Would like to sound advice please

hotrocks68

Hi to everyone.

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who can help me with some useful information.

Nearly 13 years ago my wife and i seperated(we are now divorced),and we both moved to different cities and had no contact.
We had no idea where eachother was.
I was working,but seemingly was not persued by the csa.
After a few years i telephoned the then csa,informed them that i am willing to pay maintenance for my child.I was told that they would write to my ex(they would obviously not tell me where she was),and then she would have 14 days to reply if she wanted to make a claim.
I never hear nothing.
And have heard nothing to this day.
However my ex was recently spotted in my town,and a mutual friend said she has split from her husband.I got thinking that if she is now single,perhaps struggling she will try to get maintenance from me.
This i am happy to do.
But considering i made an attempt years ago...............my question is,would i be liable for 13 years of arrears?
In addition,what about savings and investments,can they be taken form me so should i retrieve the money just in case?

Please advise if you can

marshmallows

I would call the csa to see if there is a case open with your details e.g. name, ni number

chances are she didnt reply to them when they contacted her regarding your phone call, but you never know

hotrocks68

marshmallows wrote: »

I would call the csa to see if there is a case open with your details e.g. name, ni number

Thankyou marshmallows,
However there was never a case against me,i was never persued.
As i say several years later i contacted the csa myself and offered to pay,they wrote to her,she obviously did'nt wish to have any financial assistance and therefore the csa never got back to me.
Even today,there is no request from me.
I was however asking if she NOW decided to claim support(which i am happy to pay),considering you refused assistance years ago..............would i be asked for 13 years of arrears?
Only it would surely be unfair as had she accepted my offer to pay years ago............there would not be 13 years of arrears.
Which consequently i could not afford to pay,which was why i wondered if the csa would take without my knowledge or permission,any savings such as isas.

Donedoingdebt

If she attempted to contact the CSA now, then your liability would begin from the date in which you are first contacted, asking for your details & therefore, no arrears should be payable.
Please don't dismiss what marshmallows is saying though, because things are rarely black & white with the CSA.
There could indeed be a case still running, dating back to when you first contacted them unless you have written evidence from the CSA at that time that they were not taking any action & that the case was now closed. What bothers me is that you say you heard nothing more from the CSA.
If this is the case, you may have some problems waiting in store for you.
Sorry to be the bearer of possible bad news!

blimey40

sorry to be a bearer of bad news, but the above is correct.

it all depends on when original contact was made. They can only go back to July 2000, but it could lead to a serious amount of arrears if you are unaware conatct was made earlier than you believe.

For example, CSA didn;t write to me for 12 years.

hotrocks68

I am grateful for all the replies recieved to date.
Perhaps i sound dim but...........when i contacted the csa,they told me if my ex wished to claim they would let me know.Having my name,address blah blah,i coulld only presume they would have contacted me.
If there was a claim.........i was there to be contacted.
Amazing to think that they would not bother.

So if i may assume my ex never wanted to claim,IF she decided to now after 13 years i would,by what i've read only be liable to pay from the point she made the claim.

However,if for some ridiculous reason they did not contact me and that there is a case against me for arrears.........have they the power to take from me and savings i have in bonds and isa's?

Sorry for this................i am confused and perhaps i'm confusing everyone.

SuziQ

They can't take away your bonds and ISAs in any case-they don't confiscate things like that! They work it out on income ie 15% of net.

If they tried to say they had been trying to get hold of you all these years then if you've been at the same address and you never recieved that's hardly your fault. If they say you have arrears then you would need to ask them where they sent the letters,when etc.

I think you are jumping the gun though, as you have no reason to think you have arrears. Not everyone wants maintenance from their ex,and she can't change her mind about what's gone and demand you now give her 13 years worth!

The only way you will know is to take a huge big breath and phone them. If I was you I would much rather know-and if there is no case open you can stop worrying yourself to death!
Don't you have any contact with your child? Sorry if thats a raw question and ignore if so.

hotrocks68

Ok thankyou for the advice.
I took a deep breath and phoned the csa.

They said there was a case against me but it is closed.
They said to ring another number(child helpline?/dont remember),but anyway i called them and they said they have nothing for me on the new system except my name and national insurance number.But to check the old system(which was my first call).

I can now(i hope)presume there is no case against me?

And if my ex wanted to raise one after 13 years there would be no arrears and the monies would commence from the day she decides to claim?

Sorry for this,its just such a worry.

hotrocks68

Any final thoughts please?

blimey40

closed?

If thats what they are saying then I presume you are in the clear.

I was under the strong belief they could not "close" a case.

Donedoingdebt

hotrocks68 wrote: »

And if my ex wanted to raise one after 13 years there would be no arrears and the monies would commence from the day she decides to claim?

If your ex wanted to start a new case now, then assuming there is no other open case, your liability would start from the date when they first contact you & any arrears would begin from that date.