CSA problems

Rebe

My OH was made bankrupt mid April, the CSA have contacted him saying he's in arrears (even though he never missed a payment) he was reassessed and they've uped the amount he pays weekly, I'm not at work and as OH cant pay arrears right now as all his wages cover living costs, the CSA have said they are going to make an attachment to his earnings and deduct 40% to cover the arrears - we can't afford this its ridiculous, his wages only just cover living costs each month, he's thinking of giving up work because of it, can they do this and is there anything we/he can do or else they're going to have us out of a home
Any help/suggestions/advice much appreciated.

brians_daughter

if he hasnt missed a payment you need to find out where the arrears have come from.. by my reckoning if you have never missed a payment and have been paying what you have been instructed to pay then you cannot have arrears.

Unfortunaltely the CSA can take 40% of income to cover arrears etc. If teh PWC isnt on benefits etc you could maybe negotiate with CSA to the % taken?? worth a try? But i think it is more or less cast in stone

If he gave up work he wouldnt get benefits for 26 weeks and the PWC could request what i believe to be called a 'deprivation order' to be placed on the account ie NRP gave up work directly due to csa, if they were sucessful in this your oh would have no benefits for 26 weeks BUT would still be liable for the same weekly payment as he is now ie if he pays £30pw now even if he gave up work and got no benefits he would still be liable for £30 pw!

I am no expert on these matters, i am a PWC myself, but i have learnt a lot from these boards. I am sure someone far more experienced than me will be along to correct me if i am wrong in anything i have typed!

Rebe

Thanks for your reply. He never missed a payment so yesterday requested a breakdown of how they came to the arrears, over the phone, she told my OH that he wasnt reassessed at the correct time, but we're getting it all in writing.
Its such a mess, he's tried numerous times to contact PWC to pay her directly but she isn't budging.
PWC is on benefits - would this make a difference?
Thank you again.

brians_daughter

if PWC is on benefits then the money is effectively owed to the state..and they will want it back asap the PWC will only get a set amount of the money he is paying. It is a terrible system that fails both PWC and NRP nad it is very frustrating. I would await the letter and then look at the options. I am sure someone here will be able to assist with the 'not being assessed at the right time' issue. The PWC will only get a set amount of the money your oh pays and in essence the rest will go to the state for her upkeep and towards benefits

Zara33

If the CSA amount is higher than the benefit level the PWC will be taken off benefit and given the whole amount. If the CSA amount is less than the benefit rate the PWC gets to keep £20 per week of the CSA amount.

blimey40

If NRP falls into a arrears catergory and the CSA have paid the PWC benefits, does the PWC further down the line get the money she should have been paid, whilst she was on benefits.

Lets say a Penalty Assessment is correct of £100?? This figure should over-ride the PWC's benefit, does she get it a later date? Or do the CSA take it all?

just wondered

CMAC_2

If the PWC is on benefits all she gets is the first £20.00. As at 28 Oct 2008 she can close the case and come to a private agreement ie £20.00 dirct and say help with shoes and a little pocket money for the kids ( if you know what I mean Wink Wink) that make sence to everyone concerned even the tax payer who nolonger needs to pay admin costs of the case

Rebe

It makes perfect sense to do that. But she's (PWC) quite an awkward person and doesn't like helping people, we've tried contacting her to pay her directly but she doesn't budge. We've left it a while and now this has arrisen, want to approach her again, but don't know how to, its just all so disheartening.
Thanks though

pd001

brians_daughter wrote: »

if he hasnt missed a payment you need to find out where the arrears have come from.. by my reckoning if you have never missed a payment and have been paying what you have been instructed to pay then you cannot have arrears.
Very true!

Unfortunaltely the CSA can take 40% of income to cover arrears etc. If teh PWC isnt on benefits etc you could maybe negotiate with CSA to the % taken?? worth a try? But i think it is more or less cast in stone
Again very true!
If there are arrears on a case they are allowed to take up a maximum of 40% of net (take home) pay. They don't care about the consequences.

If he gave up work he wouldnt get benefits for 26 weeks and the PWC could request what i believe to be called a 'deprivation order' to be placed on the account ie NRP gave up work directly due to csa, if they were sucessful in this your oh would have no benefits for 26 weeks BUT would still be liable for the same weekly payment as he is now ie if he pays £30pw now even if he gave up work and got no benefits he would still be liable for £30 pw!
Totally agree, yet again.
However in this economic climate, isn't there is a strong possibility that his job may not be safe?
In my opinion, for what it's worth, no ones job is 100% safe at the moment. Redundancy is looking many of us straight in the eyes.

pd001

CMAC wrote: »

If the PWC is on benefits all she gets is the first £20.00. As at 28 Oct 2008 she can close the case and come to a private agreement ie £20.00 dirct and say help with shoes and a little pocket money for the kids ( if you know what I mean Wink Wink) that make sence to everyone concerned even the tax payer who nolonger needs to pay admin costs of the case

I am unsure as to the legality of that

Rebe

Thank you for that his jobs isn't safe anyway, they've already laid off several people and its possible he could be next, so his thinking is that he might as well be laid off and start claiming benefits? Is that selfish, and the best thing to do? its just that we cant afford to have 40% of his wages taken away