Arrears - What Chance of Repayment?

kinkine

Hi, thanks for reading this. My ex has managed to run up arrears in excess of £15,000. I put in a complaint to the CSA and the case is now at enforcement. Reading on the forums it seems that even if the case goes to court he can then agree a lower level of payment and the CSA has to accept it if the court agrees. Is this right and does that mean that the arrears just keep on accruing? At the moment he is not even paying the full amount of regular maintenance (through a DOE), never mind towards the arrears so this situation seems to be never ending. He has chucked his job once already with the stated intention of not paying maintenance, so what chance of getting the arrears back? He does not have a car, rents his house etc so there is nothing for the bailiffs to take and what point is there in taking his driving licence away so that he cannot work? Any thoughts?

koolmummy

The courts can agree a lower level of payment for the arrears, not the actual assessment in place.

If you case is with enforcement, they will be working towards getting a liability order for the arrears. This is a court order, a kind of legal recognition that the debt exists.
Some times NRP's pay at this stage. I would keep on top of the CSA, call them for an update every 2 weeks, better still write to them to ask for one, if you keep on top of them, they will keep the ball rolling.

After this then the next stage of action will be considered i.e bailiffs (they have to do this part to continue the action), committal, removal of driving license etc.

Is he paying via a DOE at the moment? If he works as an employee, the CSA can locate where he is working via the tax office.

kinkine

Hi, thanks for replying so quickly. I do try and phone the CSA every month, but get fobbed off every time. I think I will try and write. He is paying via a DOE at the moment, but his work keeps sending (the same) lower amount. CSA just keeps saying that maybe he hasn't earned enough that month, but it seems strange that it is the same amount. I have just had to fill in a questionnaire about all I know about him (work, bank accounts, addresses, contact numbers etc) which came from enforcement so I presume they are building a case.

evie451

kin kine dont presume anything, i have found that the only thing that gets things done is to know yourself how their system works and tell them what they should be doing next....such a lot of it comes down to psychology anyway how far is too far for the sod that owes you money! i put it down in my diary what they said they were going to do and when the next stage is to happen then phone them and phone them and phone them!

kelloggs36

Actually, if the case has already been taken to court it will probably have been for a committal hearing - they don't go to court to get an agreement but this is what the courts do rather than grant a prison sentence straight away. Unless the NRP blatantly refuses to the courts to pay, the courts will state how much NRP has to pay; in my case with a debt of £16k (at the time!) he was ordered to pay £50 per week. Ongoing maintenance was not mentioned as the courts cannot over-rule the amount that is set to pay. If the NRP pays the amounts ordered by the courts and no maintenance, then the CSA will have to start the process again for the additional amount that racks up - an extremely long process!! If NRP fails to pay the amount set by the court then the CSA have to apply to the courts for a Show Cause hearing - basically proving that NRP has failed to pay and the courts have to ask the NRP why they haven't paid. If no reasonable reason given, then it will probably be a prison sentence. In my case, my ex had 2 court cases and had £25k of debt. He was taken to court as he had firstly failed to pay what the courts said on the first amount, and secondly for committal on the second amount - the courts dealt with the amounts together. He applied to remortgage his house and told the courts so - the courts gave him plenty of time to get it sorted - adjouring the case about 5 times for it to go through. On the final hearing, they lost their patience and told him that if the money was not paid by the next hearing, then that was it, prison. It was paid!!!

However, since then he has been summonsed back to court for the final £1900 he owes. He had an agreement with the CSA to pay £5 per week and never made a single payment. Bailiffs got an agreeement for £150 per month which he paid 3 times and then stopped, so it was returned so that the CSA could take committal action. He failed to attend court and now a warrant is out for his arrest. He will be arrested and bailed to attend on the next date, and if he fails to attend again, he will be arrested and no bail granted, so he won't be able to get away with it. In my opinion he is totally stupid - he clearly doesn't learn that the CSA mean business (eventually) and he has to pay. Yes, he gets away with not paying initially, but they have succeeded in making the most non-compliant NRP pay up (I never thought I would ever see the day when he gave in and actually paid!) For all of you who think I am a money grabber, I have every right to be. Had he been any kind of a father to our daughter, then I would have written off the last amount and even (years ago before CSA even got involved) offered for him to pay a small amount towards the upkeep, but he made it clear he wanted to forget he even had a daughter. I could have walked away but decided that he had a moral responsibilty to pay for her - children aren't cheap and it wasn't as though he had made it clear that he didn't want children or anything! Problem for him was that CSA charged him double what I had asked for - it has taken 10 years (so far) of fighting, but I am now winning and he has been forced to acknowledge his daughter albeit financially. Don't give up - it will happen eventually, but you do have to keep chasing and fighting on.

Blob

Just a few points, the money is owed to the kids no one else, so it is the kid's money!

If there is a DEO in place the company will send the amount that is left after the Protecte Earnings level is reached, so simply put that will be all there is. As it is the same amount every month this would make sence as his earnings are constant.

If it goes to Court then yes the Court can and will set the amount that he pays to arrears and it will be based on ability to pay, not some mythicla amount dreamed up by some muppet in the CSA! It sounds that he is just about wiped out by the CSA anyway, so you wont get money for the kids if it is not there!

In contacting the CSA do it by post and recorded delivery so they will have to signe for it, they then can't say they never got it!

kelloggs36

Wrong Blob, the money is not owed to the kids, but to the parent with care who is responsible for the kids' day to day expenses - the money is the PWC's.

Blob

So just why are the muppests that work for the CSA quoted inthe press and MPs quoted in Parlimet as saying that teh money is owed to teh Kids.

May be they are all lieing and you are correct, nice to be the only one that is right!!

kelloggs36

It is owed for the kids, not to them. I am absolutely correct in this - the money is owed for them but paid to the PWC to spend as they see fit. The CSA CANNOT make payments direct to any child, so the money is owed to the PWC.

kelloggs36

The CSA cannot force a PWC to spend the money on anything, so how can the money be owed to the kids?

Blob

Like I say MPs and the muppest are obviously wrong in what they say in public and you are correct by your own words!

The MPs only make the Law and the muppests then make up their own version after that.

Disiplin your haveing a laugh, because the simple fact is that most of the people that have worked on my case have been found by ICE and the Ombudsman to have failed to follw the Law, oh yes a Judge also found that they had failed. You will never guess what they all still work for the incompent CSA and have not had to answer internally at all. How do I know because I still get teh same letters from the same muppets. QED