no arrears on account but they wont listen.

kezzygirl

hello all,i have posted previously but all the same i am new to this.
Since my husband and i got together 7 years ago,i have been battling with the csa on his behalf.I requested a breakdown of accounts, and freceived one,which missed years of payments off and did not go up to 2010,only 2006...idiots.

Requested another and they sent that 2 months ago.(bearing in mind it took me 4 years worth of phone calls and many many case workers who all didnt know what the hell they doing).They had missed lots of payment offthe cases and luckily we had wage slips dating back to 2003,of which we sent photocopies in.

So now,instead of owing £7000+ to one pwc,we now owe £4000 to them.
The other pwc WE are owed £1800 odd as they had put on the statement that he should have been paying when the child in question was living with us!

I am now at a loose end.from the date the other case opened, (1997) my husband was self employed and not in full time work.he was then on benefits.
During the period 1997-2000 they say he should have been paying £2000 odd,i have reiterated to them that he was not in steady employment and they said that the arrears still stand as he did not tell them of his circumstances...errr,well how do they know he was self-employed then?

they said that they had sent bailiff letter to him during the period 1997-2000,and had used all over routes to make him pay,finally settling with a deo.My husband has no recolection of any bailiffs or anything.

Anyway, i am rabbiting on now,but my point is,where do we go from here?years of stress,upset and huge annoyance not to mention being broke because he paid £700 in maintenance 3 months in a row just after we had our baby in 2006...he should have only paid £200.

We have various letters,one saying he owes nothing,another sayin he owes £300,another saying £1000...it goes on.I amso sick of it.advice appreciated.

bdt1

You could try getting your Data Protection file, (NACSA have template), it should contain everything CSA have relating to your hubs case, it would/should include bailiff correspondence etc.

For the period 1997-2000 if your hubs did not inform CSA in his change of circs (ie in receipt of benefits and self-employed) then any arrears for that period will stand and be enforced, unless CSA are informed of new circs they will continue to assess on out of date information.

Suppose you have already asked for a full account audit (in writing sent recorded delivery), and also an account breakdaown, suppose you have also complained to Dept dealing with case, and the Janis Crook at Washington, Tyne and Wear office. If this still hasn't been resolved after these steps, I would go to ICE and your MP, see what response you get from this, as MP's do have a Parliamentary hotline to CSA.

Good luck

kezzygirl

hi there,thanks.i have seen on other threads that u have also been going through this!I have had mp involved twice and she wrote to chief exec of csa,hence on the second time they are now doing something!it is now being dealt with by escalated complaints team at falkirk.i will request the file under data protection.I have learnt this from work,but jst double checking...they have to provide EVERYTHING dont they?they cant hide anything?

bdt1

Also if in 1997 when case was opened, if your husband did not inform CSA of his circumstances (you say he was self-employed but on benefits), then I would ask the question, where was the MEF sent, and can your husband ever remember filling in and returning such a form to them. If he has never filled in such a form, or even received one, then you may have a case with the arrears, but you will need your DATA Protection file to determine this.

Just wondering if you can clarify that when the case was opened, did your husband have any communication with CSA, IE what information did he give them? As if they have made an assessment without information from the NRP, then it will be an IMA, and not a FMA, so intheory it is possible to convert this to a FMA, but as the period of time is 13 yrs ago, I think you will need a lot of luck on this one.

Your hubs needs to prove whether he initially received a MEF, if a IMA was made, and if so what information will they need to convert it to a FMA. Then youcan go ahead also with account breakdown etc

bdt1

They have to provide everything in Data Protection file,but frequently they do not. If this happens and you suspect documents are missing, again you need to complain to DATA Protection Unit Manager, and then ICO, who will investigate the possible breach in Data Protection Law on your behalf.

This happened to us, they 'lost' bank statements which proved the 34k they said we owed (based on an incorrect assessment), how convenient, but they were proven to breach 6ht and 7th Principle of DATA Protection Act, so we going through redress/complaints etc at present.

kezzygirl

ok brilliant.so looks like we need to apply for data protection file.thanks for your help!when i get it,i will pop back on here and perhaps i can pick your brains again?lol

kezzygirl

i have just gone through the new accoutn statements /breakdowns that the csa have sent.One pwc received 17months worth of money...but the other pwc received nothing.The money should have been split between the two!

needless to say,this is why the csa have been saying he owes on one account!they are absolutely useless.

They were also paying one pwc money(£1400) whilst the child in question was living with us!

i am so astounded as to how thick they are,how on earth can they make a mistake like this?they were on the phone the other day threatening bailiffs and legal action unless we paid the money owed,they are so blinkered all that they can see is that there are arrears without considering the fact that it is their fault!

where do we stand with this?hubby was paying the full amount he was supposed to as he had a deo but they have given it all to one pwc instead of splitting it!does our position look good or will they blame us in some way?

kelloggs36

You need to ensure that they had both account numbers on the DEO instruction.

kelloggs36

Did the other account have arrears? Have they offset the whole amount? If so, the money is still owed, regardless of which account, but if the other account is in credit, then you certainly have a case! Good luck.

kezzygirl

hi, thanks for answering.Just spoke to csa who admit that they were in the wrong and will pay us back the overpayment which was accrued while the child was with us to the other pwc.but we will need to then pay that money back to the other pwc who should have been receiving the money.Many payments have been paid to one pwc in full when they should have been split,but again they said they will pay it all back to us and we should then pay it back to them to allocate to the pwc who should have been receivin git.

we are in debt and the money we are due to receive will clear our debt if we offer full and finals.My husband is not working, he cares for the children while i work full time.my questions is,if we pay the money to our creditors instead of the csa-but obviously still have the arrears on the csa account-can the csa do anything?for example,take us to court and say we had the funds to pay but didnt?

would really like to pay off our debts but at the same time dont want to get in trouble!advice would be great.

kezzygirl

also,a deo has been in place since 2001, so how the hell can he owe arrears?i am so stressed with them.