Anyone have anything positive to say about the CSA????

tax_credit_frustrations

I've only looked at a few threads on here about the CSA though they all seem really negative, does anyone have any positive experiences??

My circumstances are I have 2 children and up until recently have always sorted out the maintenance payments between us. I've had a few ups and downs but am understanding to their dad's circumstances and for example when one dad was starting up a business and had just had a baby with his new partner I understood things were a bit tight and we agreed a temp reduction of maintenance for 6 months before it went back to normal. In fairness I have never asked for the inflation rate to increase the amount each year as I feel what he pays is fair and contributes to the unbringing of his child.

My other childs dad i unfortunately don't have as easy a relationship with, though again we had a mutually agreed amount which he has paid for the past year and a half which is substantually lower than I receive from my other childs father, but was agreed based on income and affordability. I was aware of him changing jobs to a higher income though making no offer of increasing the low maintenance payment. However a few months back he gave me 2 days notice of not making a months payment due to being made redundant. I understand that is hard but he must have received a little more notice himself and could possibly explained to me and made a reduced payment for that month allowing me time to adjust my finances also. So after around 3-4 months of no payments from him and despite me asking no indication of when he thinks he would be able to pay any amount - or rather no communication back from him at all. I decided to go to the CSA to have them handle the maintenance arrangement as I wasn't even sure if he had been made redundant given a purchase of a brand new car approx value I would guess at £20k, which I doubt his partners as I'm aware in her career her maximum income will be £15,000.

I don't want to be a bitter ex, I don't care what he does in his life now, but i think he does have a responsibility to make a contribution towards his child however small that amount, just because of whatever his circumstances his child still needs; food, shelter and clothing and it should not be only me contributing to that.

Was I right to go to the CSA??

tax_credit_frustrations

Just wanted to add that I work hard in a full time job to be able to provide for my kids, I pay the childcare to allow me to work which the dad's maintenance does not contribute towards and I don't ask them anything towards that. All I ask is a contribution to cover a share of food, shelter, warmth and clothing. Even school trip etc I cover myself without any additional help from them. So i'm not a mum just looking for live of the maintenance for my children

shell_542

If you think ex B is earning and lying so as not to pay anything then you have no choice really but to go to the CSA. Id want to be pretty certain he was lying though.

If it turned out it was more than likely he wasn't working though, personally in your situation, I would have first used the CSA calculator on their website to gather an idea of how much ex B would have been asked to pay wghile not working, if he was on income support or JSA then he could be asked to just pay a basic £5 per week, I would have approached him, told him what he should be paying and give him the opportunity to do it privately ... and then if he refused/messed me around, gone to the CSA. I would just make sure I exhausted all my possibilities before contacting them because they sometimes can cause trouble for everyone involved.

But if you think he's hiding income from you, you didn't have much choice.

13Kent

Nope! Nope Nope!

13Kent

that refers to the title of the post - not your circumstances!

karenx

All I can say is good luck to u, Iv been waiting 6 years on money through the csa

Dancing_Shoes

As long as he was lying then you will be ok. If he was made redundant I have a feeling that you wouldn't be entitled to any of it and only the £5 per week if he is on certain types of benefits.
You are right that he should have been paying for his child and he should have given you more notice regarding the redundancy. However he probably won't be pleased that you have contacted the csa (which you are entitled to do btw) and therefore he may never voluntarily pay again which is always the risk if they have paid before. If you hadn't been getting anything then I would have said "go for it you have nothing to lose".....
I hope it works out but judging by the posts on here it often doesn't

frugallass

Until today my whole experience with the CSA has been negative - I am a PWC and NRPP - the staff are a nightmare (even the lovely person who visited me today said that they seem to just drag their employees in off the streets) and the procedures are shoddy. I had a really useful home visit from a CSA employee today and she was human (believe it or not) and totally understood where I was coming from and gave me a lot of useful information and advice.

I submitted my first complaint in September 2008, this is still under investigation with ICE. I submitted my second complaint a couple of months ago and this has now been escalated to Janis Crook.

I spend a fortune on postage costs (copies of all my letters get sent to my MP and ICE) and I have a lever arch file stuffed with correspondence as well as various electronic files on my PC.

I hate the CSA with a passion and I look forward to the day that my daughter leaves school and my involvement with them will be no-more

Soubrette

Well, without the CSA my children would have no hope at all of getting any benefit from their Dad's high income.

With the CSA they have a very slender hope :rolleyes:

Sou

borders_dude

I have nothing good to say about the CSA. They have made serious errors in dealing with my case. Im a NRP. As a result of these errors the relationship between me and my ex (PWC) has been very strained.

DUTR

I think the CSA are fantastic, ok some of the staff let the organisation down, but once everything is settled with a claim it is of benefit to all parties .