CSA & overtime?

aussiesbird

UPDATE
Had a letter from my MP today enclosing a form to be completed for the PO to get involved. He wants me to wait until we have an outcome from the appeals so that I can list everything that has gone wrong and what the outcomes from the CSA have been. Also had a message on my answerphone yesterday from my CRO, she will ring again on Monday. Do they not take any notice of what you ask for? I wrote to them saying that I wanted everything to be dealt with by letter so that I had physical proof. Amazing, don't hear from them for 3 years although they promised to return calls and now I don't want them to ring they are!! Just goes to show the incompetence of the staff, they can't even adhere to the most simple of instructions. They need a bomb up their a**e!!! :mad:
Sorry, but I am getting totally f****d off with this whole situation. I am seriously thinking, no correction I AM GOING TO, contact that well known tabloid paper. As the CSA are, supposedly, going to be no more and this is hot on the press at the moment lets highlight the situation even further.

From what I have heard on the tv and read about the only difference will be the name -The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, to be known as C-MEC !! Still the same staff set in their same old ways making the same mistakes. If you ask me this is just a government cover up to try and get the heat off of them for a while, the government know there are too many flaws to list within the CSA and that people are up in arms about it so what do they do? say it's being replaced with another agency. It's not! The name is changing and maybe a few token amendments will take place but all of us tied up in the CSA system will remain to be there, being treated with the same contempt they have always treated us with.

The CSA currently has a backlog of around 300,000 cases, with an estimated £3 billion in uncollected debt. This is not going to disappear over night. Get in new COMPETENT staff and lots of them, clear this mess up once and for all and start afresh with a completely new stystem and FULLY trained staff.

I know there are competent staff there but unfortunately they are hugely out-weighed by incompetent ones! :mad:

Sensemaya

aussiesbird wrote: »

UPDATE
Had a letter from my MP today enclosing a form to be completed for the PO to get involved. He wants me to wait until we have an outcome from the appeals so that I can list everything that has gone wrong and what the outcomes from the CSA have been. Also had a message on my answerphone yesterday from my CRO, she will ring again on Monday. Do they not take any notice of what you ask for? I wrote to them saying that I wanted everything to be dealt with by letter so that I had physical proof. Amazing, don't hear from them for 3 years although they promised to return calls and now I don't want them to ring they are!! Just goes to show the incompetence of the staff, they can't even adhere to the most simple of instructions. They need a bomb up their a**e!!! :mad:
Sorry, but I am getting totally f****d off with this whole situation. I am seriously thinking, no correction I AM GOING TO, contact that well known tabloid paper. As the CSA are, supposedly, going to be no more and this is hot Ton the press at the moment lets highlight the situation even further.

From what I have heard on the tv and read about the only difference will be the name -The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, to be known as C-MEC !! Still the same staff set in their same old ways making the same mistakes. If you ask me this is just a government cover up to try and get the heat off of them for a while, the government know there are too many flaws to list within the CSA and that people are up in arms about it so what do they do? say it's being replaced with another agency. It's not! The name is changing and maybe a few token amendments will take place but all of us tied up in the CSA system will remain to be there, being treated with the same contempt they have always treated us with.

The CSA currently has a backlog of around 300,000 cases, with an estimated £3 billion in uncollected debt. This is not going to disappear over night. Get in new COMPETENT staff and lots of them, clear this mess up once and for all and start afresh with a completely new stystem and FULLY trained staff.

I know there are competent staff there but unfortunately they are hugely out-weighed by incompetent ones! :mad:

I would question why your MP wishes you to wait before approaching the PO. I appreciate your MP's point of view in giving a summary description, but, nevertheless, I think you have already got sufficient information.

The PO looks at your case and then decides whether it is worth an investigation. This all takes time.

As for going to the newspapers, they are not interested. They also want you to disclose your real name. Something I was not prepared to do because of my kids and job. It will also achieve nothing.

As for the CRO, why not speak with them on the phone. Thing is then demand they back it up in writing via a summary.I've had some very interesting ones - all backed up with wrong info.

aussiesbird

Sensemaya wrote: »

I would question why your MP wishes you to wait before approaching the PO. I appreciate your MP's point of view in giving a summary description, but, nevertheless, I think you have already got sufficient information.

Apologies, my error, I meant to say he wants to wait for the outcome of the arrears not appeals.

Sensemaya

Even so, I wouldn't wait. The PO will write to the CSA about arrears.

aussiesbird

can see me writing another letter in the next day or so.... me fingers are getting callouses with all this writing.

