HELP!!! CSA complaints to MP's

leo110303

Hi. I am currently in a sticky situation with CSA. They have implemented a deduction of order to my wages of £72 per week for some arrears during the times of Oct '07 to Jan '09 (£4850, when in actuall fact the most arrears I owe for that period is £2000),they are doing this on top of my current maintenance of £61 per week. that means I shall have to pay £532 per month to CSA...
I dont mind at all paying for the upkeep of my son BUT I know the arrears are wrongly callculated on there side, I have provided them evidence and they sent me a letter in March saying I now do not owe any arrears due to the evidence Ive provided, now they have re-sent a letter this month stating I owe £4850 in arrears and an attachement of order will be in place (of which is now).. I have explained that I am willing to cooperate with them but realistically can only afford so much extra a month, but they wont have it and are willing to let me burn in hell and lose everything, eventually this will lead into my son not receiving anything in the long run (which is not what I want)
My reason for this thread is I would like to contact my local MP for their assistance, but I do not know the first step of what to say, or how to start it, is there a letter template that perhaps I could use???? I am looking to pay back what Is owed in arrears but not to the amount of an extra £72 per week because I simply cant afford it..
Any advice will be appreciated

Thanking you in advance

Leo:mad:

frugallass

Hi Leo

you need to make an appointment to see your MP at their local surgery - face to face is much better than a letter, you don't have to give a long explanation when you make the appointment

then sit down and type up a timeline of events to take with you - take copies of all your documents / CSA letters for your MP to take away

then write down a list of what your concerns are and what your aims and objectives are

there have been mixed experiences with MPs, some better than others - but in my experience, as soon as my MP was copied into my correspondence the CSA got off their lazy fat @r5es and actually did some work

PlayingHardball

Hiya,
I've had the same experience as frugalass, once the MP was involved, suddenly the CSA had to admit 'they may not have chosen the best option available to them' regarding their actions taken in my case.

I simply wrote a letter to my MP (googled who they were for my area) sent it to his parlimentary address in London, and then he wrote to the chief executive of the CSA.

It is that simple. Hope it all works out for you.

frugallass

I would highly recommend a face-to-face meeting though - they don't bite haha - me and my MP are now on first name terms and email each other regularly with updates

leo110303

frugallass wrote: »

I would highly recommend a face-to-face meeting though - they don't bite haha - me and my MP are now on first name terms and email each other regularly with updates

Hi, ok, ive sent an email to my MP yesterday (the local surgery is not till mid sept time), do you know roughly how long it will take before I can here back from them... (im guessing the answer to that is 'how longs a piece of string') :rotfl:

Thanks

frugallass

your assumption was right - it depends on the efficiency of the MP's office - mine have been great but I know not everyone has had a positive experience.

They may possibly acknowledge your email and suggest you ring to make an appointment at the surgery but at least your email will be read by your MP before the meeting so he/she will have had a chance to become familiar with your situation - they might even get in touch with the CSA before the meeting (which is what my MP did), just to set the wheels in motion.

PlayingHardball

Hi, my letter to my MP was sent 2 weeks before I got a reply. A week after his reply, I got a call from dispute department at CSA and was given an individual who would deal with my situation from then on. Good luck. My MP has been great, and I think I'll take Frugals advice and meet him, especially now as I've had another really big setback with regards to trying to get maintenance from ex (long story, but another gov department has royally messed up) again!

butlinsmum

We involved our local MP with my partner's CSA assessment in a similar situation to yours leo110303 and they have agreed he has over paid £1000s but have still not stopped the incorrect attachment of earnings. 13 months on they are still trying to sort it out despite weekly phone calls & regular letters from my partner & his MP so don't expect a swift resolution!

butlinsmum x

leo110303

MP's are on the case, I received a call direct from my MP, and his PA has already contacted CSA to look into situation..
I shall keep you all updated