Universal Credit changes...CSA?

labyrinth84

shoe*diva79 wrote: »

Pay the amount the CSA state you must pay and if you cant afford more then don't pay for extras. She will have to like it or lump it! The money you save not paying for additional things use to get a contact order put in place. It costs £200 and you don't need a lawyer. Its easy to do yourself.

We have just discussed a contact order, and we think it sounds perfect for our situation! My partners main worry is not getting to see his kids, then kids thinking he has let them down. This has happened before; she said we couldn't pick them up. A week or 2 later, a solicitor letter asking him to not let his kids down at last minute and to stick to arranged access...we could not believe it. We travel the 4hour round trip to pick them up and then back again every fortnight, without fail.

We also have them over school holidays (5 days for a week long school holiday, 3 weeks in summer holidays) and the solicitor letter asked us to consider having them for holidays...the picture she paints of my partner as a father is not a true account.

The amount of CSA as it stands is hard, but we do it. My initial worry was if it increased with this Universal Credit proposal. I really, hand on heart could not afford to pay any more maintenance.

shoe*diva79

labyrinth84 wrote: »

My partner is just worried that if demands arent met, she can stop him seeing his kids. In the long run, courts can stop that kind of thing but short term, its easy for her to say no to him picking them up etc.

I agree maintenance should be paid, and is. I also think said maintenance should be used for the kids and for the things they need. We will stand our ground on this, and continue with the payments but no give in to ridiculous demands.

It only takes a few weeks (maximum 6-8 weeks) to sort a contact order out so altho it is short term pain, it will be long term gain. Your OH will know exactly where he stands with contact and if his ex breaks the order she will be in a lot of trouble. Time to stand up to her :-)

labyrinth84

shoe*diva79 wrote: »

It only takes a few weeks (maximum 6-8 weeks) to sort a contact order out so altho it is short term pain, it will be long term gain. Your OH will know exactly where he stands with contact and if his ex breaks the order she will be in a lot of trouble. Time to stand up to her :-)

Yes, I think you are 100% right that this is what we need to look into. The children would be happier to not be in the middle of a tug of war too.
Thank you for your advice on this, its been really helpful!

galangm8

labyrinth84 wrote: »

Hi,

I have been reading up on the new Universal Credit and have not yet seen anything about its affects on CSA, any knowledge anyone could share would be greatly appreciated!

Basically, I live with my partner who has 2 children from a previous relationship. My partner moved in with me and my child last year.

I earn more than my partner (though, I am still on low income) and have relied on Tax Credits to top up my earnings to make ends meet.
His ex partner applied to the CSA for child maintenance, even though I was actually paying her maintenance out of my wages (along with approx £90 a fortnight for fuel to collect the children every other weekend). The CSA has calculated my child tax credits to work out the sum to be paid via them.

I am worried that this Universal Credit will enable CSA to take even more money from our already struggling household. We are even contemplating living separately. His children are not struggling as his ex gets a substantial sum in state-hand outs, yet my child has nothing as we struggle to earn more. The comparison in lifestyles our children have is proof of this...his children have an annual abroad holiday, get driven round in a lovely car and live in a beautiful house within a lovely housing estate. My child is lucky if she gets an annual trip to Chester Zoo, we can't afford to run a car and we have to live on a run down estate.

I do not begrudge his children anything. No matter how skint we are, I always ensure there is money for fuel to collect them from the other side of the country (£90) and they are fed well whilst here, and bought clothes when needed.

I think the system is really unfair. Take from a child whose mother is working to support them, to give to a household who go without nothing and live off the state. I really hope the Universal Credit does not leave us struggling even more

Any help on this would be appreciated. Like mentioned, I am considering living separately from my partner to ensure the money I earn for my child is protected.

Many thanks (hope no one fell asleep during my essay!)

Why get involved with such a man if you're moaning about it now.

It seems your partner has left his first family living in poverty, moved into your family unit who are living in poverty and now your having to 'help' him pay for 'his' children.

