Urgwnt CSA1 case

Kimitatsu

When you went onto IS in the '90's they would have sent someone out to you to help you fill out all of the forms for IS, HB nad the CSA at the same time. Because neither of you declared a change of circumstance then the CSA will have maintained the assessment and so he has built up arrears.

At some point you must have had details from them about the assessment etc, so I suggest that you contact the CSA and get YOUR DPA which may shed some light on it. But as has been said they will not talk to you about your ex husbands case as that is confidential.

I appreciate that you are probably getting it in the neck because he is having the money deducted from his wages, but at some point they will have written to him either at his address or at his work (they could not have assessed him without some sort of paperwork at some point from him) so he has to go back through and work out what he said or what you said at the time.

If he has that much in arrears and you were not claiming any benefits (remember its not just IS that counts but any CTB or HB at the time too) then the money should come to you eventually.

jetta_wales

Has he tried more solicitors yet?

ovoreo

My mum had a call similar to yours about 5 years ago, I was 25 at the time. Asking if she still wished to pursue her CSA claim. She obviously said no (he had only paid a total of £6.80 during my childhood). She needed the money when I was 9 and she couldn't buy school shoes, but not now. They then asked would she give up her claim over unpaid maintenance if they gave her a one off sum (about £1K I recall) so she agreed as she really wasn't interested in bringing up the past and I believe they said it was then up to them to reclaim the money from him over what if anything was still owed. I don't know if they continued pursuing him but it makes it sound like they'll claim regardless of if my mother pursued a claim. Not sure if this helps and I'll be honest I never saw the correspondance (not my business) but this is what I remember from the time.

nannytone_2

i went into what was then the DSS to make a claim. the forms were filled in there and then. they asked for my ex's name, which i gave them. they asked for an address, which i couldnt supply as i didnt know where he was living.
In the next 18 months, i heard NOTHING from the CSA.

my ex is adamant that he has never received any correspondance or phone calls from the CSA until the end of last year. and he is many thiongs, but he really isn't a liar, and i have no reason to doubt him.

gitting my files might be a good idea though.

he has seen3 seperate solicitors and the CAB, but no one wants to touch the case, they say the CSA has unlimited legal 'might' and it would probably end up costing him more in the long run.

even though he has his file, it contains no address where they say they contacted him. surely they have to supply it, so it can be proved or disproved that he lived there?
they did tell him an address over the phone, but he has never heard of it let alone lived there!

jetta_wales

Then he needs to go down the route of complaints I think. If you don't want to be the middleman (well woman) then ask him to join here but I'm sure there will be others around soon enough who can advise on the complaints procedures to get him to the point of a tribunal hearing which is what he needs to achieve to plead his case (if he does get the chance it would certainly support him if you attended too, would probably make a huge difference actually).

nannytone_2

just to add..........they have told him that he has no right of appeal.

jetta_wales

nannytone wrote: »

just to add..........they have told him that he has no right of appeal.

I know that's the part he needs to make a complaint about as they have done this based on the fact that he did not respond to a letter they did not send to an address which he lived at.

Kimitatsu

nannytone wrote: »

i went into what was then the DSS to make a claim. the forms were filled in there and then. they asked for my ex's name, which i gave them. they asked for an address, which i couldnt supply as i didnt know where he was living.
In the next 18 months, i heard NOTHING from the CSA.

my ex is adamant that he has never received any correspondance or phone calls from the CSA until the end of last year. and he is many thiongs, but he really isn't a liar, and i have no reason to doubt him.

gitting my files might be a good idea though.

he has seen3 seperate solicitors and the CAB, but no one wants to touch the case, they say the CSA has unlimited legal 'might' and it would probably end up costing him more in the long run.

even though he has his file, it contains no address where they say they contacted him. surely they have to supply it, so it can be proved or disproved that he lived there?
they did tell him an address over the phone, but he has never heard of it let alone lived there!

To be honest if 3 solicitors and the CAB will not touch it then perhaps he needs to heed their advice that it will cost more in solicitors fees than he will get back.

If he did not give you an address at the time as to where he was staying then the CSA would have had to track him down, and they could have done so through his NI number. It sounds a bit strange that you were in constant contact with him but didnt know where he lived how did he see the children?

Regardless of whether you believe him or not, the CSA have given him an address and it is up to him to prove that he was living somewhere else at the time the assessment was in place either by the electoral roll, council tax assessment etc.

nannytone_2

i wasnt in touch with him at the time, only in the past 6 or so years.
i used to drop the kids at his parents every weekend and he used to see them there.
i do see him now ( still dont know where he lives, and havent asked because i'm not interested!) i see him a few times a year on grandkids birthdays, and at weddings and funerals.
if they could trace him through his NI number......why did it take them 17 years to do it?

i really don't want to be involved in it all, but his wife is going on at my daughter, and she's asking me to help.

the wife wants me to tell them he was giving me money, which he wasnt. her reasoning seems to be that because i dont work, they couldnt make me pay. but his CSA case is a civil matter. i'd be admitting to a criminal offence (*benefit fraud)
to be honest if i thought that would help him, i would probably do it, but i'm not prepared to get a criminal record for something that i never did!

Marisco

If you don't agree with him paying the arrears, then just give them to him back when you get it every month! That saves all the flaff of appeals etc. See how much it is, then just do a standing order for it to go back into his bank the day after it goes into yours. Job done!:)