CSA won't listen

spiceuk

Hi all,
this is my first post here and this site has come highly recommended so I thought I'd give it a try.
I am currently living a nightmare with the CSA helping itself to my wages, I'll explain...
Nearly 4 years ago my ex left me for another man and took my child, there are 3 children but 1 is my biological child, within 2 weeks I recieved a letter from the CSA telling me how to pay but they wanted me to pay for the non biological children, I contacted them and told them to contact the childrens biological father to support them but they refused and so did my ex, I already had an arrangement giving my child money every week as well as the other two on the quiet.
My ex blatently lied to the CSA and named me as the father, at the time I was unemployed and suffering a breakdown due to what my ex had put me through but thats another story.
Finally after approx 6 months my ex gave in and stopped the claim against me for the non biological children, I had recieved an attachment to my benefits claim for the one child and was then told that I owed £2,000, I have never even after nearly 4 years got to the bottom of this calculation or how it was reached, I fell into the trap of not keeping records for what I gave my child and they just believed what my ex told them, she told them that I was just giving my child pocket money, I could not prove otherwise!
I have been with my new partner for 3 1/2 years and she has 3 boys, I had to tell the CSA this 4 times and they still have not got my records right, my partner and I have been working as careworkers on minimum wage for over a year now and the CSA got an attachment to my earnings as soon as I started work, last christmas I did 2 weeks solid overtime, days and nights to earn money for the children's xmas presents and the CSA took the lot, all my overtime and left me with £212 for 2 weeks wage, that was the worst xmas ever and we look like we are well on track for the same this year.
for 6 months the CSA have been taking £23 a week which we found comforable to live with then suddenly out of the blue they decided to start taking £53 a week leaving me with £106 to live on??
For 3 weeks they took £73 and then it went back to £53 a week, I call the CSA regularly and have tried every tactic I can think of to try and get this amount reduced but I always get the same answers, "we are looking into it!"
We are living in total poverty, we cannot afford a car, (I have one but can't afford the insurance or tax) we cannot afford a house-phone, the kids need new beds and matresses as do we, we all need new clothes and shoes, we cannot afford carpets in any of the rooms (council house after I lost my house, another story) we cannot afford to decorate!
Now the flipside...
My ex is the only one working in her house hold, she is a careworker, she now has 4 kids and is planning the next, she has 2 cars, has regular holidays, recently got married and is going to have a fantastic xmas.
I asked the CSA for my money back for the full amount that they took off me for the non biological children and they have refused, they told me last week that they will knock it off the money I owe, I asked them how much that is and they told me that it is now £2500, so instead of the money going down it's actually going up, they have progressively fobbed me off over these last few years, I have searched for help everywhere and always hear the same thing and that is that the CSA are a law unto themselves well I refuse to belive that, my boss is pulling her hair out trying to think of legal ways to help our situation, citizens advice have been useless, I wrote to my MP and 3 weeks ago got a reply from his secretary, they are looking into it on our behalf but this doesn't help us now, my partner is thinking of leaving me because we both know she will get every benefit going thrown at her, I know it's a tough decision for her to make but it makes perfect sense, any ideas welcome.
Thanks in advance.
Spice

DUTR

spiceuk wrote: »

Hi all,
this is my first post here and this site has come highly recommended so I thought I'd give it a try.
I am currently living a nightmare with the CSA helping itself to my wages, I'll explain...
Nearly 4 years ago my ex left me for another man and took my child, there are 3 children but 1 is my biological child, within 2 weeks I recieved a letter from the CSA telling me how to pay but they wanted me to pay for the non biological children, I contacted them and told them to contact the childrens biological father to support them but they refused and so did my ex, I already had an arrangement giving my child money every week as well as the other two on the quiet.
My ex blatently lied to the CSA and named me as the father, at the time I was unemployed and suffering a breakdown due to what my ex had put me through but thats another story.
Finally after approx 6 months my ex gave in and stopped the claim against me for the non biological children, I had recieved an attachment to my benefits claim for the one child and was then told that I owed £2,000, I have never even after nearly 4 years got to the bottom of this calculation or how it was reached, I fell into the trap of not keeping records for what I gave my child and they just believed what my ex told them, she told them that I was just giving my child pocket money, I could not prove otherwise!
I have been with my new partner for 3 1/2 years and she has 3 boys, I had to tell the CSA this 4 times and they still have not got my records right, my partner and I have been working as careworkers on minimum wage for over a year now and the CSA got an attachment to my earnings as soon as I started work, last christmas I did 2 weeks solid overtime, days and nights to earn money for the children's xmas presents and the CSA took the lot, all my overtime and left me with £212 for 2 weeks wage, that was the worst xmas ever and we look like we are well on track for the same this year.
for 6 months the CSA have been taking £23 a week which we found comforable to live with then suddenly out of the blue they decided to start taking £53 a week leaving me with £106 to live on??
For 3 weeks they took £73 and then it went back to £53 a week, I call the CSA regularly and have tried every tactic I can think of to try and get this amount reduced but I always get the same answers, "we are looking into it!"
We are living in total poverty, we cannot afford a car, (I have one but can't afford the insurance or tax) we cannot afford a house-phone, the kids need new beds and matresses as do we, we all need new clothes and shoes, we cannot afford carpets in any of the rooms (council house after I lost my house, another story) we cannot afford to decorate!
Now the flipside...
My ex is the only one working in her house hold, she is a careworker, she now has 4 kids and is planning the next, she has 2 cars, has regular holidays, recently got married and is going to have a fantastic xmas.
I asked the CSA for my money back for the full amount that they took off me for the non biological children and they have refused, they told me last week that they will knock it off the money I owe, I asked them how much that is and they told me that it is now £2500, so instead of the money going down it's actually going up, they have progressively fobbed me off over these last few years, I have searched for help everywhere and always hear the same thing and that is that the CSA are a law unto themselves well I refuse to belive that, my boss is pulling her hair out trying to think of legal ways to help our situation, citizens advice have been useless, I wrote to my MP and 3 weeks ago got a reply from his secretary, they are looking into it on our behalf but this doesn't help us now, my partner is thinking of leaving me because we both know she will get every benefit going thrown at her, I know it's a tough decision for her to make but it makes perfect sense, any ideas welcome.
Thanks in advance.
Spice

