could I suppose take you to court to recover the money, but it would depend on the agreement you made, and I have no idea how you or he would stand legally on this.

The CSA don't take your circumstances into account regardless of whether you have 2 lots of housing costs to maintain. Does your ex pay rent to you? You may win if you can show that she doesn't pay for living there, afterall, there is another option of social housing if she is not working.

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I really appreciate your help. Pension (salary sacrifice through employer) is now 15% - is this reasonable? No my ex doesnt own the car as she cant drive.
Would the amount I borrowed to pay for the deposit when I bought this house be considered?
Does this mean that if i bought ANYTHING on credit card - I wont be able to negate against the money payable to CSA?
Yes I made a contract with my friend which was signed by both if us and two witnessess - is it legally binding contract?
What about the bank loan I am paying each month (this was to repay the personal loan I had) - atleast that is legally binding between myself and the bank!

I can revise the contract with my friend if needed, any suggestions if its wise & if so, any specific wording we should include?
No my ex never worked nor contributed anything for the cost of house nor paid/paying for rent to me.

Should CSA not advise her to go for social housing themselves - or I should remind them as raising this as an issue? The only worry is that they might see me as a bad father want to kick out my children out of my house - which is simply NOT the case - I want a house for children as well as myself.
May i claim any other costs eg work related traveling, food, clothing, socialising etc AND medical.

Another issue - I am aware that atleast one of our daughter stays with her grand mother (on and off) and now with my ex. She is very outgoing and often leaves our daughters with her mother or sister.

Initially, out of anger and show of power, she prevented me meeting my children but now she has emailed me giving few options ie who will keep the children for how many days - I would discuss these infront of the court. SHould CSA not wait until the court's decision?
The matter is now in court as I have filed for the divorce too. Should they not wait until court’s decision?
My job is at risk and 'might' be redundant any time. I asked CSA to not to contact my employer becasue its very sensitive but even then they have contacted my employer too. Due to my current situation I am piling more and more debts each month. The fear is that the CSA's action might casue loosing my job and built further layers of debts so that neither I will be able to help my children nor myself.

kelloggs36

salamjanab wrote: »

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I really appreciate your help. Pension (salary sacrifice through employer) is now 15% - is this reasonable? I would guess that is a reasonable amountNo my ex doesnt own the car as she cant drive. so loan for car would not be allowed to be offset
Would the amount I borrowed to pay for the deposit when I bought this house be considered? no because you are the sole owner of the house, and so you stand to gain if you sell it
Does this mean that if i bought ANYTHING on credit card - I wont be able to negate against the money payable to CSA? all credit card debt is specifically excluded - even if you take out a loan to consolidate - as the debt originated from a credit card, it will not be allowed
Yes I made a contract with my friend which was signed by both if us and two witnessess - is it legally binding contract? You would need to seek legal advice about this
What about the bank loan I am paying each month (this was to repay the personal loan I had) - atleast that is legally binding between myself and the bank! yes, but it would depend on what that loan was for - consolidation of credit cards is excluded and the PWC would still have to have the full benefit of what the original loan was for AND you cannot have a legal interest in that property

I can revise the contract with my friend if needed, any suggestions if its wise & if so, any specific wording we should include? again, you should seek legal advice or at least try CAB first
No my ex never worked nor contributed anything for the cost of house nor paid/paying for rent to me. she should not expect to live rent free in your house - seek legal advice on where you stand here

Should CSA not advise her to go for social housing themselves - or I should remind them as raising this as an issue? This is not an issue that the CSA would get involved in - as you are not able to live in your house, you really need to sort this out properly - get proper legal advice about this The only worry is that they might see me as a bad father want to kick out my children out of my house - which is simply NOT the case - I want a house for children as well as myself. hence the advice to go to a solicitor
May i claim any other costs eg work related traveling, food, clothing, socialising etc AND medical. no, none of those things are counted in respect of child support except for travelling expenses to and from work but only in excess of 150 miles per week

Another issue - I am aware that atleast one of our daughter stays with her grand mother (on and off) and now with my ex. She is very outgoing and often leaves our daughters with her mother or sister. who gets the child benefit? If your ex, then you won't have a leg to stand on. She is entitled to go out if she wants to and get somebody she feels fit to look after the child! If the child NEVER lives with the PWC then you would need to report to the Child Benefit office

Initially, out of anger and show of power, she prevented me meeting my children but now she has emailed me giving few options ie who will keep the children for how many days - I would discuss these infront of the court. SHould CSA not wait until the court's decision? No, maintenance is payable all the time - if the courts gave you shared care, ie over 104 nights per year, then you can ask the CSA to do a new assessment based on the shared care formula, until then it makes no difference
The matter is now in court as I have filed for the divorce too. Should they not wait until court’s decision? No, the child lives with the mother, and the mother has the right to seek child support from the father (or vice versa if that is the situation)
My job is at risk and 'might' be redundant any time. I asked CSA to not to contact my employer becasue its very sensitive but even then they have contacted my employer too. They have every right to do this - they can seek your details from your employer to verify what you gave was correct, or to trace you Due to my current situation I am piling more and more debts each month. The fear is that the CSA's action might casue loosing my job and built further layers of debts so that neither I will be able to help my children nor myself.

I can't see how the CSA doing any deduction of earnings itself would cause you to lose your job - it happens all the time!

You need to seek legal advice about your financial situation and the house. Good luck.

EIGHTOF8

Hi all.
I to have had much dealings with these idiots. But no going into it. Just thought I would post alternative phone numbers so you dont have to use 0845 numbers.
I got this from http://www.saynoto0870.com/companysearch.php

Child Support Agency (CSA) 0845 713 3133 0151 243 1901 National Helpline General enquiries
Fax: 0151 2431906
Child Support Agency (CSA) 0845 713 1000 01384 488488 Dudley switchboard; also 01384 480188
Child Support Agency (CSA) 0845 713 7000 01752 726000 Plymouth switchboard; also 01752 695111
Child Support Agency (CSA) 0845 609 0082 0151 649 0861 Birkenhead
Child Support Agency (CSA) 0845 713 2000 028 9043 8596 Belfast
Child Support Agency (CSA) 0845 713 6000 01324 625758 Falkirk
Child Support Agency (CSA) 0845 713 4000 01424 465095 Hastings
Hope these numbers will help save on cost.