Child Maintenance (CSA) questions (merged)

peggy75_2

Thanks Kevin. Seems odd that we are a couple willing to pay and have been for years through a mutual agreement. Seems like we need a mediator, not the CSA. To me, the CSA sound like they will be years of stress....

kevin137

peggy75 wrote: »

Thanks Kevin. Seems odd that we are a couple willing to pay and have been for years through a mutual agreement. Seems like we need a mediator, not the CSA. To me, the CSA sound like they will be years of stress....

You have to remember you are NOT a couple paying CSA, you have no obligation for the debts of the NRP. Although in reality in a relationship debts are joint, but that is not true of the CSA.

I am not sure what other options you really have, if they want to go the CSA route, then who are you to argue, but you have to "play the game" they are a useless bunch of people on the whole, but there are a few that are really good.

If you choose to go the route of self employed there are many ways to reduce your payments, legally, so while people may see you as doing the wrong thing, think first, it is what the law says so you are doing nothing wrong.

Just like a PWC can ask for a reassessment because the NRP is working its of overtime to get more you end up paying more money even when the overtime is not there because of it. And you can only ask for a reassessment if your circumstances change beyond a certain % so it is double standards.

I would seriously consider the self employed route if it means more stability, more control over finances and a happier work life. And the CSA and the EX will just have to live with that.

peggy75_2

Thanks again : )

I started up my own successful company in October last year and since then it has been our dream to expand that and go into business together - we work in sales and marketing so they go hand in hand. I think we will go for it at some point this year - even though it will create waves, we have been meaning to go for it all along anyway.

We have never wanted the kids to miss out and they never will but being in a partnership that has paid for years and is now being penalised by the mother following my partner's redundancy just doesn't sit right with me. There are so many non paying and non visiting Dads out there and we've always done what we have been asked to do!

I'd even like to try and bring the families together and try and make amends so it's easier all round. I tried this by email but I got an unpleasant reply! I think that with the CSA involved this will never be possible - thoughts?

iwilldebtfree

PreludeForTimeFeelers wrote: »

Don't give up.

Callbacks are meant to be actioned within 24 hrs now, too.

Thanks for the motivation but after 10 years and countless discussions with the CSA he ain't going to contribute and has no interest in his children...just taken me that long to accept it (I realised years ago!).

Onwards and upwards

Fedup123_2

I'm really worked up at the moment because of this set of incompetent idiots! My husband recieved a letter from the CSA today after a reassessment of his finances. He has paid £40 a month for the last 5 years for his 2 children, this was the amount the CSA told him to pay at the original assessment. My husband was never married to his partner and has fought her in court for the last 3-4 years to be able to see his daughters. We only met just over 2 years ago and got married last year, And I love his daughters to bits and they love me too :j. I am disabled but my benefits cannot be taken into account because Im on contribution based (I worked 32 years fulltime before I could no longer work). They put his payments up to £45 a week and was being backed dated to December last year, he rang them to find out why the arrears. My husband explained he would pay the new amount but as he only comes home with £800 a month it woud be impossible to find a £1000,00 plus. He was then imformed that even though he had paid what he was told he actually owed £7,500.00 in arrears!!! And they are going to take £267 a month now which there is no way on this earth we can afford and this is down to very bad work practices of the CSA and not my husbands fault, he would have paid the correct amount if he had been told it 5 years ago. Im just wondering if anyone could help please, surely they cant demand he pays for their incompetence????. They actually told him it was his employers fault, how the hell they worked that one out I dont know. I really dont know if we can afford to stay together anymore and its heartbreaking. His ex actually had me investigated by the police and social services 3 weeks after we got married because she and her mother forced my stepdaughters to say I had assaulted them with my walking stick!!!!!!!. Thankfully the police and social services realised it was a pack of lies as the girls stories kept changing. I have a fantastic relationship with them
Fedup123

Dal_Whinnie

This may have been asked on here before, if so apologies but I am getting conflicting advice as to whether the circumstances of the parent in receipt of CSA payments affects the payments the NRP pays. For example, if the recipient gets remarried, etc, does this affect the amount the NRP pays?

kevin137

It makes no difference on EITHER side...!!!

The NRP has a liability to the PWC for a straight percentage of his income, and the only things that change that are, tax and or child credits... And the amount of children in his household...!!!

Everything else is irrelevant...

FBaby

And they are going to take £267 a month now which there is no way on this earth we can afford and this is down to very bad work practices of the CSA and not my husbands fault, he would have paid the correct amount if he had been told it 5 years ago

Fedup, I can understand the shock of the news, but I'm sorry I find it hard to sympathise for your husband. Anyone concerned by the csa can find out by just a click on google that what is expected to be paid is 20% of your net salary for 2 children. So how did not consider for a second that at £40 a month, he was clearly not paying his due (an amount which frankly is an insult to the children). Did he really need to wait for the csa to tell him that £40 was not accurate and that he needed to pay more? Or is it maybe a case of thinking that he was getting away with it and pleased not to have to give more to the ex he hates not considering the impact it had on his girls?

It's easy to put all the blame on the csa, but ultimately, it was and is HIS responsibility to provide what he should be providing for his children.

Mr.Whitey

FBaby wrote: »

Fedup, I can understand the shock of the news, but I'm sorry I find it hard to sympathise for your husband. Anyone concerned by the csa can find out by just a click on google that what is expected to be paid is 20% of your net salary for 2 children. So how did not consider for a second that at £40 a month, he was clearly not paying his due (an amount which frankly is an insult to the children). Did he really need to wait for the csa to tell him that £40 was not accurate and that he needed to pay more? Or is it maybe a case of thinking that he was getting away with it and pleased not to have to give more to the ex he hates not considering the impact it had on his girls?

It's easy to put all the blame on the csa, but ultimately, it was and is HIS responsibility to provide what he should be providing for his children.

According to the CSA, the responsibility of the NRP is to pay what is asked of him/her by the CSA, even to the extent that extras like birthday presents and Christmas presents for the children are included in the CSA payments! (Crazy, I know, but that's what the CSA will tell an NRP who tells them that their payments are so high that they will not be able to afford such things for their children)

Here the NRP payed what was asked of him by the CSA, so yes, it is easy to put all the blame on the CSA, because the financial hardship that these people now find themselves in is down to their errors, it's as simple as that.

FBaby

If there were arrears built up, then no clearly the csa were expecting him to pay more. We are not talking about £100s, but over £7,500. Clearly a reassessment was carried out at some stage and contact has been ignored. Even if it is a case of the csa trully never being in touch with him (doubtful), he should have know that with his new salary, he should have been paying more. Considering how little he was paying in the first place, surely he should have contacted csa to inform them that his salary had increased and paid a more reasonable amount of maintenance towards his children that he was able to afford.