CSA arrears to be paid in 2 years

topcat1974

hesjane wrote: »

I do agree CSA are useless - my own experience with them bears witness to that. I was on benefits for only a few months and then worked, but because of that short period CSA got involved. My husband always paid me and paid over and above what CSA eventually demanded he pay. They took so long to sort everything out that he finally got a bill for over £9k. I wrote and told them that he had paid me and I had declared it against the few months benefits I had received. I told them he did not owe it, he told them he did not owe it...and we ended up getting a solicitor to write to them and in the end the only way they would drop it was if I would write a letter stating that I no longer wished to pursue the arrears from my husband! A letter stating he had paid me it already was obviously not good enough.

But....I agree with Tootise Roll - how much your DH pays is based on his income and not what you feel it costs to keep a child. Would you expect Jude Law for example to pay the same amount in CSA for his child as your DH does?

You say that CSA took 6 months to work out the figures which left over £5000 arrears - but at 'nearly 600 pounds a month' - six months is less than £3,600 so he must have missed some payments somewhere else then.

I know it's irritating for your DH to have make the increased payments, but during the period he was waiting for CSA to work out the payments if he had put aside a reasonable estimate he could have paid it all at once and then wouldn't be in this situation. He obviously had several months at one point with no payments and chose not to put the money aside and he must have realised that an increased salary would have meant an increased commitment to CSA. I'm not knocking him for that - it's easily done but
he obviously does owe this money and two years to pay it seems reasonable to me.

This is exactly my point, the CSA are telling us we owe nearly 5000 pounds and want us to pay it back at 158 per month on top of the monthly payments of 417 pounds, but there is no way we have accrued that amount of arrears it doesnt add up, but apparently it could take the CSA accounts team 2 months to look in to it for us. This means we have no option but to pay this amount as it comes straight from my husbands wages, which will then mean he cannot afford the petrol to get to work.
All i wanted to know is, is there a way we can negoiate these arrears payments, i did not mean to offend anyone, we know we owe money for the months we did not pay and we are prepared to pay these arrears, but the problem we have is the high payments we pay for being on the old 30% system, means anything more than the 25 pounds we pay now is going to push us in to debt. Paying on the 30% system obviously means these arrears are based on the 30% system, i just dont see how this can be fair when those on the new system pay only 15%. My husband has nothing to do with his ex partner or his daughter, but he has in no way shurked his responsibilities, apart from the months where the CSA we reassessing him, he has always made his monthly payments, but it seems this unfair payment system means we are going to go into debt, for doing the right thing.
I know the CSA has done wrong by alot of mothers etc, but i just wanted to put the point across it isnt always the mothers who suffer.

Donedoingdebt

The new & old systems work in different ways. The new system, as you've correctly stated means that your OH will pay 15% of net income for 1 child & you receive no allowances.
However, under the old system it is not as simple as 30% of net. you are entitled to an allowance off your living expenses regarding mortgage/rent & council tax plus 50% of any pension contributions.
If he has any children with you or he has a step child living with him, then again he'll receive a 15% allowance.
Make sure he's receiving all he's due. As for dealing with the CSA, yes it can be frustrating. All I can advise is keep on ringing & be as polite as you can as I'm sure if you're rude, you'll go to the bottom of the pile!

beanielou

Has your Oh had his wages arrested then?
Is this why money comes direct from his wages?

GirlRacer_2

I must admit I found myself in this position a few years ago. My husband actually owed me approx £3000. I did however, write these arrears off as I'd already managed without the money. I told my ex that as long as he pays me the amount agreed by the date agreed that I would write to the CSA and tell them that he'd paid the arrears.

Would your husbands ex be prepared to do that?

calleyw

Yes my husband is the same position. Only £900 but his only income is benefits at the moment. They want £40 a month.

We get a phone last week threatening to take us to court no other letters etc.

I get to slog my guts out all week working hard to be able pay the household bills and run a car that is essential as my husband has a stroke and almost died and can't walk to far etc.

He in on DLA which is meant to pay for his extra needs for being disabled such a taxi's, physio session at £45 an hour :eek: swimming session etc.

But hey he almost died last september and is still in his stroke recovery period as well as still being a sick man from the condition that caused the stroke. But lets hound him and take to court. Like they give a monkeys. And I get to pick up the pieces.

Oh and by the way we don't deny the arrears and are not saying we will not pay. All we want is a small breathing space for a few months just to see how things are going to pan out for my husband.

Yours


Calley

dolly-baby

topcat1974 wrote: »

I agree my husband did not make payments during those 6 months, but the monthly amount increased hugely due to a rise in wages for the new job, an amount we had no way of knowing until the CSA contacted us 6 months later, so we had been putting by an amount to pay the maintenence whilst the CSA assessed it, however it was nowhere enough.
My comment was not meant to insinuate that we are not prepared to pay the arrears, it was meant that as my Husband is someone who pays his maintenence it is easy for the government to target him to pay his arrears to make up a deficit from those who pay no money at all. We are quite willing to pay the arrears, however on top of the monthly amount we pay at the moment there is no way we can afford to repay those arrears within 2 years. The CSA set the amount we used to pay to cover the arrears at 25 pounds which we could manage, they have now upped that to 158 pounds, which we can simply not afford and are not prepared to comprimise or negoiate at all.

Can you tell me that the cost to keep one child is nearly 600 pounds a month, which is what we will have to pay, that is twice as much as our mortgage a month!

if it did cost that much to look after 1 child why dont single parents get that much in benefits? it certainly doesnt cost no where near that amount, and 30% of his wages, that is extremely high i think.