Is this a new one?

manamaga

I have done a search online but cannot find anyone who is having the same.........'payments' as me. Here go`s:
I have a teenage child to a previous partner who lives with his mum, and two kids with my current wife. Everything above board and i'm paying CSA each month from my salary for my child who lives with his mum. Now, two months ago, a brown envelope dropped through my letterbox from DWP. I thought "oh no, what now"!.......Anyways, upon opening the letter, I found a cheque for around £22 and the letter saying something along the lines of "Please find enclosed cheque in regards to your child maintenance" and that have I "considered having future payments made straight to my bank account." Its almost as though I have put in a claim for child maintenance myself!
My wife said to give them a call but I thought I would leave it another month to see iof the same happens again..................sure enough, I got another cheque for the same amount. I'm pretty sure that they have me mixed up with another claimant, and I have stored the cheques for safe keeping. Now I cant decide whether or not to email BBC Watchdog purley for the fun of it and to embarrass DWP, or just call them to tell them they have made a mistake!

Laura82_2

Not sure what you should do regarding Watchdog, but I think for the sake of the person who has not received their money for the past 2months, you should contact DWP to let them know. Chances are they have had somebody on the phone wondering where their money is, and being told it's been posted!!

sazzybum

Hi, my son had the same thing last month. It was for £13, but he only got it once.

He's in the Army and was paying CSA for his daughter to the tune of £200 a month, however the following month it was £187. When he called about it- they said it was because he'd overpaid one month and they'd re-assessed it to the lower amount, but it had been too late for them to take the new amount that month.

I don't know if that's the answer to your query-but I think you'd be better calling them.:) They might have a bad rap- but in this case-they were extremely helpful.

manamaga

I had thought it might be a 'refund' of sorts, for an overpaymet, but I would have thought that they would have mentioned this in the accompanying letter. Maybe i`ll give em a ring. I`ll keep you posted.

manamaga

Quick update: Just received another payment this morning, thats 3 months now. Will be giving them a call on Monday to see what the crack is! I`ll let you know.