How long does a new claim take?

sunshine1980

Hello there

I have put in a new claim with the CSA and just have a few questions. How long does it take for them to contact the NRP and how long does the NRP have to send them 2 wage slips? How long does it then take to do an assessment and send out the schedule of payments? Also when is the claim backdated to - is it when they have made contact with the NRP?

The NRP is in full time employment and will hopefully co-operate and i have asked to be paid directly by the NRP as I have heard CSA are pretty terrible taking and sending payments on.

Has anyone had any positive experiences with the CSA or is that a really silly question?! :rotfl:

Thanks in advance for your replies!

PreludeForTimeFeelers

sunshine1980 wrote: »

Hello there

I have put in a new claim with the CSA and just have a few questions. How long does it take for them to contact the NRP and how long does the NRP have to send them 2 wage slips? How long does it then take to do an assessment and send out the schedule of payments? Also when is the claim backdated to - is it when they have made contact with the NRP?

The NRP is in full time employment and will hopefully co-operate and i have asked to be paid directly by the NRP as I have heard CSA are pretty terrible taking and sending payments on.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

The CSA have a target of 12 weeks from you applying to the first payment. They aim to contact the NRP within 4 weeks of you application, and it's this contact that sets the 'effective date' of the case, which is the date any payments will be due from. They'll try to phone him three times over two days, and if they have no joy then they'll send out a form in the post.

When they talk to him they'll give him a week to send his payslips in, if he doesn't do this then they'll go to his employer, who will have a fortnight to send the info in. Once they've got that info back the actual assessment should be done within a couple of days. The delays on a new application are usually caused when info isn't returned, or if there are disputes over shared care. If you think your ex will fully comply then there's no reason why the case can't be up and running within 4 weeks. It's worth ringing them for a progress report in a fortnight, then once a week after that - it means there's less chance of your case being put on the back burner.

New Applications is an area of the CSA with the most measurable targets, so they're usually pretty prompt.

turtlemoose

Prelude : I've read about "shared care" online and get the gist but can't find anything specific. Do you know (or know where I can find out) what the CSA view as shared care?

OH currently has SS 3 nights a week (Mon, Fri, Sat), and would be happy to have another weeknight because then he could help with the school run twice a week.

I've tried looking on the CSA and cmoptions but they're very vague :-/

PreludeForTimeFeelers

turtlemoose wrote: »

Prelude : I've read about "shared care" online and get the gist but can't find anything specific. Do you know (or know where I can find out) what the CSA view as shared care?

OH currently has SS 3 nights a week (Mon, Fri, Sat), and would be happy to have another weeknight because then he could help with the school run twice a week.

I've tried looking on the CSA and cmoptions but they're very vague :-/

Basically, the CSA class 'shared care' as a night where the child stays under the same roof as the non-resident parent. This doesn't necessarily mean it has to be at the NRPs house, it could be grandparents, so long as the NRP is there too. The CSA look at it in bands, for example Band 1 is where the child stays between 52 and 103 nights per year, Band 2 is between 104 and 158 nights per year. Child Maintenance is reduced by a 7th for each Band.

PreludeForTimeFeelers

PreludeForTimeFeelers wrote: »

Basically, the CSA class 'shared care' as a night where the child stays under the same roof as the non-resident parent. This doesn't necessarily mean it has to be at the NRPs house, it could be grandparents, so long as the NRP is there too. The CSA look at it in bands, for example Band 1 is where the child stays between 52 and 103 nights per year, Band 2 is between 104 and 158 nights per year. Child Maintenance is reduced by a 7th for each Band.

I've got some additional info to add as well;

Band 3 156 - 174
Band 4 175 - 182 (0.5 of mc and abatement of £7)

This means that if the qualifying child stays more than 175 nights per week (ie it's 50-50 care) then the amount to be paid would be half of the actual assessment, with an additional £7 taken off per child too.