CSA wants me to pay maintenance twice

Soubrette

HowdensGuy wrote: »

My MP has a different approach, he says the risk of a custodial sentence is very real for a number of reasons. The length of time she failed to declare income is criminal intent. The children spend more time with me but the CSA says night is day when calculating child support. I can raise my children without state help anyway plus, I would receive tax credits.

I do have to defend the day/night thing unless you can give a better way of calculation - it seems counterintuitive but a child can move between homes several time in the day but once settled for the night will rarely move - so it makes sense to use that rather than fractions of days or arguing who had the child for most days.

As usual some PWCs and NRPs play this system but I can't honestly think of a better one - although I'm always open to ideas

I applaud your morals in not wanting to report your ex for benefit fraud and have to say you're a better man than I would be in that situation. Your ex is prepared for you to either pay again or if you refuse to pay on principle then see you punished for non compliance.

I would like to see a system where if one person makes an accusation against another then there is proper investigation. In your case - you make the claim that you have paid and provide evidence of this - your ex claims you don't pay. Rather than just accepting this I would like to see the ex asked what the money was for - if for example she says it's for a loan - then she has to give some evidence of that loan and the payments she makes.

Sou

shell_542

The only problem I see with the day/night thing is a child can go to a parents house after dinner at night, sleep, get up in the morning and leave the house and that parent receives the support for them. Whereas they can stay at the other parents all day, from morning to evening and the costs associated with supporting them will be a lot more when you factor in food and bills etc yet that parent gets nothing towards them or nothing reduced off of their child support they might pay.

I appreciate it's a difficult thing to monitor though.

oldcarpetbagger

Did you know your ex was claiming benefits when you decided to pay her by private arrangement?

HowdensGuy

No, and she decided she wanted me to pay her.

She just asked for the money and I gave it to her.

HowdensGuy

kelloggs36 wrote: »

Unless you have concrete evidence that the money was for child support then the CSA wont be dealing with it with the ex and will pursue you as they will take her word that you didn't pay. If you won't make the allegation to Income Support then they won't investigate it and the subject will be dropped.

My company bookkeeper has been through the accounts with a toothpick and found more than £30K of payments to her private bank account and collated the BACS printouts. This is on top of about £5K in cash handouts which may be a lost cause but I can make a sworn affidavit stating roughly how much cash I have paid. Solicitor says the CSA cannot contradict an affidavit - any attempt to do so without any evidence to the contrary commits an offence (he mentioned some law).

The CSA said similar in that I have to start a fraud investigation, but this conflicts with the CAB, a solicitor and MP because I am not a police officer. The only fraud I am concerned with is the CSA cheating me of a lot of money which puts the business at risk. I may even have to make redundancies to pay the CSA's demands and then recover it later in a tribunal.

HowdensGuy

Soubrette wrote: »

I do have to defend the day/night thing unless you can give a better way of calculation.

Its not something being challenged but I found it rather odd.

HowdensGuy

Soubrette wrote: »

In your case - you make the claim that you have paid and provide evidence of this - your ex claims you don't pay.

k36 and the CSA both suggest money paid doesnt count as child support. MP, CAB and solicitor all say it does, the jury is out.

In k36 debate, its whether or not money paid is child support, this is not the grounds of my case. Ex has told the CSA (who have since have told me) I have not paid her anything and thats why the CSA say I owe arrears.

Dancing_Shoes

the problem is that the CSA are really a third party here and it is your ex who is in the wrong. If you are prepared to fight this all the way I fear you will probably have to report her for fraud. I can totally see your frustration though

HowdensGuy

The CSA is not a third party because they have telephoned me saying they are the DWP and its DWP who is paying benefits. The CSA could be committing fraud by false representation if they tried any criminal enquiry against me.

As far as being an informant, the CSA has said the same as you but thats not what I have a problem with. CSA regulations do not require child payers to become informants in criminal investigations. The CSA (or DWP as they call themselves) already knows she claims benefits so they are already aware.

If the CSA (or DWP as they pretend to be) feels ex is defrauding them, they need to deal with that among themselves.

The CSA says I owe arrears and I have evidence I paid direct. If the CSA interpret that as fraud then thats their prerogative, I didnt claim benefits or ask ex to claim benefits, it was her choice to walk out and avail herself to public money.

My MP is writing to the CSA and I'll be making a statement before a Notary Public next week which I understand the CSA cannot challenge unless they have evidence to the contrary (they have not disclosed any thus far). The CSA now has to prove the bank transactions did not take place or show evidence the BACS receipts are fake.

shell_542

Good luck with it! Keep us posted.