Advice Needed.

dab73

New to the whole CSA thing so after a bit of advice.

History.
I was in a relationship with the PWC for 8 years and we finally split up as I couldn't maintain the House finances and the PWC woouldnt move closer to my work or get a job to assist witht he finances.

At the point of leaving 14 Months ago I was in a fair ammount of debt due to car finance, personal loan and Credit card debt totalling 24K

I had a Voluntary agreement in place with the PWC up untill I asked her for some help with PAying off our Joint Debt.

this involved me handing over £ £3250 at point of Seperation, in adition she has received an additional £6000 in regular payments from me whilst I have been servicing the debt which has been reduced solely by myself by £7,000 over this period.

So with having 10 weeks left on my work contract I asked my Ex the PWC to give me a payment break or a reduction so I can clear as much of the joint debt before my contract ends.

She has refused any change to the agreement and since I have been contacted by the Child Support Agency.

This is where i am confused. I have worked out what I should be paying compared to what i have paid to this date and i have already contributed 3- 4 times what I should have but the CSA are not concerned with this.

They also will not take into account my other Child as her monther and I still have a working VA and this is not through the agency.

So instead of it being 10% of my net they say i will be liable for 15% in additin nothing i have contributed before will be taken into consideration.

My ex is not liable for the debt as it is in my name even though she was jointly responsible for the spend especially the carl oan which is most of the outstanding (10K)

Can anyone help me as to what my position is here as this seems to me to be highly unfair and for being Amicable and considerate up to now for the sake of my child and paying over the odds why she found work (still no job in 14 months) is going to go against me.

Surely what contributions i have made to date and my previous voluntary agreement must be considered if they are within the recommended limits laid out by the CSA regulations.

Not really sure where to turn here so any advice is welcome

DUTR

The true answer cannot be wrapped in cotton wool.
Whatever happened before the case is irrelevant as far as the rules are concerned, csa2 is 15% , 20% for 2 or 25% for 3 or above, less the same amount of net for any co habiting children or qualifying children that they have on the system already.
So look forward to contributing 15% net until your circumstances change.
Good luck

dab73

Ouch, so the fact i have paid mor than enough for 3 years voluntary is not taken into consideration and unless i ask the other PWC to contact the CSA. i will be contributing 25% ranther than the 20 I am duty bound to do so.

How can this be legal?

Also what consessions do they take into account when wortking out the calculations? do they take into accouont the 200 Mile round trip to collect the child?, Clothes purchases, Days out, Mobile Phone Contract etc...

Alpine

Yes it is legal and they don't care what it does to your finances.


They can take journey costs into account, but don't expect it to be much if you do qualify. It costs me £35 for fuel to see my kids and they don't consider that enough. You might get a different response. They do not look at any other costs involved with seeing the child as in their words to me, they consider "entertainment and food optional".

I believe you can open a case for your other child if you wish. That would result in both children getting 10% of your net income. As you say you would be paying 25% as it stands, it looks like the VA child would be no worse off and your liability for the non VA child would reduce from 15% to 10%.

Marisco

dab73 wrote: »

Ouch, so the fact i have paid mor than enough for 3 years voluntary is not taken into consideration and unless i ask the other PWC to contact the CSA. i will be contributing 25% ranther than the 20 I am duty bound to do so.

How can this be legal?

Also what consessions do they take into account when wortking out the calculations? do they take into accouont the 200 Mile round trip to collect the child?, Clothes purchases, Days out, Mobile Phone Contract etc...

Could you negotiate with your ex about these things? Say that if she continues to be intractable re the debt, then you'll have no choice but to knock the extras on the head? I know it might seem that you'll be "taking it out" on the child, but fairs fair, you cannot be expected to pay her debts, CSA and all the extras as well! If the child is old enough, you could explain why you cannot now afford the extras.

The other posters are correct though, they won't give a hoot what went on before a case was opened, they'll only go from when you were contacted. I do agree with you though, where there is debt, especially when it's clocked up by the ex (as it was in my oh's case) then they really should take it into account when deciding CM payment amounts. It's not right that one party is stuck with the debt, especially if that party is making an effort to pay CM as well.

RAS

dab73 wrote: »

Also what consessions do they take into account when wortking out the calculations? do they take into accouont the 200 Mile round trip to collect the child?, Clothes purchases, Days out, Mobile Phone Contract etc...

None of these are taken into account unless you have very high contact costs (travel).

You need a halt all clothes purchases, end mobile phone contracts and massively reduce days out.

dab73

THnaks for the replies.

