Liability Order Application, urgent help plz!

stressed_nrp

I've been issued with a LO application and court date is looming, however having finally received full details of their calculations and the amount I was due to pay each month it proves that I have clearly overpaid every month for several years (by approx 25 p.mth) this was agreed with them at the outset) - this was to pay off the arrears that I had been forced to accrue due to the length of time they took assessing the case initially.

I have never missed a payment since setting up the DD but the arrears have actually increased, also the statements do not show either the amount of arrears I supposedly owe, nor does it show any payment being filtered to pay off the arrears. I no longer work and therefore cannot contribute to paying for my child, however I am still paying towards the arrears, the same amount as agreed.

I have been getting threatening letters for some time and in my experience calling them is pointless as they never act on anything you say. Finally they sent the summons and I apparently owe just under 2k an they want it asap, no mention of the previous agreement - it's been swept aside apparently!

Anyhow my point is; at the time of going to court I will be 3 weeks from having a baby. I have no income and i'm fully supported by my partner. I have never missed payments. I had an agreement saying I could pay ... until arrears covered which seems to have been forgotten about. I have statments showing what I should have paid and on the same statement it shows what I have paid clearly outlining an overpayment each mth.

What are the chances of an order being granted? Will they bother to acknowledge that I am unemployed, heavily pg and still paying or will that be ignored?? Please help this stress not good for me or baby!

kelloggs36

The liability order will probably be granted, but it doesn't mean that they will act upon it once it has been granted. All it does is secure the debt in law so that if you don't honour the agreement, they can take enforcement action against you.

Have you got an up to date, nil assessment? That will mean that all money paid will go to offset the arrears. How much were you supposed to pay in normal regular maintenance without the arrears? How have the additional arrears built up?

CRANKY40

Have you had many different assessments on your case? If not, it shouldn't be hard to work out how much you should have paid, we can then add up the payments that you have made, and take them off to leave you with what is hopefully the correct arrears figure?

stressed_nrp

Thanks Kellogs & Cranky. In response to kellogs. I have not got an upto date nil assessment. Tthey won't even tell me when my liability began again i.e. when my child re-entered education (apparently it's against DP, despite that I have parental responsibility!!). I do know that when they sent me the application for a new assessment my child wasn't in education, but due to begin the following month. They know i'm not working (finally lost the plot and screamed it at them during a very reluctant telephone call), and I assume having no income means I cannot pay.

In response to how arrears built up, well I was assessed and told how much I was due to pay, this took 23 weeks in total, however it then took another 20 weeks for them to set this up on DD. I kept sending the forms and they apparently could not set up the DD so I finally arranged SO. I asked, when the assessment was first made, whether I could pay them via cheque so that arrears didn't accrue and was told that "they would probably lose the money in the system", but caseworker at the time advised not to worry they can arrange to pay over a period of time once my case was set up on their database. I was paying approximatley £250 p/mth and that is at least £25 over the amount I was due to pay (there was even a mth when I paid £250 above my usual payment - so some of this money should have gone to the arrears but it doesn't seem to have. Shockingly, despite never missing payments they have increased the arrears, but no one will advise why. Every single letter has been ignored, and only 1 person has responded advising there are "anomalies", but will not say what they are.

Cranky - I have got a breakdown of payments due per week i.e. £50 per week and I always paid £225 per mth - their statment shows my liability and also payment received every mth. When I was assessed again I continued on with this overpayment at the same rate, the statement shows 4 assessment have taken place in total.

Clearly there is something wrong but they are not listening to me! I have written to everyone there who has worked on my case and am currently in the throes of getting all my files from them but I am really worried they are going to get the LO and make me overpay when I don't owe it! I begrudge giving ex a penny as they've already told me any over payments will be difficult to claw back!!!:mad:

I feel bullied and angry at their letters and taking me to court and i'm not sure what to do since most posts advise courts go along with CSA requests. If I can prove i've never missed a payment will they still grant LO? Also if they get LO why would they not act on it? I think they will act on mine as they are writing very nasty letters telling me i've 7 days to pay!! Do you think they will take pity on heavily pg lady.

shell_542

I might be wrong but as the weekly amount was £50 and you were paying monthly, would it work out as £200 a month? There are never 4 weeks in a month. I thought they calculated the monthly payment by multiplying the weekly figure by 52 (weeks) to get a figure for the year and then divide by 12. That would make it approx £216 a month.

That stikk doesn't add up but just an idea for the possible discrepency in the amount.

I'm sorry I've no idea on all the rest.

stressed_nrp

I've no idea how it's calcuated, they never told me and i'd just assumed my calculation is right especially since they've never mentioned the arrears to me previously i.e. they agreed £25 and if that's how it is calculated why did they never say I wasn't paying the agreed amount until years down the line?? I have written to them but getting sense and any agreement/confirmation in writing is proving impossible. How did you find out about the calculation?? And presumably this means that I am approximately 1 mth behind every year??

shell_542

I read something on here about the payment. It makes sense though but I could be mistaken.

Hopefully someone will be along who can clarify it for me.

As for the other stuff about why the CSA don't do this and that, I have no idea, I'm really sorry. But I'm not surprised sadly I hope someone will appear to answer some of your questions.

stressed_nrp

Can I also ask; if I have no income - I don't since not employed and mum to toddler, can they assess me for a payment? I live entirely off my partner and his salary is not taken into account is it???

Also - I've now gone through the statement they've provided based on a 52 week calculation, rather than a monthly one, and even then it shows that I would owe £700 and not the 2k they want. Although again, they've only given me the amounts they expect me to pay and not the amount of income they've based this on (despite years of requesting this they ignore me!!).

I am totally unsure of what to do now, do I go to court and say I think they've got the figure wrong, will this make the judge refuse a LO or do I not bother to go because most posters advise that the judge will grant the LO despite what NRP says? Please help i'm desperate - going to court will be incredibly stressful, as is the build up in my "condition".

kelloggs36

You should get an up to date assessment which should be nil in your circumstances - although if you get child tax credits you may have to pay a flat rate of £5.

MIKEtheBIKE_2

I don't want to scare you, but it is built into the CSA law that the judge at the LO hearing is not allowed to question the CSA evidence.
I've been there and read all the info. Have a search for Farley v CSA online - it is a case that is well quoted in CSA circles.
Basically, Mr.Farley - a NRP - challenged the fact that his LO judge couldn't by law listen to his evidence in court. His judge was sympathetic with him and took the case all the way up to the house of Lords.

I advise you to contact NACSA - National Association for Child Support Action. They have very good CSA specialist advisers, and they deal with PWCs and NRPs. They do post on these forums from time to time with good advice.
[EMAIL="enquiries@nacsa.co.uk"]enquiries@nacsa.co.uk[/EMAIL] and they are cheaper than regular solicitors.

Good luck

stressed_nrp

kelloggs36 wrote: »

You should get an up to date assessment which should be nil in your circumstances - although if you get child tax credits you may have to pay a flat rate of £5.

I refuse to claim tax credits so any income that comes into our home is based purely on that my other gets. That way I am not beholden to anyone. The CSA have actually sent me a letter in 2008 confirming they know that I don't work, then they sent me a reassessment telling me I need to pay £29 p/wk maintenance topped up to £50 to cover arrears. I have questioned how they assessed that, but again nothing.

Do you think I should go to court, or do you think that I can challenge the amount after the LO has been issued, which seems to be an inevitability.

To Mike the Bike - I know the judge can't challenge the amount, but he does have a right to refuse a LO application if the NRP has cause to question the amount the CSA want doesn't he???