Clerical ???

moomoomama27

Can anyone tell me what it means when a child support case goes clerical?

I have recently (after 13 yrs of non-payment from my ex), been successful in tracking him down. The CSA sent me paperwork to say he was claiming state benefit (which was no surprise!), and that he should pay £5 per week for our daughter. However today I recieved a phonecall to say it's gone clerical, but I have no clue what that means?

Anyone help??

febe

It means that for some reason the case is not working on the main (CS2/CSCS) system and will now be held and worked clerically, usually ny the clerical Team in Bolton.

Debicj

As febe said, it means the case is dealt with 'in person' rather than on the computer system.

Some people say it takes ages to get things done this way, but I have found that since my case went 'clerical' things have moved much quicker.

Kimitatsu

It means that a person physically goes through it on a paper based system.

Now - that can be a good thing because it means that a person looks at it in detail, but if you think there are arrears then dont hold your breath. 20 weeks is the time it takes to calculate arrears before it goes back to enforcement. If you have any details then you have to send them in yourself rather than waiting for them to do it.....the advantage is that you should get a caseworker who deals with your case all of the time.

Good luck!

gratefulforhelp_2

When my case went clerical it was very slow, but at least they don't have the excuse that the computer isn't working.
The people in the Bolton office are not overwhelmingly helpful or intelligent.
It probably won't make too much difference to you, but one disadvantage is that they can be unable to answer a query because "X has the file on his/her desk" and they can't look it up.

moomoomama27

Thanks for the info! The woman seemed a little dim on the phone, and didn;t have any answers to any of my questions. Other than t say he's refusing to pay, so it does look as if I'm in for a long haul with this case!