Urgent CSA advice needed.

ToToTango

thanks buckaroo - yes we have some bank paying in slips. Will be going to cab but can't get in until after bank holiday. phoned csa who would not negotiate a reasonable payment plan so they will be passing matter to debt collection agency - anyone know what this involves. People have referred to info from data protection - how do you get this and would it be relevant? A lot of problems with csa are due to their lack of communication, members of staff giving different information and quite honestly after several bad experiences and a previous statement saying we owed £43,000 it is very scary to have to deal with them.
Perhaps stupidly we made some cash payments (not much - £10 a week or so) to ex-wife while waiting for CSA to sort things out (also tried to buy clothes etc when poss for child). If we can prove we made these payments would csa take it off the "bill" (it wouldn't be much but every little helps). Ex wife is reluctant to agree she recieved any cash in case she would have to pay it back? Has anyone got any suggestions -this will drive us to distraction over the bank holiday.

buckaroo

I doubt your dh's ex wife would have to pay the money back, unless of course she was claiming income support when she shouldn't have been. Although this wouldn't be a matter for the CSA, it would be a benefit issue.

I agree that it often feels like you are going around in circles when dealing with the CSA and the advice you are given quite often differs. You could ring back and insist that you want to speak to a supervisor or someone higher up than your case worker and see if that helps.

Ime, nothing happens very quickly with the CSA, unless they have someone actively on their case all the time, progress tends to be slow. Try not to worry too much over the holiday weekend, but if you'll rest a bit easier I'd definitely try and speak to someone higher up.

calleyw

ToToTango wrote: »

We have just had a letter from CSA saying we owe some money between 1993 and 2001. If the amount is not paid in 7 days they will refer to a debt collection agency. The attached sheets show various figures but are very hard to understand - they don't seem to show any of the payments made (although after we rung them they acknowledged some of the payments). Can anyone advise where to go from here. This matter has been ongoing for years (problems started when csa took over from court payments). Child is question is now 22. CSA would not negotiate repayments at all.

I don't know what to suggest as we got call today saying they where going to take my husband to court for arrears.

His only income is IB/DLA and they say he has to pay £40 a month in the past arrears have been £20 a month. He had a stroke last septmber and has been told numerous times he does not have to pay anything including arrears.

We don't dispute the arrears but they suggest we could pay it in one lump. When I had finished laughing so hard and got off the floor I was like :mad:

My husband is still in recovery and does not need the added stress. And they have sent us no paper work to tell us what was happening.

His IB/DLA is there to help for his extra needs caused by the stroke and my wage goes to paying off household bills and run a car.

I am very angry about this as we assumed it was like the csa payments that they where on hold until he goes back to work.

Yours


Calley

ToToTango

does anyone know any solicitors who specialise in matters like this in the west midlands area who could help. Its not that we don't want to pay the money owed but when they try to make you pay over half of your salary how are we supposed to live?

kelloggs36

You need an accounts breakdown - if you get one then you can PM it to me if you like and i can explain it (I'm CSA staff). It can be confusing if they refer to supersessions and Initial Payment Periods etc.

Both the 2 cases need this before any further advice can be given really.

ToToTango

Thanks kelloggs36. Do you know why they won't negotiate payments - they seemed very eager to pass it straight over to the debt collection agency. Have you got any idea what we can expect from them? TIA

ToToTango

thanks kelloggs36. would you happen to know why they didn't want to negotiate a payment schedule. they seemed very eager to pass it straight over to the debt collection agency. Would you happen to know what we can expect from them. TIA

kelloggs36

I don't know why they won't negotiate payments - the debt collection agency thing is new and not something I have experience of, but once it has been passed to them, any negotiations will have to be done with them.

You need to get the amount sorted out first though -
Solicitors that are good - Forshaws but they are based in Cheshire - Stephen Lawson specialises but is excellent. You don't have to see him, you can do it by post and phone. He is very open about costs etc and will explain what needs to be done.


In terms of direct payments you made already:

If your ex was on Income Support then any payments will be recovered from her income support either by deductions or by asking her to repay them if she is no longer in receipt of it. However, if she has never been on Income Support, then she can tell the CSA that she received whatever, and they will deduct it off what is owed by you which will reduce the bill- she won't be in trouble for that at all. It important thing is whether she was on Income Support for the period when payments were made.

kelloggs36

Calleyw - how much arrears are we talking here? Normally, if somebody is in receipt of benefits then they don't take recovery action against them - go to your MP about it as it is affecting his health (your partner, not the MP lol). You could make them an offer of 5.80 per week which is the minimum they can take in respect of arrears as a gesture whilst you try to get somewhere with your MP.

Could you get your Doctor to write a letter explaining the health implications of what they are doing in order to back up what you are saying - Please don't take this the wrong way - but anybody could claim to be ill in order to avoid payment (I'm not suggesting for one minute that he is one of them), but the CSA don't know without evidence - so a Doctor's letter can only prove what you are saying and they may take you more seriously? I am only suggesting here - I don't know if it will definately work. Speak to the HEO in charge of the team and ask if this will help - it will prove you are taking the matter seriously but aren't trying to pull a fast one.

Why is it that in some cases where it isn't warranted, the CSA hound the NRP, yet in cases where the NRP is blatantly refusing to pay, they really drag their feet and need to be forced to take action?

ToToTango

thanks again Kelloggs - will follow up that solicitor. She was on income support so I don't suppose she will help by saying what payments she received, even though they were only £10 or so a week.