Worried....Help?! Please

loz89

Hi,
I just need a little help, I don't know anything about the csa so if some of the stuff im saying is wrong im sorry, feel free to correct me!!...I have been with my boyfriend for just over 1 year and he recently moved in with me, he has only just managed to get a job after being unemployed for about 10 months. I have only just met his 2 sons who are 11 and 12. As he hasn't been working he hasn't been paying child maintenance, but he now needs to start paying. He is on the old scheme and is in arrears with the csa which means he will have to pay the current child maintenance plus what he owes in arrears i think?? He has told me it will come to more than he can afford as it did before when he rented his own flat, as he had other bills to pay which they didnt take into account. Obviously I need some towards our bills but totally understand that he has to pay to support his children. Also the kids live 200 miles away, so going to see them as often as we can isn't exactly a cheap weekend with petrol, taking them out etc etc! The csa don't know where he is living at the moment and his ex is asking for his address, which I don't really want to be given to her as then the csa will track him down where i live which is just in my name. As he owes them money im worried that because hes living with me this could affect my house and the things i own as i've seen a few people say this on the net, is this right?? Or because its not in my name and i'm nothing to do with the kids will my possesions not be affected? If he does contact the csa to start paying will they take my wage into account aswell as his??
Is there any way that you can change from the old scheme to the new scheme as everyone seems to say the new scheme is better?
Any help/advice really appreciated.
Thanks

Kimitatsu

Hi Loz

First of all try not to worry too much.

You wont get moved from the old system to the new system unless the parent with care (his ex and mother to the children) closes the case down waits 13 weeks and opens one under the new system.

Has he found out how much he owes in arrears? He needs to do this because the CSA will give him an allowance to live on and then take up to 40% of his net income after that to include the arrears.

Any money he owes to them will not affect any of your property, it was bought in your name before you met him and so no part of it can be apportioned to him, however you may want to put a more formal agreement in place for his housing costs otherwise the CSA may deem that he has none at all.

Kellogs is the queen of CS1 calculations so will be able to help you if you pm her with details of income, housing costs etc. How often do you go to see the children? The CSA will disregard the first £15 a week of travel costs to see the children but after that will give you a reduction in maintenance to see them.

They will take your wages into account NOT to pay maintenance but only so that half of the housing costs and council tax costs will be deducted - his half will then be deducted as part of his protected income. Its a very complicated calculation and he needs to give them all of the details otherwise his arrears will become greater and the CSA will impose a deduction of earnings order with his employer, so he will have no option but to pay.

If you have both survived with him not working for the last 10 months then he should be better off working - even paying maintenance so try not to worry

loz89

Hiya,
Thanks for the reply...you've deffinately made me feel alot better and i'm not worrying as much already!!
Just a few questions, if you don't mind...

He doesn't know how much he owes in arrears, you said they take upto 40% of his earnings? Is that the maximum they can take? and that's based on his contracted hours? Also his allowance to live on, is that half of all bills that we have, mortgage (rent that he pays me), council tax, elec, internet etc?

You also said that it may be an idea to put a more formal agreement in place for housing costs...whats the best way to do this?

I only met them for the 1st time recently, and my bf hasn't seen them for about a year (far 2 long I know!!!) as he hasn't been working so couldn't afford to even get down there. We will be seeing them every few weeks depending on how much the csa want a month and how much we have left over etc

Also, one thing i forgot to ask before, the arrears he owes, can they make him pay that within a certain amount of time? Or is just done on how much he can afford?

Thanks Again
Loz x

Kimitatsu

loz89 wrote: »

Hiya,
Thanks for the reply...you've deffinately made me feel alot better and i'm not worrying as much already!!
Just a few questions, if you don't mind...

He doesn't know how much he owes in arrears, you said they take upto 40% of his earnings? Is that the maximum they can take? and that's based on his contracted hours? Also his allowance to live on, is that half of all bills that we have, mortgage (rent that he pays me), council tax, elec, internet etc?

