CSA Payments backdated?

spungbob

If your CSA payments are re-assessed and your wage has gone up from the original wage used in the calculations do you have to backdate the increase from the original claim?

mrsspendalot

No, just from the date the reassessment was requested by which ever party requested it, as far as I know. This has certainly been the case with my own experience.

spungbob

Thankyou. It seems a bit of a minefield when looking for answers!

mrsspendalot

The CSA as a whole is a minefield!!!!!

Rustic100

What precisely triggers a re-assessment? if a NRP notified the CSA in 2006, that they now recieved a higher salary ie actual brief letter saying"I have now changed jobs and I now earn £XX,XXX gross anually" - , but the following 2007-2010 assesments showed no change in the payment. Has anyone actually "requested" a re-assessment?
1.Would the simple act of informing the CSA of higher salary trigger a re-assessment? In the event assessments remained unchanged for 4 more years indicating a CSA mistake, when can the CSA reassess and possibly back date to?

2. I have been trying to find firm guidance on the above based on official law or guidance but without success. The general concensus so far from very credible posters is that if CSA make mistakes, they just back date arrears and use enforcement!

mrsspendalot

I have no idea, but I have always stated clearly, in writing, I want a reassessment and given them the reason why so there is no doubt I have asked for one.

When my ex changed jobs last year, it was a week before he told me. I knew he wouldn't have told them, so I called them immediately and told them. I also followed that up in writing for my paper trail. When the assessment came through, it was backdated to the date he changed job which was a week prior to me telling them. I expected it to go from the date I told them.

When my husband was being reassessed, it turned out he had overpaid. The overpayment and new assessment was backdated to the date his ex requested the reassessment, not when the change of circumstances took place.

I am about to receive my new reassessment, which has been a nightmare to sort out, and will be interested to see how far back they backdate this one, as when I requested the reassessment they said they couldn't do it because he was on benefits. This was incorrect, and he was working, but the computer hadn't updated. I *think* the lady dealing with my case said it would be backdated to when he stopped being eligible for benefits, which is about a month before I asked for reassessment. I shall see in a couple of days when the paperwork arrives!!!

PlayingHardball

Rustic100 wrote: »

What precisely triggers a re-assessment? if a NRP notified the CSA in 2006, that they now recieved a higher salary ie actual brief letter saying"I have now changed jobs and I now earn £XX,XXX gross anually" - , but the following 2007-2010 assesments showed no change in the payment. Has anyone actually "requested" a re-assessment?
1.Would the simple act of informing the CSA of higher salary trigger a re-assessment? In the event assessments remained unchanged for 4 more years indicating a CSA mistake, when can the CSA reassess and possibly back date to?

2. I have been trying to find firm guidance on the above based on official law or guidance but without success. The general concensus so far from very credible posters is that if CSA make mistakes, they just back date arrears and use enforcement!

In my experience, the CSA will look at information in the past. If they were given information and did not act on it, they have the power to rectify it and impose arrears.

PreludeForTimeFeelers

Generally the CSA will perform a reassessment when either party contacts the CSA to inform them of a change of circumstances (income, household members, shared care) or if either party asks the current circumstances to be looked at (for example, if a PWC believes an NRP has had a pay-rise). An NRP going on or off benefit will also trigger a change of circumstances.

By contacting the CSA, this sets the 'effective date' for the reassessment, which is when the new calculation will be back-dated to.

mrsspendalot

PreludeForTimeFeelers wrote: »

An NRP going on or off benefit will also trigger a change of circumstances.

By contacting the CSA, this sets the 'effective date' for the reassessment, which is when the new calculation will be back-dated to.

So, in the scenario I gave above, will my latest reassessment be backdated to the change of circumstance, i.e. the NRP coming off benefits in mid-December, or to the date when I became aware of this and asked them for the reassessment (mid-January)?

PreludeForTimeFeelers

mrsspendalot wrote: »

So, in the scenario I gave above, will my latest reassessment be backdated to the change of circumstance, i.e. the NRP coming off benefits in mid-December, or to the date when I became aware of this and asked them for the reassessment (mid-January)?

Is your case 'old rules' or 'new rules'? It will probably depend on whether or not their system flagged up when the NRP was no longer on benefits...however, if you notified them then that's what they should back-date it to. Do they now accept that he was indeed working when you called them? If so then there's no reason why they can't back-date it to then.

mrsspendalot

PreludeForTimeFeelers wrote: »

Is your case 'old rules' or 'new rules'? It will probably depend on whether or not their system flagged up when the NRP was no longer on benefits...however, if you notified them then that's what they should back-date it to. Do they now accept that he was indeed working when you called them? If so then there's no reason why they can't back-date it to then.

New rules.

They phoned me with my assessment and said because he was on benefits I got £5 per week. I told them immediately he was not on JSA, any more and that he was working. I gave them the name of the company he was employed by. She went off to check the computer and said it was saying he was in receipt of benefits, so there was nothing I could do other than report him for fraud if I knew 100% he was working. She took the employment details for the records though.

Fast forward to the complaint team getting involved, and the lady said the benefit computer was very delayed in updating information regarding his benefit status, and that she could now see how long he had been off benefits for, which was 'some time now'. She apologised for the problem it had caused with my reassessment. She said she would now be able to proceed with reassessing based on his employment and that it would be backdated to when the computer said he came off benefits. I just haven't been sure whether this is correct, as I always thought it would go from me requesting the assessment. I'm just wondering whether they will go back to the computer dates, because had it not been so delayed under normal circumstances it would have flagged up?

I guess I will know for sure in a couple of days when the assessment letter comes through with the effective date on.