CSA Payments seem way too high - HELP!

iamana1ias

grimsbyavon wrote: »

my husband co-operated with them, rang them up etc but they dont listen to his circumstances, just demand the money. He works night shifts so its hard to arrange work round night shifts and sleeping in the day etc. i have worked all my adult life untill we had our second child in 2009, im not a benefit scrounger or anything like that, i dont even claim job seekers allowance which i suppose i am entitled too. like i say i dont begrudge him paying the money but i think the amount is unrealistic especially the way the country is in economic crisis, think it should be more realistic thats all. just trying to make the most of a bad situation and try to come to some arrangement that suits everyone fairly

You aren't entitled to JSA as you clearly aren't looking for a job. There's no way you're surviving on £160 per week so the handouts must be considerable.

grimsbyavon

with all respect loopy girl, im not moaning about lack off money, we are far from being rich i know but the point i was making was the payments are so high, its not realistic percentage from his earnings its over half!

people with a job shouldnt put people without one down they should feel lucky that they have a job. my partner is gratefull that he is working part time, he would prefer full time but that option isnt easy to come by nowadays.

i myself would like a job to get me out of the house and feel i am worth something but its not as easy as some people make out, the amount of jobs out there a few and far between yet the amount of people after those jobs are increasing.

Loopy_Girl

Lets be honest here....he has avoided paying before and has clearly been ignoring letters this time round.

So you have had all this time with no child support payments.

You do need to make sure that the figures used are correct and the formulae used to make the assessment as given by fannyanna is correct.

You won't hear back about sending in your outgoings/income and if you do, it will be to tell you that they don't take things into account.

Child support is classed as a priority debt and should come after your mortgage and utilities - it shouldn't be last on the list and 'whatever is left' is passed on.

If you have debts you need to get in touch with them and offer token payments.

And finally, once a DEO is in place it is virtually impossible to get lifted and especially for non compliancy (which it sounds like your husband was)

Basically, you need to check they have the correct figures and if so then the £70pw will be payable. If not, you need to get in touch with them to make sure he is liable for the correct amount.

Whislt I sympathise it's alot of money to lose a week, in fairness he has brought this on himself by not responsing to letters, building up debt and sticking his head in the sand.

Loopy_Girl

grimsbyavon wrote: »

the point i was making was the payments are so high, its not realistic percentage from his earnings its over half!

But, by your own admisson, he has debt with them and they would have been trying to get in touch with him to get this paid off before resorting to getting the normal maintenance and also the arrears via a DEO.

grimsbyavon

they sent him letters about being in debt, but this was the time when he had just come out of work, even then he was paying an agreed amount each month to a debt collector company, he didnt ignore it! its only after hes been working part time that they decided to contact him again and take a lot higher amount. I understand what everyone is saying about him paying back what he owes etc but surely we have a right as a family ourselves to be able to afford the essentials like mortgage to keep a roof over our families head and food and heating costs etc. We dont live luxurious lives like some might want to believe, we just make do.

Loopy_Girl

No one is saying you are living like kings but the rules are that CS payments are seen as a priority - and not as the dregs of whatever is left in the pot at the end of the month.

You have been given loads of good advice here but ultimately, the DEO is in place now so if you are unable/unwilling to bring more income into the house, you are going to have to think of ways to cut your outgoings.

There are lots of good boards on here dealing with debt and also living and feeding a family very cheaply - have a look round and you may pick up some tips.

grimsbyavon

we are already looking at cutting our outgoings down, but there are some things that cant get any cheaper no matter what we try, our mortgage is already on a tracker deal so is the lowest it has been in years, just hope the banks interest rate doesnt go up any time soon otherwise that will be another monthly bill increasing. We have cut down on gas and electricity use by turning lights off and turning mains off at the switch at nights etc and right now im sat with layers off clothing on instead of having the fire on for example. Were not wasting our money away. Even got to the stage were selling stuff we saved hard for when we was both working full time to be able to pay the higher bills. i appreciate what everyone is saying but it doesnt help the situation. i was only asking advice trying to get some information on things now it seems im being targeted for not working or wanting to help my family when that is far from the case

fannyanna

OP as another NRPP I do sympathise with you.

Whilst I agree with other posters that he must pay maintenance and any arrears that have accrued I know how difficult it is to see up to 40% of your partners income go to another home. Especially when (rightly or wrongly) you deem that other home to not need that much money.

I too have been on the receiving end of "we don't care about your mortgage" when my husband had arrears to pay (funnily enough built up as a direct result of the CSA's poor administration) and can fully appreciate how soul destroying it is. At the moment I myself do not have children but I can imagine that if I ever have to go through that again in the future when I do have a child of my own to support I would be extremely upset and frustrated.

It's extremely difficult but my advice is to try and detach emotion from the situation and just arrange how the maintenance and arrears will need to be paid.

grimsbyavon

thank you fannyanna, someone that sees my side of the story as a wife with 2 kids of my own! im not saying the ex shouldnt get anything but i feel that like you say having a mortgage to pay should be the highest priority as with other essential bills to ensure that our TWO children have what they also need and deserve.

the ex should get some payments toward their son, thats not what im disputing, its the amount they are taking that im disputing.

my husband has paid what he can when he can, he hasnt just not been paying full stop.

AnxiousMum

grimsbyavon wrote: »

thank you fannyanna, someone that sees my side of the story as a wife with 2 kids of my own! im not saying the ex shouldnt get anything but i feel that like you say having a mortgage to pay should be the highest priority as with other essential bills to ensure that our TWO children have what they also need and deserve.

the ex should get some payments toward their son, thats not what im disputing, its the amount they are taking that im disputing.

my husband has paid what he can when he can, he hasnt just not been paying full stop.

Would you find it acceptable that your husband financially supported your current children 'when he can', or would you expect them to be a priority to ensure they have what they need each day?
If your husband had been compliant from the start, and paid the expected payments - there would be no arrears, and he would be paying according to the calculations with no arrears.

You mention she has a new partner - but why is it his financial responsibility to provide for another man's child? Most do to a great extent - the Pwc not working so being supported by the new partner - which by default, means they are also supporting the child. The child has two parents, and each one of them is responsible for the financial wellbeing of that child.

By all means, make sure that your assessment is correct - but I don't think you can use the fact that he works shift work on 16 hours per week as a reason he cannot communicate during normal business hours with CSA to get things corrected.