CSA disputes

echis

Sorry if the following description of my circumstances is rather long- winded but I was wondering if anyone has had similar experiences with the CSA and if/how they resolved them. Any suggestions appreciated;


My situation is as follows. I have been divorced/separated for 15 years and have paid monthly contributions to support my two sons, applying the CSA formula to calculate the correct amount. I have NEVER missed a payment. However over the past few years I became self-employed and have had different jobs with vastly different incomes. I have continued to pay my dues but contact with the CSA has been a nightmare with a multitude of case workers appearing and disappearing with monotonous regularity. The upshot of all this is that I have regularly been asked to prove that I've made the monthly contributions and that they were correct.

This I have fully complied with, providing the CSA on numerous occasions with bank statements, tax return forms and details of all the regular monthly cheques (with cheque numbers,dates and amounts) that I have paid my ex-wife. She has now decided that she wants me to pay directly via the CSA even though they had advised me that voluntary payments were fine as long as she was happy. I have no issue with this change.

Imagine my horror when I was contacted out of the blue about a month ago and told that I owed £7,000 in arrears. Naturally I challenged this, citing all the evidence I had long been providing in respect of my income and payments and the answer I got was that they would look into my case. I had heard this before, umpteen times from umpteen different case workers each one of whom had to take the case up from cold and force me to go over all the old ground that I had already covered so many times.

The upshot was that today I received another call from a case worker entirely ignorant of the background of my case saying that I now owed arrears of £3,000. When I asked her to justify how they had suddenly dropped from £7,000 to £3,000 in a few weeks she would not answer, saying that she would review the case and get back to me. As I said, by my calculations I owe no arrears whatsoever and that if I did it would only be a marginal amount. If they come up with a similar figure I would obviously have no confidence in their numbers which I would ask them to explain in detail how they were calculated. Naturally they would probably refuse.

Another thing that concerned me was that The CSA employee said that as my payments had been directly to my ex-wife and not via the CSA then they might not count at all as contributions to my sons. This flabbergasted me as this voluntary arrangement had been fully endorsed by the CSA who at no point told me that I had to make contributions via their organisation.

They seem to make up rules that suit them as they go along and take whatever the mothers say without question while questioning fully everything I have done.

I am worried where this will end because I'm half expecting an arbitrary judgement against me for arrears which I do not owe. Can I challenge this? I'm pretty much at the end of my tether with the whole thing, especially as I have been a responsible father for all these years, paying as required and supporting my sons at all times.

Any advice or guidance anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated.

romanempire

First - GET A COPY OF YOUR FILE

See what they actually have on their system about you, not what some monkey tells you down the phone. Will cost you £10. See:-

Mr_Green_Genes wrote: »

The Data Protection Officer
Child Support Agency
Room BP6002
Benton Park View
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE98 1YX

They have 40 days, from the day they receive the request, to respond.

Secondly - Only deal with them in writing, sent recorded delivery.
They frequently fail to act on verbal requests or even record in their systems that you've had contact with them. Read these and other forums for plenty of examples of their incompetence. At the very least if you do it in writing you have evidence to push back with when they try to make out your in the wrong. Its also useful ammunition if you have to make a complaint and/or involve your MP.

R.

romanempire

Some questions:-

Has your ex ever claimed JSA/Income Support since you split?

If not why were the CSA involved?

R.

echis

Thanks R. Do you have to pay them up-front for this or do they bill you when you request it?

Echis

echis

Thjanks for your response. I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. Is it that if she claimed income support the CSA should not have been be involved?

Sensemaya

Good old MrGG. My, his post is has been there a long time.

Yes you have to pay upfront,but it's well worth it. Do expect the possibility that it may take longer than 40 days.

Have a peep at the sticky at the top of this forum for more info.

RM means that if your ex was ever in receipt of IS etc the CSA would have become involved and you may owe arrears to the SoS...secretary of state.

Like RM has said get your MP involved immediately. It will move more quickly and hopefully be resolved. You won't have to deal with the idiots over the phone and there will be a paper trail of all correspondence, so when you need to put in a complaint against them, you have the evidence.

Good Luck.

romanempire

echis wrote: »

Thanks R. Do you have to pay them up-front for this or do they bill you when you request it?

Echis

Send a cheque with your request so they don't have any excuse to delay their response. They are notorious for exceeding the 40 day limit. Put your NI No. on the back of the cheque.

Sensemaya wrote: »

The Child Support Agency Data Protection Unit
Room BP6002
DWP Benton Park View
Longbenton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1YX.
DATE:

Reference No: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dear sir or madam
Please send me the information to which I am entitled to under section 7(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998. I request all computer and clerical records to which I am entitled, and would ask that the notepad sections of the computer files are dated.
If you need further information from me, or a fee, please let me know as soon as possible.
If you do not normally handle these requests for your organisation, please pass this letter to your Data Protection Officer or another appropriate official.
Yours faithfully

R.

romanempire

echis wrote: »

Thjanks for your response. I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. Is it that if she claimed income support the CSA should not have been be involved?

If your ex claimed JSA/IS then the CSA involvement was compulsory and they will have made an assessment. Because until 2008? child maintenance was offset against benefits any arrears will be owed to the SOS (as Sensemaya already pointed out). That is what you have to pay (come hell or high water) unless you can prove its wrong. That's one way that seeing your file is essential.

If your ex never claimed and the arrangement was truly voluntary then there maybe no arrears and the CSA are talking out of their fundament. Not unusual for them. Again, that is why you need to see your file.

My case has only been on the go for a couple of years but already in the last month I've had 2 letters saying I have arrears. One says £138.89 and the other £1122.21!!! And that's on a £5 a week assessment. Luckily I'd done my research before the CSA got involved and I've got some time on my hands at the moment so my current hobby is putting sand in the CSA machine.

R.

Sensemaya

RM

Can beat you there. Even though my case has been under Judicial Review and supposedly everything was sorted,there were some figures being banded about recently.

Two assessments. One was £1000 and the other done the next day £6000.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Another CSA special.

Idiots.......

echis

Thanks again R for your feedback..much appreciated. Like other contributors on here it's impossible not to draw the conclusion that the CSA is a joke and many of its employees morons. How the hell are they allowed to get away with this? I can't for a moment imagine that they pursue genuinely !!!!less fathers who have no interest in supporting their kids with the same vigour that they reserve for decent dads trying to do the right thing.

romanempire

How the hell are they allowed to get away with this?

Because they are a government agency and relatively immune to the usual legal remedies other badly behaved organisations are subject to. And it doesn't help that their target group is easily stereotyped and demonised in the media. Also it was set-up in a hurry so the usual checks and controls that, for instance, HMRC are subject to were not built-in.

I can't for a moment imagine that they pursue genuinely !!!!less fathers who have no interest in supporting their kids with the same vigour that they reserve for decent dads trying to do the right thing.

Because decent dads are also trying to be good parents (instead of just being a walking wallet) and stay involved with their kids. This, by definition, makes them an easy target and the CSA is very target driven (as some of the ex-CSA employees on here can confirm).

Their 'mission' is also undermined because the formula used for their calculations is fundamentally unfair and at odds with their supposed objectives. And much like the 'Poll Tax' its deeply resented which leads to problems with its administration and collection.

R.