thank you CSA working 56 hours for nothing

krashovr10ad

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Just has a visit from the face to face case officer and in a nutshell -
my new partner and I work 56 hours between us for Income Support.

Don't you just love the CSA - after looking at the household income and giving us Income Support level allowances the remaining £65 a week leftover...

They are taking it all and still want more for the arrears!!

Why do we bother..? If I wanted Income Support I would claim it and not work 6 days a week thats for sure!!

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tw1nklestar

why do they need arrears?? have you not been supporting your child/children? Although the level of income you have coming in seems low would you rather that your children went without

little_miss_thrifty

tw1nklestar wrote:

why do they need arrears?? have you not been supporting your child/children? Although the level of income you have coming in seems low would you rather that your children went without

Please don't presume he hasn't been paying for his children - we pay a set amount (have done since Oct 2004 when child's mother went back to CSA from private agreement 'because all of daughter's friends have designer clothes, so i need more money from your father to pay for yours') (???!!!)
We paid the set amount, no problems, and with no arrears....until our baby daughter was born last year. I informed the CSA, thinking our assessment would be reduced due to another family member, but no! As we got more in tax credits, our assessment would be going up!!! And because it took them another 6 months from her birth for them to adjust payments...leaving us 6 months in arrears, which we now have to pay off, just for keeping them up to speed with our situation. I am sick and tired of the absent parents who DO pay ending up having to pay for the literal absent parent.

KRASH- if you can't afford to pay all the arrears, make them an offer. They, by law are not allowed to refuse an offer of payment, however small; they wanted £140 month from us for 4 months....we now pay £1 per week because that is all we have spare (make them wait...its interest free)

LMF

Charliecat

Your earning £65 a week over income support allowances and they are taking it all?

jaja_3

I'll have to send you my ex's number sure he can help.

I will never understand how the CSA work. I had to fight for my £20 per week which he can easily afford, due to the CSA mistake I have only been receiving half of this for over a year. Now, I am more than grateful for this paultry amount.
But posts like the OP upset me, how can one absent father be expected to pay that amount and more, when another who can easlily afford more not?

Oh yes, I remember - try going self employed, they cant prove anything then.

Sorry to sound bitter, I really do sympathise with genuine fathers who wish to pay but genuinly cant afford it and are put on the bread line for greedy mothers - 'designer clothes' I must try that one, LOL.

jaja

ben500

tw1nklestar wrote:

why do they need arrears?? have you not been supporting your child/children? Although the level of income you have coming in seems low would you rather that your children went without

Perhaps the op might prefer to have the children but didn't get the option

Prudent

I think the incompentency of the csa leaves both parents with care and non resident parents with a no- win situtation. It is often to the children's detriment because it fuels conflict between the parents.

tw1nklestar

How can greedy mothers (or parent) put absent parent on the breadline - unless the csa has changed each child gets a % of absent parents net income so amount payable is on amount coming in. When i applied for csa for my 3 children there was various ways it could be reduced such as the absent parent having the children a certain number of over night stays a year. I also feel strongly about this as the way i see it my x still has a very nice life foreign holidays, runs a car and has a very active social life where as all of the csa money and my wages go towards paying my mortgage and raising my 3 children. If my x then went on to have a second family why should his children he had with me suffer another lowering in standard of living like they had to when we split.

little_miss_thrifty

tw1nklestar wrote:

How can greedy mothers (or parent) put absent parent on the breadline - unless the csa has changed each child gets a % of absent parents net income so amount payable is on amount coming in. When i applied for csa for my 3 children there was various ways it could be reduced such as the absent parent having the children a certain number of over night stays a year. I also feel strongly about this as the way i see it my x still has a very nice life foreign holidays, runs a car and has a very active social life where as all of the csa money and my wages go towards paying my mortgage and raising my 3 children. If my x then went on to have a second family why should his children he had with me suffer another lowering in standard of living like they had to when we split.

Obviously, the ex we have to deal with is exception to the rule; she WOULD see us on the breadline! It wouldn't matter if we paid £100 a month or £1000 a month, she would still want more - thats why i think she doesn't use it wisely and certainly not all for my husband's older daughter. Is it fair that the absent child is allowed 15% of the other parents income, but the 'new' children have to share 20% (10% each). Is it fair that we ensure our children eat properly out of our budget, yet the ex fritters away the money that is paid to her on 'designer clothes'??

Yes, every case is different, and seems like most absent parents will try and do as much as they can to pay less, but also seems SOME absent parents are being tarred with the same unfair brush.

LMT

krashovr10ad

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Your earning £65 a week over income support allowances and they are taking it all?

Yep - using the protected earnings calculation after Income Support levels allowances for me. my partner and her daughter plus a bonus of £30 - we have £65 a week disposable income. The CSA is taking it all.

The CSA is not involved with my partners daughter as her father pays towards her (although it's nowhere near what we pay out a week), has her every weekend and it's far easier to work without the CSA as no-one is claiming benefits.

I am not against paying for my child but paying all our disposable income seems a bit extreme - esp.as my partner is claiming benefit and won't see any of what I pay.

It's also upsetting because my ex-partner got married, had 2 children with her new husband and left him too. He will be paying the CSA too but under the new rules and will be paying less for 2 children than I do for 1.

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donnalove

i see this from both sides as my sisters ex doesn't pay a penny towards there 2 children, he got married again quit his job and went self employed telling csa he wasn't working. they are loaded brand new cars, no mortgage makes me quite angry he gets away with it.Especially as the 2 kids he left used to have a lavish lifestyle, now my sister struggles, to get them things and he and his new partner and kids have a lavish lifestyle.

on the other side my friends brother, who's partner left him is a fantastic dad has her every other weekend buys her loads of stuff in fact spoils her, yet he gets clobbered by the csa as he is on the old system i think it is so unfair.He has to live with his mum as he cant afford to rent a house or pay bills.he is doing two jobs to keep going and he is only 28.

from what i read on the csa website the nrp can also apply for a variation order but im not sure wether this covers the old system or just the new.

donnalove
xx