He needs to contact them and ask for a breakdown of arrears (he will need to check this so that it is right - they are notorious for getting it wrong!) 40% of his earnings are the maximum and that is after he has paid housing costs, council tax and is given a basic amount to live on. Electricity, internet etc are not included in the calculation. Basically what they do is take his housing costs (so the rent or mortgage and half it) council tax (and halve it) and then give him around £55 a week to live on in line with benefits (will check the amount) then they take a notional amount of 30% of what is left after that and see if he can afford it, if he cant they take all of the above and then the rest is paid out.

You also said that it may be an idea to put a more formal agreement in place for housing costs...whats the best way to do this?

I only met them for the 1st time recently, and my bf hasn't seen them for about a year (far 2 long I know!!!) as he hasn't been working so couldn't afford to even get down there. We will be seeing them every few weeks depending on how much the csa want a month and how much we have left over etc

You can ask for a variation due to high access costs - really it should be how much you want to see them, as said before the first £60 per month is not included but there is a variation that can be sought for anything above that for travel costs. You should not be penalised from seeing them because of cost if you see what I mean.

Also, one thing i forgot to ask before, the arrears he owes, can they make him pay that within a certain amount of time? Or is just done on how much he can afford?
This has been the cause of much debate! The steer is that all arrears should be cleared within 2 years but this is only a guide, so if he cannot afford it then you can insist on paying over a longer period of time so that you do not face undue financial hardship.

Thanks Again
Loz x

Thing to remember is that although it seems stressful now, he needs to pay the arrears as the PWC has done without that money so far (not being judgemental just putting it from the opposing point of view) and with two children she needs to use that money no doubt.

However he also needs to keep contact with the children so he needs to be able to show the CSA that he needs the money to do it. Sticking his head in the sand and ignoring the arrears wont make them go away, they will just be escalated to enforcement so he needs to make contact and start the ball rolling.

If you think the arrears are wrong then I strongly suggest contacting Nacsa (www.nacsa.org.uk) who will check it for you and also get them to check the current assesment to ensure he is paying the right amount.

HTH

loz89

Okay thats great, it's all making alot more sense now!

How do i prove the amount of rent/mortgage?? It is a shared ownership property so i have some rent and some mortgage, which is actually still in mine and my ex's name as he wont get himself removed! Will this make a difference to the csa do you know?

Thanks!

13Kent

Sorry not to have anything positive to add, but although he does not have to give his ex his address it is illegal for him not to inform the csa I'm afraid. (Due to data protection they SHOULD not divulge his address to his ex - unfortunately it has happened in some cases).

If he is on CSA 1 then the CSA will ask for your details if you are living together in order to calculate his protected income. ~They may ask for mortgage statements to prove how much you pay. You do not have to provide your details but if you do not then they can make an interim assessment which could add up to more than he would have paid anyway.

loz89

Hiya,

He is going to tell the csa where he is living, as soon as weve sorted out what we need to do, in the meantime the old address was a parents address so he can still get post etc.

I don't mind them asking for my details, but I'm not to keen on showing them mortgage statements though. Will it make any difference to the csa whether the mortgage is just in my name or mine and my ex's name do you know?

If the maximum they can take is 40% then we should be okay with the rest of his wage so hopefully it will work out okay in the end!

Thanks

13Kent

Sorry don't know what will happen with your ex being on the mortgage statements - maybe someone will be along soon that can help you with that.

There is a maximum percentage they can take but I'm not sure if that includes the amount they take for arrears or not. Hope you get things sorted soon.

kelloggs36

They cannot assume that half the housing and council tax will be paid for by you - only if there is a variation in place which the PWC has to apply for. If they do it otherwise it is WRONG!

missbunbury

loz89 wrote: »

He doesn't know how much he owes in arrears, you said they take upto 40% of his earnings? Is that the maximum they can take? and that's based on his contracted hours?
...
Also, one thing i forgot to ask before, the arrears he owes, can they make him pay that within a certain amount of time? Or is just done on how much he can afford?

No. it's 40% of everything he earns, including overtime. He will need a reassessment based on his new earnings too, and he needs to make sure that the case has been assessed properly to take into account his period out of work. They will expect him to pay the arrears off within 2 years at up to 40% of his net income. If he owes a lot and the 40% won't clear the debt within this time, they may also look at whether he has credit available which could be used to pay, or whether he has a property that could be sold to pay off the debt.