Taking legal action against the CSA

ts_aly2000

Regarding bankcruptcy. Arrears where children are concerned ARE NOT included in a bankcuptcy, even if they are list on the Statement Of Affairs.

OH owed about £2000 for the under-18 son (at college) which was not included.

Certain things are exempt; Court fines, Student loans, Child maintenance arreas.

It would be worth posting any bankcruptcy questions to this forum; http://www.debtquestions.co.uk/debt_forum/ . They're more interested in what can and can't be done on there, rather than what's politically correct or incorrect.

You could of course declare him bankcrupt by serving a debtors' petition on him. That would well and truly kick him in the nuts. Although if he has other debts then they would also take their equal share.

Just ideas to mention next time you're at the solicitors.

michelefauk

Hi agin
thanks for all your messages.
I think the problem now has moved from getting the money from my ex as he no longer has anything the CSA could take, to making the point that the CSA have had 14 years to get some payments off him and have done nothing till it was too late. They did at one stage set up a Deduction Of Earnings, 6 months later they still hadnt managed to collect anything and by then the company had gone into liquidation. Also the first 8 years of arrears can no longer be claimed I think, as you can only go back 6 years, so the real figure he owes is nearer 50k. Even if i took him to court, he has nothing to take, IYSWIM, no money, no job, no property etc etc. He has so many debts and I am sure I am only one of many that he owes thousands to. Even if they put him inprison, that isnt going to get my children their money.

My solicitor is really confident we have a strong case against the CSA, I have kept a diary of all my conversations with them which reads like a horror story! I have come off the phone so many times in tears of frustration, dealing with the CSA is like banging your head against a brick wall as nobody seems to actually take ownership and do anything to help me.

When I told them last year that he was selling his house and making a profit, they told me they could put a charging order on the property before the money was paid to him, never did it in time, despite a million phone calls from me and the money went into his pocket and is gone. My solicitor is now taking my case to judical review (no idea what that is, but sounds impressive!) so things are definately moving along, it isnt somuch about the money, it is more the fact that my children have gone without for all these years when he swanned around like Lord Muck and nobody did anything about it.

going2die_rich

With the changes occuring in the CSA, you maybe able to force the £22k debt to be passed from the CSA to the debt collectors. Which I believe is the plan for maintenances the CSA is unable to collect. Although this I believe won't be implemented for a year or so yet. But if the court case doesn't work in your favour, that may help you get the money sooner. As, how many people want debt collectors knocking on the door after seeing what scum go around on the BBC documentary a few months back.

Also as for the charge on the house, I believe you could have done that. I know it's a bit late for yourself, but for any other readers it may help them.

Sensemaya

michelefauk

Were you the lady that posted this question on another website?

Before embarking on a Judicial Review you must have exhausted every other complaint procedure. Although ICE worked for the other lady I would go to the parliamentary ombudsman first.

http://www.dca.gov.uk/civil/procrules_fin/contents/protocols/prot_jrv.htm

http://www.elc.org.uk/pages/lawukjudicial%20review.htm

There is a very strict time limit.

Where is your solicitor up to on proceedings?

michelefauk

Hi
I wasnt the person posted on another thread, I havent posted about this before.

As far as I know,my solicitor is looking at the case in two parts, one to do with the judicial review (I think this is more about policy) and the other side is to do with the negligence. I have completed a statement and filled in loads of forms, have also given lots of other information regarding conversations with the CSA etc. My sol has written to the CSA asking why it has taken them so long to get nowhere basically, they have yet to answer that!

welshcakes

I'm not a big an of the US legal system however they do appear to be quite effective at expediting penalties against the dodging parent and utilise far more effective deterents such as withdrawing driving licenses.

Now I appreciate that the downside of that particular method is that it may affect the absent parent's ability to earn an income however it is reinstated once a good amount of the arrears is paid and would surely put off many from job / address hopping.

kelloggs36

going2die_rich wrote:

Also as for the charge on the house, I believe you could have done that. I know it's a bit late for yourself, but for any other readers it may help them.

An individual cannot do this as the debt is owed to the CSA which is then passed on to the individual (unless PWC on benefits). So although the money is owed to you, only the CSA can do anything about it.

If they failed to act in time, you may well have a case although they may argue that it takes a long time to get sorted out - in excess of 12 weeks, so if the sale was already going through, this would have been why they were too late. You need to check WHY it was too late - but you could counter argue that this enforcement action was always open to them from the time that the debt was enough to apply for a charging order.

Let us all know how you get on! Good luck.

michelefauk

Re the sale of the house, this took almost a year to go through, as my ex and his then wife lost 2 buyers and as they were splitting up and splitting the proceeds, my ex kept refusing offers, so the CSA knew for about 10 months that the house was being sold, I think even they should have been able to act in that length of time!

kelloggs36

I agree. I hope you get somewhere!

Sensemaya

kelloggs36 wrote:

An individual cannot do this as the debt is owed to the CSA which is then passed on to the individual (unless PWC on benefits). So although the money is owed to you, only the CSA can do anything about it.

And this is what is so frustrating. Not being able to do things by yourself. It would be so much quicker to start proceedings through Court, if one was allowed to.

I think michelefauk is going to have a hard time with the CSA as I reckon she hasn't exhausted the complaints procedure.

However, I wish Michelle good luck too and hope she succeeds.

Keep us updated.