1. There will be no negotiation with her I tried and even suggested mediation. Her response was to call the CSA.

2. I have aproximately a 200 Mile round trip to collect my daughter costign approximately £50 a weekend so over the Month this will equate to £100.

Lastly i know the ex has done this so she can maintain the cash coming in to support her lifestyle (Smokes and drinks) is there a way that I can ask for the money to be distributed ie can i pay it in clothes vouchers and luncheon vouchers so she cannot buy Cigarettes and Alchohol with it whilst feeding my daughter Super noodles for dinner?

dab73

Alpine wrote: »

Yes it is legal and they don't care what it does to your finances.


They can take journey costs into account, but don't expect it to be much if you do qualify. It costs me £35 for fuel to see my kids and they don't consider that enough. You might get a different response. They do not look at any other costs involved with seeing the child as in their words to me, they consider "entertainment and food optional".

I believe you can open a case for your other child if you wish. That would result in both children getting 10% of your net income. As you say you would be paying 25% as it stands, it looks like the VA child would be no worse off and your liability for the non VA child would reduce from 15% to 10%.

I will be talking to the eldest's mother this weekend to makesure that she doesn't lose out and the ex only gets the 10%. As for the other payments It will be hard but i will have to talk to my daughter this weekend and explain what is happening.

Alpine

dab73 wrote: »

...
2. I have aproximately a 200 Mile round trip to collect my daughter costign approximately £50 a weekend so over the Month this will equate to £100.

... is there a way that I can ask for the money to be distributed ie can i pay it in clothes vouchers and luncheon vouchers so she cannot buy Cigarettes and Alchohol with it whilst feeding my daughter Super noodles for dinner?

I used to see my kids twice a month also and the CSA didn't think £70 on fuel and £100+ on food and entertainment was enough to warrant a deduction. So don't get your hopes up. After a recent case review, I can only afford to see my kids every couple of months, but the CSA don't care about a child's welfare, only that the PWC gets money.


You have no say in how the money is spent. For me, I try to look at it as if I'm being a good samaritan, paying for the roof over the heads of not just my kids, but the ex-wife, her new husband and their child, putting food in all their bellies and putting clothes on their backs.


I hope Karma is paying some attention.

dab73

Alpine wrote: »

I used to see my kids twice a month also and the CSA didn't think £70 on fuel and £100+ on food and entertainment was enough to warrant a deduction. So don't get your hopes up. After a recent case review, I can only afford to see my kids every couple of months, but the CSA don't care about a child's welfare, only that the PWC gets money.


You have no say in how the money is spent. For me, I try to look at it as if I'm being a good samaritan, paying for the roof over the heads of not just my kids, but the ex-wife, her new husband and their child, putting food in all their bellies and putting clothes on their backs.


I hope Karma is paying some attention.

Thats my thinking It just pains me that my daughter comes to me complaining that she has holes in her clothes or that she gets fed super noodles for dinner whilst the ex can afford to smoke and drink a bottle of wine most nights.

Yes lets hope Karma is getting warmed up.

clearingout

dab73 wrote: »

Ouch, so the fact i have paid mor than enough for 3 years voluntary is not taken into consideration and unless i ask the other PWC to contact the CSA. i will be contributing 25% ranther than the 20 I am duty bound to do so.

How can this be legal?

Also what consessions do they take into account when wortking out the calculations? do they take into accouont the 200 Mile round trip to collect the child?, Clothes purchases, Days out, Mobile Phone Contract etc...

the amount set by the CSA is a legal mimimum a parent is expected to pay. There is no legal maximum as the expectation is that parents can work out what their children need and work together to acheive this. For some parents, this will mean paying more than the minimum, for others less (assuming an agreement is reached) but where parents can't agree, there is a system in place to ensure that something is paid. You are under no legal obligation to pay any more than this minimum - so you can stop mobile phone payments, for example.

If you are not earning, your liability will be reduced to zero if someone is supporting you or £5 if you're claiming benefits. The PWC will be expected to take this on the chin and manage. Many other PWC never receive a penny (myself included) and are expected to bring up our children in the face of general soceital adversity about 'single mothers'. Depending on where you happen to be at any given moment in time, the system pretty much sucks.

You have provided for your children, presumably because you could afford to at the levels you currently pay. Be proud of that. Many dad's couldn't give two hoots and will happily abandon their children emotionally, physically and financially. Worse still in my opinion, are those like my ex who never pay a penny but who pick up their children on a weekly basis, moan at the PWC that their children's shoes are worn out and over their shoulder mention that they're jetting off to Barbados for 2 weeks so won't be turning up for as long as it takes.