Once again ta for all the support.

aussiesbird

UPDATE
Had another phone call from CSA yesterday stating that they have a letter which was sent to us back in June 2005 requesting wage slips and that they have wage details for that period. They origially told me that they had recieved request for a review by PWC but had not acted upon it, now they've changed their story and are saying that the arrears will stand. One person tells you one thing and another states something totally different later down the line. I have requested correspondence only to be done via letter because of these changes they keep coming up with but STILL i am getting calls! I have searched everything for this letter they are speaking about but cannot trace it (we are careful to keep everything). How do I stand now? No matter how hard I try to sort this problem out they keep coming back with bad news all the time. It is totally getting me down now and I am losing the will to fight any longer. I asked if they could stretch the arrears out as we have an increase of £150.00 pm but was told that the arrears is only £45.00 pm so it is small. I stated that add that to the 57% increase and it is not a small amount extra to find. Basically told, nothing they could do about it. The money would be taken out of wages and that was it.
Am totally disheartened and fed up of fighting them, it is making me ill with worry and my partner is seeing a mental health counsillor because of the state he is in.

kelloggs36

For a start you can ask them for a copy of the letter they are supposed to have sent to you - at the same time you may as well get the DPA file which will hold everything in respect of your other half so you may find some other interesting things in there.

In respect of the arrears, under what regulations are they telling you 'there is nothing they can do' - arrears are totally negotiable and if they tell you otherwise, they are lying. Has your MP written to them asking them why they are unwilling to negotiate the amount with you?

aussiesbird

I am now dealing with a CRO who said when I asked about arrears being spread out further that it was only a small amount being paid off the arrears (£45.00) so it couldn't be spread over any longer period of time. I said that it may be a small amount to them but added to the increase it amounts to over £150.00 extra we have to pay. This payment is due ot on 1st July and it will be taken directly from wages. I queried that maybe they could suspend paying arrears until appeals were sorted and she said that was not possible and the appeal was going to a tribunal so will take time. Is this normal for every appeal to go to a tribunal. She told me that the Chief Exec had passed my complaint onto her and she was going to close the complaint and deal with the maladministration??? She seems to be baffling me now when she rings and whenever I ask her to put it in writing she always says she will put certain things in a letter but not everything we speak about. Should I refuse to take anymore phone calls from them? Is the CRO the highest person within the CSA to deal with complaints? Sorry to ask a lot of questions but I am really getting disheartened and feeling like they have us completely over a barrel and there is nothing we can do so what is the point in arguing any further.

kelloggs36

There is certainly somebody higher than the CRO - their manager. You are perfectly within your rights to refuse to correspond with them verbally and insist on written communication - although it may take longer. Next time they call, just say 'I wish to deal with everything in writing, and will not speak to you about anything. If you have any questions, or anything wish to tell me, please put it in writing'. I tend to e-mail my contact so that it is quite quick, but I have a record of what is being dealt with.

An appeal goes through several stages - sometimes it is thrown out early on if there is no evidence of anything being wrong - people often complain about things which cannot be changed. However, it is in your best interests to go to a Tribunal as they will listen to your side and will consider all they can. It does, however take a long time, months in fact before it reaches this stage.

I would remind them that they can reduce the arrears amount being collected to about pounds per week (about half what they are taking from you), and whilst not a lot, it is something that will help your finances. I would advise you to push for this to be implemented and take it as a new complaint via MP if they refuse. Ask for their reasons in writing why they are unwilling to consider reducing the arrears payments - take this to the Tribunal, or send it as evidence of the increase in payments. You can offer them a compromise by agreeing to let them reconsider the agreement each year based on your circumstances - have you offered to send them a breakdown of your incominga and outgoings?

aussiesbird

Thanks for that info Kelloggs, I will certainly do what you say about arrears payments and only dealing with them via letter. I have already requested this but they haven't taken any notice. I don't want to sound rude by saying to them that I don't want to speak on the phone but things are really getting to me and every time they ring I feel myself getting tearful. I have had to ask them not to deal with my partner as he is totally stressed out with it all. I am grateful that they are keeping me informed now, after so long, but can no longer take the bad news that keeps coming.
They have never asked for a breakdown of incomings and outgoings, I did offer it before but they didn't elaborate on it. I thought that the calculations were so cut and dry that it wouldn't make a difference so I didn't persue it. Should I ask them if I should send it in and will it make any difference? I am happy to send it in but last time I requested that this info stay within the CSA and not be sent out to my partners ex, I also stated that this whole situation was making my partner ill and having to take time off work, they have permission to contact his doctor also. They don't seem to want to do any of this though and do we have the right to request that this info not be passed onto his ex. We have nothing to hide but just want some kind of privacy from her. The more she knows about our lives the more she tends to cause upset and problems for us.