CSA1 whats the most they can take off me!!

jarhead66

I read on here one of the threads saying that when a child gets to 16 "the carer allowance" on the maintenance needed is not taken into account. I phoned the CSA and they told me that the carers allowance is not included in my assesmentif i was to be reassesed. so now my maintenance needed will be reduced. At the moment on the paperwork that the CSA have sent me my weekly maintenance is £106.08
this includes:-
Maintenance needed = £87.40
total child allowance = £57.57
carer allowance =£32.73
premiums = £17.40
less child benefit = £20.30
weekly maintenance required £106.08p
This was worked out Sept 2010 for my son
Could someone please advise me on the following
1) Will my payments drop by much as my wages have not changed?
2) Will i only be liable for the child allowance and only pay that and nothing else?
3) At the moment i am paying an extra £18.68 aweek because the CSA say i can afford it is this right or can i apeal against it? 4) Carer allowance £32.73 + £18.68 deducted from £106.08 = £54.67 is this about what i should be paying??
5) As i have been paying carer allowance when i shouldn't have been will it be back dated to my son's 16 birthday he is now 17?
6) is there anyway that the CSA will work out my maintenace to just include the maintenace needed or will they still look at me as an open cheque book?
For once when i spoke to the CSA the person was ok with me and advised me that i could go for an reassement without using my wage slips however she said once i did that my ex would ask for a reassement of my wages, so she advised to wait until i had a few low wage slips!!!
:beer::beer:

RAS

There are very few people who know anything about CSA1, so do a search on the forum and Pm a few useful people.

edwinz

It's impossible to answer your questions because of all the different elements in "old rules" calculations and how they interact eg level of protected income, exempt income, PWC's income etc. You can't really calculate bottom-line changes just from the different Income Support elements. The maintenance however can never be more than 30% of your net pay (excluding arrears). I assume the £18.68 is arrears, there has to be some reason it is included. I doubt the parent as carer element will be backdated - all the elements of the existing assessment normally stand until something forces a change, and that's when the new rate kicks in.

jarhead66

The £18.68 is not arreas it is what the CSA decided that as i was working overtime that i could afford to pay more, I am paying my arrears of £44 amonth £106.08 is my weekly assesment for one child, when on my paperwork from the CSA it clearly states maintenance required £87.40

edwinz

"Maintenance required" is just a notional figure derived from the various income support elements. It is not the actual amount you have to pay, it's just a reference figure used later in the calculation. This is based on your net weekly income less your exempt income (which gives your assessable income), the PWC's assessable income if any, and the amount of your income that has to be "protected" (ie that you must be left with). There are rules for calculating each of these, and then for arriving at the actual amount of maintenance to be paid. It's all very complicated and even when you have all the figures it's not easy to follow the CSA calculations because of the way they set them out. You could try taking your CSA paperwork to Citizens Advice and asking them if they can calculate what you would have to pay on a reassessment. Or you could just request reassessment anyway and see what the outcome is.

jarhead66

Thanks for that!! I have been reading up on the CSA1 and from what i can gather they can take the maintenance needed. they also state that "by law we "CAN" take up to another 15% for one child". from your income if you have income left over after the CSA have done there calculations.
I do not have a problem paying the maintenance needed its just the extra, if i did just pay the maintenance needed then i would be about in line with what i would be paying on CSA2.
Is there anyway that i could just pay the maintenance needed as the CSA stated the word "CAN!" does that mean will?,
Would i have a case in the appeal stage with this or do they p--s in the same pot?

edwinz

They don't have discretion to add or take away amounts at will. The amount you pay is calculated by reference to a formula whcih is defined in the legislation and which uses your income, the PWC's income and certain other measures (such as the income support amounts) and there is only one right answer, assuming the inputs are correct. If it's right, it can't be negotiated or appealed. As mentioned, the fact that they describe some of the reference figures along the way as "maintenance needed" or "required" or "proposed" is just terminology describing bits of the overall calculation, they could just as well call them A B and C for all the difference it would make. Unfortunately giving them these names makes NRPs think that when the actual amount asked for is more, they are being ripped off.

jarhead66

Why don't they just put on there letters maintenance needed = as much as they can get!!! At the end of the day all i want is a fair maintenance assessment that in some where in line with CSA2 is that too much to ask??