Protected income

gingaone

Can anyone help please!!
I've had a three year battle with the CSA mainly because the ex refused to allow me to have any contact with my lad because they (the CSA) bungled the payments they were taking when I moved jobs. they did admit it was thier fault and actually compensated me to the tune of £50!!!
However they have now realised that my income is soley from being a Retained Fireman and that income is protected, hance they cant take it into account. It is my only income. However although they have now nil assessed me they are going to take £150 per month for "arrears", part of which was calculated from my protected income and and I have been paying an amount weekly for over a year which they should not have been taking. Also, over the last 12 months they have been unable to take more than £150 a month because my income was so low it would leave me with less money than THEY have said I need to survive. The new plan has no safety net. I calculated that based on the last 12 months I may take home less than £250 from my income some months.
When they nil assessed me I asked if I could at least pay something by DOE so that I was contributing something. Now if I want to pay something I'll be even worse off than I was when they were taking money they shouldn't have been taking.
Does anyone have any idea about this legislation about protected income and retained fire service employees?

CSA_Debt_Bod

What do you mean by 'the new plan has no safety net'?

A DEO must have a protected earnings figure (what your employer has to leave you to live on) included in it by law.

It would be unusual in my experience for an NRP who has a nil assessment to be paying more than £6.50 per week by DEO towards arrears. This is because the same figures that lead to the nil assessment are taken into account when calculating the arrears amount. If you can't afford to pay any regular maintenance, how can you afford to pay any more than minimum arrears? It doesn't make sense.

Could you post some more details and figures from your most recent DEO notification? Something sounds very wrong with what the CSA are doing with your case.

gingaone

Hi.
The CSA calculated that the debt owed was £3700. They took 40% from my income, which left me with a maximun of £396 per month. The regular maintenance figure was £18 per week which was calculated into the arrears amount for 5 months and then £18 per week for a year. All of the £18 per week were protected income and should never have been taken at all. Now they are still saying that I owe them £1700 and they want that at £150 per month taken by DOE. They have said that my income cannot be taken into account because of my job. That is legislation which came into force, according to them, in August 2008.
On 6 occasions in 2009 they were unable to take £150 because my income was not sufficient.
I am still arguing the arrears amount but accepted the original DOE as I had no option.
They are saying that the nil assessment is because of my job, RDS firefighters income is protected by law and they cannot take that into account whenn assessing maintenance and not because I can't afford to pay.
Surely if my income is protected by legislation they cant take what they want for arrears?
maybe they can, but I will be broke.

gingaone

Ive been RDS for 7 years but for the last 3 years that has been my only income. I had a part time job for 4 months which they took into account. Prior to that I had a full time job along side the RDS and that is when the problems, and arrears started. They lost everything I sent them (twice) and the ex refused to accept payments from me directly. I know they have calculated maitenance as if I was working full time when I wasn't but I cant get them to to act on that.
If the case is that my income is protected, can they take anything from mr now and if they can why so much? Sometimes I only clear £400 a month!

CSA_Debt_Bod

I have to admit to my ignorance about the legislation re: retained firefighter income that you refer to, and I can't find any reference to it on the CSA website or through Google either.

Just to clarify, are they leaving you with a set amount every month (protected earnings figure) according to the DEO?

shell_542

Sorry gingatone, I deleted my post because I reread your OP and noticed you said about changing jobs.

I hope someone can come along and offer you some advice. Perhaps Kelloggs or NACSA chair. They are very knowledgeable about the CSA.

gingaone

The legislation is the problem. I cant find it anywhere, but the CSA have told me that it is in place and I am nil assessed. Its not that I don't want to pay something, I do!! It just needs to ba affordable. The only shining light on the whole thing is that it was the ex who asked them to look into my case because she didn't think I was paying enough. There is nothing in the DOE that says how much I will be left with.
Thanks shell-542. I really hope that I can get some help with this. Got to ring them up in a bit and I havn't got a clue if I can believe what the lady will tell me.

CSA_Debt_Bod

As I stated before, the DEO has to include a protected earnings amount to tell your employer how much they must leave you with. This is law; if the protected earnings amount is not there, the DEO is not legally binding and your employer does not have to follow it.

When you ring the CSA, as how much your weekly protected earnings amount is, and point out that it is not included in the DEO notification. If you are not satisfied with the response you get, ask to speak to a manager. Good luck!

chall1964

CSA_Debt_Bod wrote: »

I have to admit to my ignorance about the legislation re: retained firefighter income that you refer to, and I can't find any reference to it on the CSA website or through Google either.

Try MCSC regs