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Csa help

ankspon
ankspon Posts: 2,371 Forumite
My brother was made redundant and informed the CSA immediately,he said he would pay the mininum £5 weekly while they did a reassessment and also told them he is working for an agency which is hit and miss so no regular earnings.Today he received a letter saying they have tried to contact him(they have not)and because he has not replied they will do a default maintenance decision which could mean paying more and they say he has already started to build up arrears.How can he have built up arrears if they have not yet done the default decision and what can he do about the whole situation.
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Comments

  • davidhwdn wrote: »
    My brother was made redundant and informed the CSA immediately,he said he would pay the mininum £5 weekly while they did a reassessment and also told them he is working for an agency which is hit and miss so no regular earnings.Today he received a letter saying they have tried to contact him(they have not)and because he has not replied they will do a default maintenance decision which could mean paying more and they say he has already started to build up arrears.How can he have built up arrears if they have not yet done the default decision and what can he do about the whole situation.


    The first thing he needs to do is ring them up.

    How long has his case been going on for? If he's working for an agency is he classed as employed or self-employed?
  • ankspon
    ankspon Posts: 2,371 Forumite
    The first thing he needs to do is ring them up.

    How long has his case been going on for? If he's working for an agency is he classed as employed or self-employed?
    He has rung,the case is about 5 years old and he is employed but doesn't get many hours
  • davidhwdn wrote: »
    He has rung,the case is about 5 years old and he is employed but doesn't get many hours


    Okay, because he's made contact they'll not impose the default maintenance decision. Best thing to do would be for them to average put his earnings over the past two months, and assess him based on this average. Then, if his wage drops, he will need to call them again for a reassessment. Ditto if his wages rise by more than about 5%.

    Has he got a relationship with the child's mam? If so, it may be worth him contacting her to see if she'd agree to a private arrangement, explaining to her that his wages go up and down.
  • ankspon
    ankspon Posts: 2,371 Forumite
    Okay, because he's made contact they'll not impose the default maintenance decision. Best thing to do would be for them to average put his earnings over the past two months, and assess him based on this average. Then, if his wage drops, he will need to call them again for a reassessment. Ditto if his wages rise by more than about 5%.

    Has he got a relationship with the child's mam? If so, it may be worth him contacting her to see if she'd agree to a private arrangement, explaining to her that his wages go up and down.
    He could not get through to his case worker,the lady who he spoke to said he should not have received the letter but he received it on saturday and has to speak to her by monday or else.He was also told all the info is on the computer regarding his phone call for a change of circumstances and that he was told they will have to reassess.How can they say he has arrears without knowing what he has to pay.There is absolutely no chance of sorting it out with his ex partner.How can they say he has arrears
  • The DMD warning letter is a heavy-handed way of getting a non-resident parent to contact the CSA. As he has contacted them then they can't impose if unfairly, he'll only have arrears once they assess the case, (for the period between him notifying them about the employment change and the time it takes them to reassess him).

    To speed things along, it's probably worth him telling them they can go straight to his payroll department, who will be able to show the CSA what he is currently earning.
  • ankspon
    ankspon Posts: 2,371 Forumite
    It says he is already accruing arrears,not that he may do
  • davidhwdn wrote: »
    It says he is already accruing arrears,not that he may do

    That'll be true, if he's currently nil-assessed due to his last job ending and is in the process of getting a new assessment carried out...if he's making payments of £5 per week currently then at least he'll not have to pay as much once the reassessment is carried out.
  • ankspon
    ankspon Posts: 2,371 Forumite
    No wonder so many fathers commit suicide with the CSA rules.Someone else i know has to pay a person who is a millionaire,lives in a £750,000 7 bed mini mansion,owns 4 cars and has just bought themselves a new one of which there are only 12 in the country.They claim CSA off a person who earned £200 per week.I agree children need supporting when finances are hard but this was done out of spite.
  • ankspon
    ankspon Posts: 2,371 Forumite
    What are the rules when the child is attending college and working part time?
  • w1ck3d
    w1ck3d Posts: 84 Forumite
    davidhwdn wrote: »
    What are the rules when the child is attending college and working part time?

    Still has to be paid up until the age of 19 and in Full Time Education.....i believe
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