You got the MEF really quick and all completed properly and returned.
Xmas this the ex has that, there is a lot of unneccessary waffle there.
At the time of replying there was over 20 views, so I suspect it is not just me that thinks there is too much there to read especially as there is lots of unnecessary information loaded into the story.

At the end of the day there are circumstances that paternity can be assumed.
If you were on JSA and the PWC had won the euromillions jackpot,you still have to contribute.
If indeed your story is true then perhaps subscribing to NACSA to look into the case on your behalf maybe of great assistance.
Good Luck.

diabolical_2

Just what is it with you, '' If indeed your story is true''
you really are very bitter towards NPWC aren't you, poor sod only came on to get some advise and gets you instead!

Must be a nightmare for your kids living with someone so bitter and twisted all the time.

DUTR

diabolical wrote: »

Just what is it with you, '' If indeed your story is true''
you really are very bitter towards NPWC aren't you, poor sod only came on to get some advise and gets you instead!

Must be a nightmare for your kids living with someone so bitter and twisted all the time.

What are you on about?
Offer the poster some advice then !
Strange 1st posts that are as long as a novel, with bits that just dont ring true, and end up in exactly the right forum, seems like a troll post, but there were over 35 views and not one reply until I did, and now you only reply after I have, got FA to do with NRP/PWC, MEF forms do not turn around in that time anyone will tell you that, DEOs don't turn round in that time.
If you beleive the story then answer the query, personally I think it is someone posting under a new alias.

13Kent

Write to the CSA and ask for a clerical breakdown of your case and your data file. (Ask your MP to do the same - we found that our MP got the info in a matter of weeks, and we had been pestering the CSA for it for months). This should show how the calculation has been made, and you can try to work out if it is correct or not. That will give you a starting point for checking how the arrears have built up and if they are correct.

Good Luck!

JulietAmber_2

You do need to ask for all your records. Put money aside every week while it is being looked at so the arrears won't come as a shock. If you find it difficult understanding your records - it's worth paying NACSA to look at it all for you and explain the payments.
The CSA do assume that all children are yours if the PWC tells them that so originally it looks like you were paying 25% of your wages and the arrears have built up. Basically from looking at your post - the bones of it are:
* You have arrears but these need to be recalculated taking off the 2 children that aren't bilogically yours.
* You should be paying 15% of your wages as maintenance, remembering that you also need to add any child tax credits and working tax credits (if you are the main earner) onto your earnings as this is classed as income.
* Do you have your child overnight? A discount should be applied for this.
* Do you have children with your new partner? Again a discount should be applied for this.
I do understand why new NRP's waffle in their first posts - it's daunting and the system does seem unfair. You need to accept that what I have outlined above is the law, nothing you can do about it - the CSA don't look at individual cases so it doesn't matter a sausage how much your ex earns/lifestyle she lives.
Good luck!

spiceuk

Hi all,
Thanks for the replies and yes it is all true and no I am not a troll well at least I wasn't the last time I checked!
I will contact the CSA and ask for a full breakdown, my problem is I lose my temper out of total frustration when I talk to them, I have also just contacted a journalist to try and get the story into the public eye for everyones benefit.
Sorry for all the babble in my original post I am a newby here so please be kind.
Thank you

DUTR

spiceuk wrote: »

Hi all,
Thanks for the replies and yes it is all true and no I am not a troll well at least I wasn't the last time I checked!
I will contact the CSA and ask for a full breakdown, my problem is I lose my temper out of total frustration when I talk to them, I have also just contacted a journalist to try and get the story into the public eye for everyones benefit.
Sorry for all the babble in my original post I am a newby here so please be kind.
Thank you

No worries, it was difficult (for me) to grasp the main spine of the episode and was equally frustrated at the amount of views and no replies at the time (as I know there are folk often online that can help)
Good luck

Loopy_Girl

DUTR wrote: »

equally frustrated at the amount of views and no replies at the time (as I know there are folk often online that can help)

Ummmm...there is nothing to say that if a poster reads a thread they have to answer - even if they think they can help.

People give their time/advice for free so I would save your 'frustration' for something worthwhile;)

DX2

spiceuk wrote: »

I have also just contacted a journalist to try and get the story into the public eye for everyones benefit.

The Sun, Daily Mail, The Mirror or The News of the World?

Marisco

We first had dealings with the CSA in 1996, and what a horrendous experience it was!!!!:mad: But what is so sad, that in all the years since, nothing seems to have changed:( Have they learned nothing in all the years of complaints. They should really dismantle it and start from scratch!!!