CSA taken double payment!

matt.taylor1985

At the start of the year, I recieved a letter saying that we owed £240 in arrears for CSA - which was fine as it was due to a bank muck up. They then broke down the monthly payments as £78 per month, which also was fine.

However today, I go in to the bank and it turns out that they've taken £150-odd. :mad: Is this normal? I have the letter breaking down each monthly charge with the price of each month.

Wife tried phoning this morning but apparently there's a message to call back between Monday and Friday.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

matt.taylor1985

Nothing? I'll try and speak to them on Monday. Anyone know if they're open on Easter Monday?

kelloggs36

No they won't be open on Easter Monday, you will have to wait until Tuesday.

matt.taylor1985

Great - thought as much.

claire1234

hiya,

have the csa spread the arrears amount over 3 months?
£240 divided by 3 months = £80
then add on your normal monlthy payment, im guessing £70 ish
( £150 - £80 )

if you check the letters you have that could be right,

we have some arrears and they spread the amount over 6 months then added on the normal monthly payment,

matt.taylor1985

claire1234 wrote: »

hiya,

have the csa spread the arrears amount over 3 months?
£240 divided by 3 months = £80
then add on your normal monlthy payment, im guessing £70 ish
( £150 - £80 )

if you check the letters you have that could be right,

we have some arrears and they spread the amount over 6 months then added on the normal monthly payment,

Hi Claire,

No the arrears of £240 was taken in full via direct debit last month. The letter I have states that there will be an initial payment of £240, then from the 1st of April it will be £78.

Honest_broker07

Ah but if they took the arrears last month then you also owed a normal payment for last month, so my guess is they've taken double this month to cover that payment

matt.taylor1985

Honest_broker07 wrote: »

Ah but if they took the arrears last month then you also owed a normal payment for last month, so my guess is they've taken double this month to cover that payment

Sorry, should probably explain more clearly. The amount of £240 was including the month's payment. It said we were in arrears of £171 plus the monthly payment. It then goes on to list the monthly payments from April going forward as £78.

Honest_broker07

Well in that case you need to speak to them and get a refund !

matt.taylor1985

Honest_broker07 wrote: »

Well in that case you need to speak to them and get a refund !

Yeah - looks like it'll be on Tuesday before I get a chance. Hopefully they can at least explain why it was taken. I'm just someone who likes to be on top of my money so as soon as something looks like it shouldn't, I want to get an answer as soon as possible.

Honest_broker07

Don't hold your breath, even with an MP chasing they can still be weeks replying to a letter.