13 month appeal time limit

Ambera_2

Hi Folks;

I recently complained to the CSA about the handling of my entire case history and an incorrect account breakdown I received in January 2009. Also about 5 assessments for July/Aug/Sept 2008 which are way out of order. As CSA never communicated properly with me, they just sent stuff to my employer I couldn't accurately assess their awards until I complained in Dec 08 after being harrangued for alleged arrears.

To cut a v long story short, they responded to my complaint by saying that some matters were over 13 months old and could not be appealed against even if wrong. They sent it to tribunal, who without contacting me agreed with them. I'm told I can appeal but they've handpicked numerous dates out of my letter and said I can't query those at all.

I contested stuff, even sent them copies of letters I had already sent them where I complained in 2006/2007 and they've dismissed my 20page complaint and narrowed out a few choice dates and claimed I'm out of time. They never sent any previous complaints to appeal.

What redress is there here? I cant seem to get my message across. An example was I had an award in 2006 where ex wife breached court order and denied access to kids. As a result my shared care threshold was below the 52 days for a year for a 4-5 week period. I went back to court as soon as court allowed and she was summoned to attend and ordered to comply. She did for a while and my shared care was 65days a year for a further 15 months until she disappeared off the radar. Csa agreed with me at this time.

In time she appealed against csa award of shared care and after 12 months she won for the 4-5 week period. However I had shared care the rest of the time after this 4-5 week period. I won 2 of her appeals during that year that I had shared care, but now the csa have backdated my entire award until 2005 and omitted the shared care totally, claiming it was ordered by tribunal. I had shared care and proved it continually for all but 4-5 weeks of a 3 year period, yet I get this crap situation.

They started this backdated claim 12.5 months ago by writing to my former employer, so I am indeed within 13 months of appeal.

What can I do as I faced with LO (had 1 stay when it was dismissed) and i simply do not owe what they say, have proven it with court orders and correspondence but...

ta

CMAC_2

When the commission (then CSA) do a calculation/assessemnt you have 30 days to challange it, but only the information it contains for that effective date, this is called a revision ie the assessement has the wrong housing costs. At this point you would send the new housing costs again for the effective date and they should change it. If they dont they issue you with a notification to refuse to review. you then have 13 months max to take this to Appeal.

If you have asked for a revision and they have still not carried out the change or issued you with the refusel to review then you can appeal still as not time limit is applied to a revision.

The common problem is if you recieve your assessment on 10/08/09 and the housing costs are say £100 per week at the effective date of 10 01 09 which at the time were correct but are now £150.00 you need to ask for a Supersession. this has no appeal right at this point as the new calculation needs to be done and the whole revision thing starts again.

So what you have is a person who has an assessment which was right at the effective date but could be wrong now and they asking the csa to appeal which they cant in law and as such the 13 months pass nothing has been changed, it goes to appeal as a late application and the appeals try there best by pulling out the dates and circumstance that can be changed.

hope this makes sence

Ambera_2

CMAC wrote: »

If you have asked for a revision and they have still not carried out the change or issued you with the refusel to review then you can appeal still as not time limit is applied to a revision.

The common problem is if you recieve your assessment on 10/08/09 and the housing costs are say £100 per week at the effective date of 10 01 09 which at the time were correct but are now £150.00 you need to ask for a Supersession. this has no appeal right at this point as the new calculation needs to be done and the whole revision thing starts again.

So what you have is a person who has an assessment which was right at the effective date but could be wrong now and they asking the csa to appeal which they cant in law and as such the 13 months pass nothing has been changed, it goes to appeal as a late application and the appeals try there best by pulling out the dates and circumstance that can be changed.

hope this makes sence

Thanks, I think I'm making sense of it.

Ok so in my case for one of the issues there was a tribunal ruling in favour of PWC. I told tribunal it was only effective if they ruled in her favour for 5 weeks. CSA took 18 months after tribunal to actually tell me the result, even though tribunal ruled against me, but when they did so, they applied it incorrectly to the entire timeframe, plus backdated it one year and applied it to non applicable assessments in 2007 where I had shared care, rather than 5 weeks. I challenged it and over a period of months it went to and fro via phone, until in Jan 09 the account breakdown and assessment breakdown was finally sent to me. It was here i could work out what they did was wrong.

I had told them in 2 letters in 2006 that the ruling was only applicable for the timespan that access was denied when she failed to turn up at court. They agreed at the time and ruled in my favour (proved 65 days etc etc), but without warning and thought they've applied this tribunal ruling for in effect 3 years, rather than 5 weeks.

So in this regard i can state I tried to get it revised but it was never revised and therefore not subject to the time restrictions?

Ta

CMAC_2

No this is a different thing. It Tribunal make a decision which is right in law but the CSA have applied it wrongly you need to apply to the Tribunal under the Liberty to Apply rule ( ie you are not asking the Tribunal to change its decision you just want them to explain in more detail how they are to apply the decision.

Ambera_2

CMAC wrote: »

No this is a different thing. It Tribunal make a decision which is right in law but the CSA have applied it wrongly you need to apply to the Tribunal under the Liberty to Apply rule ( ie you are not asking the Tribunal to change its decision you just want them to explain in more detail how they are to apply the decision.

Thanks for this. I've been away a few days but I've now written my letter and asked them to rule on timeframes. Hopefully they will sort it. Is there any redress after tribunal by the way?

ta