Update, where do I go now?

michelefauk

Just to update my case, following on from me informing the CSA of my ex's whereabouts and new employer in May 08, and stressing to them the urgency in getting hold of his employers QUICKLY as it would only be a matter of time before he moved on, the CSA have only just this week received his income figures from the employer. (Criminal Compliance are involved due to the company and him not supplying the information). They now say they will have to calculate the Maintanence Assessment (he is currently assessed as £0 as they didnt know where he was working previously, despite me telling them!) which may take another 6-8 weeks, then they will attempt to put a DEO in place. In the meantime, what a surprise, he has left this employer at the beginning of this month!

a) Is 8 months an unrealistic time for the CSA to wait for these figures? I seem to think so, but they dont, said they have threatened the company with fines etc, I did tell the CSA on several occasions that the employers (NRP's friend) would stall as long as they could as the NRP wouldnt be working there very long because it was a temporary contract.

b) Now he has changed jobs again, will the CSA still bother to calculate the payments which should have been made during the past 8 months, and just add them to the arrears (currently pushing £40k) or will they just be forgotten about? I am so annoyed that a DEO could have been set up if the CSA had pulled their fingers out, could they not have made a penalty assessment when the info wasnt forthcoming from the employer or NRP about his income? Or do they give them chance after chance first?

c) Is there any point in telling the CSA his new employers and home address (I know this info) or will it take them another 8 months to contact them and by then he would have left again? I kind of feel that I do all the legwork, give the CSA all the information they need, then they do NOTHING with it until it is too late.

d) On another note, the CSA inform me that they are hoping to get a court date for early March for a committal order, what happens if he just ignores this too? No doubt he will. Will he be arrested?

I have written to my MP again about all of this, but have been told she is away so will reply on her return.
You would think after 15 and 1/2 years of him avoiding the CSA they would be down on him like a ton of bricks , but they seem to give him endless chances and I am sure he is laughing at them.

kelloggs36

They will add the arrears on! You must tell them his new employers' details - and put in yet another complaint about the length of time this has taken. In my view, 8 months is excessive when they have had the details - they should have acted much quicker.

You are right to get your MP involved here - you need to list every single error and delay they have made and make a formal complaint - then take it to ICE and then if they still don't put it right, to the Parliamentary Ombudsman via your MP.

kelloggs36

oh and if he ignores the committal order, yes there will be a warrant out for his arrest!

michelefauk

Thanks for that, exactly what I intend to do.

The CSA sometimes make me think I am unreasonable in expecting them to do anything quickly, 8 months to me is not an unreasonable length of time to get some information. Especially as there was no doubt that he worked there as they rang the company in July and he himself answered the phone! Should they have done a penalty assessment while waiting for the correct info? Even if they had assumed he was working for the minimum wage, at least it would have given them a figure to work with, and possibly get a DEO in place.

And I have heard nothing back from my complaint about the manager at Plymouth who told me I could have 10 minutes of his time and no longer, as he had to pick his girlfriend up! Will be taking that up with my MP too.

Thanks for the help as usual x

kelloggs36

I think DMDs are only for self employed people as others have no reason not to be able to provide the info. They should have got the info much quicker it's as simple as that! Wait 14 days, send reminder then send in the compliance team to visit at least with in 2 months. If nothing then action should have been taken against the employer to force them to provide the info. What was the assessment before this one?

michelefauk

Hi

I think someone did visit the employer in December, then had to visit again to the Head Office, now they have finally received the info, although it is too late to do anything with it as he has left.
The assessment has been zero for a couple of years I think, due to the CSA not being able to have a confident employer for him. Before this job that he has just left, he was working for the same company but the local branch, I gave the CSA all the details but the CSA were unable to confirm that he worked there. He also gave an incorrect address to the CSA at one stage which delayed things (he was claiming he was living with a friend when he was really living with a girlfriend who didnt want to jeopardise all her benefits as a "single parent" even though during that time she had had his baby!)

Prior to that, the last assessment £65 a week for the 2 children, I seem to remember, not that I have ever seen any of it!

I could write a book, couldnt I!

michelefauk

Just had the new assessment, says NRP should be paying £ 87.34 a week and should have done since 8th February 2008, which makes another £4500 plus that he should have paid but hasnt. Will be fighting for the CSA to pay me at least some of that as due to their inaction and incompetance again they have missed another chance to collect some of the money from my ex, they have known his wherabouts including employer, the whole time.
Arrears now stand at £35,450. Unbelievable.

samjackjord

I thought my ex was bad. I have had similar problems having to tell them where he is all the time etc. The scum bag lives with his girlfriend and new son although she claims as a single parent. What a joke... Why do they have to be such pigs, it is the children who suffer in all of this.
My ex is self employed but does not pay tax. He has stated to the csa he earns £150 p/w but yet the tax office have no knowledge of him. The csa told me they would contact the tax office and advise of this and check his tax returns but low and behold nothing. The scum bag wouldnt know a tax return if it bit him on his bone idle backside.
I am just glad I dont rely on the money, as it will be a nice sum when my son is older and for all I care he can burn it, pi## it up the wall, as long as he enjoys himself.

michelefauk

Hi
My children (15 and 17, we split when I was expecting our 2nd) have never seen a penny in payments from their father either. I dont know how he sleeps at night to be honest,owing that kind of money I would be in such a state. But he just sails on through life without a care in the world, avoiding everything and everyone he doesnt want to deal with. He owes money to everyone so i would imagine the CSA are the least of his worries!

What really gets me is that the CSA have the info and the powers to do something about it, they could have put a deduction of earnings order in place months ago and at least some payments would have been collected before he left his job again. I know what will happen now...the CSA will write to his new employer, give them 6 months to reply, by then he will have left the company and the CSA will say Oh well, there's another £4000 added to the arrears that he owes, can you tell us his new employer? And off we go again, absolutely pointless.
Goood luck with your case anyway, hope you get somewhere x

kelloggs36

Oh and I would be asking the CSA to consider prosecuting him for failing to provide the info if he was on a DEO.

michelefauk

another update while wating for my MP to come back to me, I have received another letter from CSA telling me payments will start being made to me from next week along with some payments towards the arrears. Phoned to check how they would be collecting the payment s and sending them to me, lo and behold, they have got it wrong! There are no payments to send to me! As the NRP has now moved jobs again, the assessment I just received is now out of date and they will now be contacting the ex again for his new details. I asked how long it would take as the previous one took 11 months, and guess what the CSA dont know.

I also asked at what stage they would put an interim maintenence assessment in place, as it says in their literature if the Non Resident Parent does not supply the information required, then an interim assessment will be made. Was told this very rarely happens, and only in last resorts. So what would warrant a last resort then? Surely the fact that in my case, the NRP and his employer refused to supply the information for 11 months, is that not a clear time to implement their procedures and make in interim maintanence assessment? Obviously not, according to the 12 yr old I spoke to at the CSA, she didnt know that kind of information, only a manager could make such a decision. back to square one, they will write to NRP and then if he doesnt reply they will try to trace his employers, even though they already have his employers details. In the meantime the arrears are clocking up, and just being added to the rest of the amount he owes. And they have made a schedule for the arrears to be collected at £17.12 a week if and when they ever get any payments, this would take 21 years to be paid off, by which time my children will be 38 and 36!

Grrr... I have chased my MP again today (she was on telly last night in our area getting out of a posh car, no wonder she hasnt got time to answer my letters!)