CSA arrears letter £15k demanded

kbmg123

My husband has received a letter demanding he pay £15k in debt arrears to the CSA. All of the children are now over the age of 18 and from what we can make out the £8K was owed prior to 2003 and the remaining £7k since then.

This is the first letter he has received asking for any money since 2003 when they demanded arrears of £8k. At that time he asked for reassessment and a breakdown of the debt and they never replied and he (wrongly) assumed the case was closed.

In 2003, husband signed over the family home to his ex-wife in lieu if payments he had not kept up with and thought that was the end of it. (Big mistake)

SO I have helped husband write a letter asking for breakdown of arrears; a letter complaining that his case has been mismanaged as they failed to reassess him when he asked them to in 2003.

I have also sent a letter asking for all the files held on him in Newcastle.

We went to CAB yesterday and they spent 1 hour trying to get the CSA (Belfast) to agree to send a letter outlining where and how the arrears have arisen.

In total between us we have £7k equity in hour house and have no savings. SO feeling rather concerned that we may end up on the street with our young son.

Does anyone have any ideas of what else we should do or what may happen next?

Just to reiterate- my husband had had 2 letters in 10 years in total from the CSA and no requests from ex wife for money or the CSA (other than the debt letters from 2003 and today 2010).

I know he was an idiot to not pursue the 2003 arrears demand more vigorously, but he did contest it and as he signed over the marital home at that time he thought that was the end of matters. Naive but honest mistake.

Anyone have any clues as to what we do now?:eek::eek:

live'n'learn

I am going through something th same and i have got nowhere with the CSA as they are a nightmare and a law onto themselves and they have left me no choice but to go Bankrupt!!

Sorry i could not give you much hope with them but thats just how i have found them!

RAS

Your starting point is to ask for a dfull expkation of thwe assessment, get his file from the CSa and if there looks fto be any problem, to challenge them - NASCA are good and relatively cheap.

CSA_Help

Going bankrupt won't solve the issue as the child support debt won't be written off against your bankruptcy

Start hitting back at them and get some explanation why your account has been dormant and none of the csa has picked up on this

Wasteland_Drifter

kbmg123 wrote: »

In total between us we have £7k equity in hour house and have no savings. SO feeling rather concerned that we may end up on the street with our young son.

Does anyone have any ideas of what else we should do or what may happen next?

If you own your house with your partner jointly then the CSA may apply for a charging order, then potentially, an Order for Sale.

You need to transfer your share of the property into your partners name. Visit the HM Land Registry website and complete Forms AP1, TP1 and ID1. If you are unsure how to do this, an online conveyancer can do it for about £150.

http://www.landreg.gov.uk/publications/?pubtype=49

Form ID1 is for the ID checks, all the 'money laudering' stuff.
Form TP1 is to transfer your share of the property into your partners name
Form AP1 is to make an applicaiton to make an entery into the Land Register.

PlayingHardball

I'm not sure if this helps, but the CSA law changed in 2003 and up until a certain date, transfer of property would have been taken into account with the CSA.

You could look into this a little more closely, or hopefully someone like Kelloggs will jump in and clarify this for you.

kelloggs36

Transfer of property in lieu of child maintenance ceased to be an option after 1991 - basically when the Child support Act came into force - property transferred prior to this date could be taken into account and entered into the formula then. Any property transferred after then would be ignored as far as child support is concerned.

kelloggs36

Wasteland_Drifter wrote: »

If you own your house with your partner jointly then the CSA may apply for a charging order, then potentially, an Order for Sale.

You need to transfer your share of the property into your partners name. Visit the HM Land Registry website and complete Forms AP1, TP1 and ID1. If you are unsure how to do this, an online conveyancer can do it for about £150.

http://www.landreg.gov.uk/publications/?pubtype=49

Form ID1 is for the ID checks, all the 'money laudering' stuff.
Form TP1 is to transfer your share of the property into your partners name
Form AP1 is to make an applicaiton to make an entery into the Land Register.

However, they would look at the date the property was transferred to your partner and could potentially overturn the transfer if they can prove that it was likely you did it to avoid CSA getting to it.

Wasteland_Drifter

There is nothing in the Charging Orders Act that enables an applicant creditor to convert ownership of land into the name of his debtor, even if it is to secure a statutory charge.

Even if there was, how much of the land is transferred out of the freeholders name into a debtors name? There is no practice Directions for it and it wouldnt be of any use anyway if there was. There will be snags:

a) if a final charging order made against the land owner who is the not the debtor, the conveyancer can disregard the liability, returns the charge to the creditor unpaid and the land transfers to the buyer.

b) if transfer is reversed (for what better word) then the joint tenants can sever the tenancy using form SEV and transfer the property as to 99%/1% with 1% in the debtors name, when the house is sold, the conveyancer pays the charge to the maximum of 1% equitable share and the balance falls off unpaid. This method is still legal (for the mnoment) and often known as "bumping" off a charging order. Any new property is registered in the partners name.

c) the principle charge, usually mortgage charge, can be increased to absorb any remaining equity prior to sale. This arrangement is usually in the form of a bridging loan (*cough* Northern Rock oops) and nullifies any secondary charge when the land transfers to the buyer.

Any of these methods can be used if a debt with the CSA is in dispute and the CSA chooses to jump straight to enforcement.

kbmg123

On ths phone last week Husband owed £8k up to 2003 and a further £7k from then until 2009, when case was closed.

This info given to CAB over the phone and the £8k arrears was in a letter that he contested back in 2003.

Letter arrived yesterday as I asked for a breakdown of the arrears demand...
completely different info.
apparently he owes £15k from prior to 2003 and nothing after that date as after that date they say payments were made direct to ex-wife (he did sign the house over to her at that time?)

So it seems as though the figures are just made up as and when they like.
Question is how do we prove it??

Also should we start paying something or does that mean we look as if we are agreeing to the £15k arrears which we think looks like double what it should be?:EasterBun

kezzygirl

the csa are very good at making up figures as and when it suits them.we too have been accused of owing greatly differing amounts,they are completely incompetent.

we have now got nacsa involved to do a full representation package for us,we have given up with the csa.and its amazing that u got a breakdown of the arrears that quick....took them four years with us!and many phone calls and the mp involved twice.

good luck with what u do,but i would highly recommend nacsa,you have a bumpy ride ahead!