CSA arears from 2002

mspa

Hi

My partner has just recieved a letter from the CSA out of the blue demanding £3,807 for what they claim is arears from 2002. As far as he was concerned he thought he was paid upto date and the claim had ended. They say it had just been delayed and now they want it paid back at £36 a week!! We asked them for a breakdown of why they thing he suddenly owes this money and it makes no sense at all. They even refunded him £40.80 back in 2003 as they said he had paid too much. How can they do this, can anyone help?:(

Rustic100

Sorry to hear that. I have been trying to make the point to CSA and via letter to the relavant Minister Maria Miller, that "Arrears Dumping" is one of the worst features of CSA.

They can even do it under the rules as they currently are if THEY have made a mistake, even years ago, no appeal or way to write off.

Good luck, make as much noise as you can as this needs changing! just plain unfair.

mspa

We are going to CAB on monday in the hope they can at least explain there workings out, although as it was so long ago and we have only been together for 2 years so we have no old wage slips or letters. But from what you have said it doesnt look like theres much hope. Will def be writing lots of letters to complain.

Sensemaya

I would recommend your contact your MP asap.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

The MP's assistant can phone the Parliamentary hotline and demand a complete account breakdown. All correspondence can then go through via MP and you have a paper trail. Ask them to provide you with a copy of the 2003 letter stating overpayment.I bet you they won't.

Do book an appointment at your MP's surgery armed with any photocopy of letters you may have, ( I sincerely hope you have some correspondence, but it's understandable if you have thrown it all out after this length of time )

Don't speak with them on the phone either.

mspa

Thanks for that will def get on to it

Rustic100

Just to qualify my earlier response, if CSA have done the calculation wrong (within their own rules)that has led to the arrears, I think you have a case to reduce the arrears.

But if say, you had notified CSA by letter (recorded) of a change in circumstance, but they lost it for say 7 years. CSA can say oops found it now and "arrears dump" to correct their mistake. This is unfair as it not only disrupts family finances (CSA can quickly get Court Orders for up to 40% of pay), but denies the non resident parent the opportunity to take legitimate actions (such as transfer private agreements into CSA) to reduce liabilities, or to pay at a reasonable rate.

iluvfreebies

Hi OP - Have they provided you with an accounts breakdown? If so this should show you how much was due to be paid for each assessment and what payments have been made. This should help establish where the arrears have come from.

Does your partner have an ongoing maintenance assessment? How is this paid? You can negotiate the arrears repayments if you cannot afford to pay at the suggested rate. for example if you have children in your house to support or in financial difficulty your bank statements / details of your outgoings can be looked by the senior managers to see if the rate at which arrears are collected can be reduced. The fact that the arrears have only been advised to you will also help with having the collection rate reduced.

mspa

Hi thansk for your message, they have provided a summary but to be honest it is very confusing, and I dont understand why a refund was issued a year later in 2003 if there was arrears. As far as I know the case is closed and no ongoing assessment.

iluvfreebies

There is a big sweep of closed cases ongoing at the moment to have anything on them cleared up before the new rules and new system come into effect which is why this has probably come to light now.
Hopefully the CAB will be able to make sense of the breakdown to show where the arrears have come from
However unfortunately the arrears will probably be valid and require repayment so i would try to have these set at a figure you and your husband can afford

Sensemaya

CSA are notorious for getting account breakdowns wrong. Indeed I've had 2 recently that are different and now awaiting another one!

Once they have replied to the MP it might be a good idea for the MP to arrange a meeting in their constituency office to 'discuss' the case with the Resolution team.

mspa

Thanks again for your replies. Been to CAB this morning who couldnt understand the summary either, they tried to call the CSA but couldnt get through so they advised us to call our MP, which we have now done any they are looking into it as they also say it doesnt sound right so fingers crossed they can help.