Live separate and carry on concentrating on your own little unit before you bring him in with his financial baggage.

ps/If his ex has holidays, cars, etc., it's certainly not on her £240pw (approx) with 2 children to provide for, she must have something else up her sleeve, really how could she?

labyrinth84

galangm8 wrote: »

Why get involved with such a man if you're moaning about it now.

It seems your partner has left his first family living in poverty, moved into your family unit who are living in poverty and now your having to 'help' him pay for 'his' children.

Live separate and carry on concentrating on your own little unit before you bring him in with his financial baggage.

ps/If his ex has holidays, cars, etc., it's certainly not on her £240pw (approx) with 2 children to provide for, she must have something else up her sleeve, really how could she?

When I got involved with this man, everything was amicable between the 2 of them...amounts paid direct to mother, no denying access etc. Once I came on the scene, everything changed dramatically hence my 'moaning'.

Partner did not leave his family in poverty. He was working, she wasn't. He was handing over wages for bill payments, she wasn't paying them. She started claiming single, unemployed benefits a good year or two before she kicked him out...so it's safe to say alot of forward planning.

Fast forward approximately 6 months after I met him and letters from the council started arriving to his mothers address - council tax arrears spanning 4 years of approx £4000. A bill which should not have been incurred when you're handing over money for bills, at one point he was earning £4000 a month. Then followed the others.

I met him, everything was going well with him and his kids. He had already started his own business which was slow, and we talked and suggested instead of living separately, it would be better if we lived together which allowed us all to have a roof over our heads, us both to pay any debts we had and no matter how slow business was he would always be able to pay the excessive fuel costs to see his kids, and pay the agreed maintenance. There were times I paid the maintenance myself! Once PWC found out he had moved on and met someone else, CSA, solicitors letters, refusing access.

Before assumptions are made about my partner, we need to remember that many single, PWC know they are financially better off single and unemployed. He had not left his family. He was told to leave his family with money being the reasoning behind it.

My family unit is only in poverty through CSA. Earnings calculated on the year before and not true to what is being earned now, my childs tax credits being deductable...

As for lifestyle of PWC, when you are receiving alot more than what you spend on the children through CM, plus demanding clothes and extra's are paid for on top with threats of stopping access if not...then I suppose it is quite easy to live nicely, when you're not having to pay for your children, don't buy them anything, don't pay rent, don't pay council tax, send any debts you incurred onto ex and have an extra £200+ each week for yourself...

kizz79

Anything that this woman recieves by-way of CSA will be taken from her income support if she is not working. You can only keep £20 of any beneifiets and that whatever the difference will be taken from her money, or at least this is how it did work. My partner and I have this same issue, his ex pleads poverty, we payed for birthday parties, shoes, winter coats (when they turned up in thin spring coats) I was stressed about how I would manage christmas for my kids. We are both re training at college so money is tight, and a week before christmas she takes all 4 of her kids off to centre parks!!! The CSA does not make sense to me, I get £5 a week whoop whoop lol, universal payments dont come in for a few years so hopefully the goverment will get the boot before!

labyrinth84

kizz79 wrote: »

Anything that this woman recieves by-way of CSA will be taken from her income support if she is not working. You can only keep £20 of any beneifiets and that whatever the difference will be taken from her money, or at least this is how it did work. My partner and I have this same issue, his ex pleads poverty, we payed for birthday parties, shoes, winter coats (when they turned up in thin spring coats) I was stressed about how I would manage christmas for my kids. We are both re training at college so money is tight, and a week before christmas she takes all 4 of her kids off to centre parks!!! The CSA does not make sense to me, I get £5 a week whoop whoop lol, universal payments dont come in for a few years so hopefully the goverment will get the boot before!

It changed, now all maintenance payments can be kept without it affecting unemployment benefits, so basically someone can be claiming everything, and get £400 a week child maintenance without it affecting anything haha its actually laughable...so I think there was a great rise in CSA claims once this became known. Everyone was happy to be amicable and accept maintenance without involving CSA when involving them meant the mother could only keep a fraction...

kizz79

labyrinth84 wrote: »

It changed, now all maintenance payments can be kept without it affecting unemployment benefits, so basically someone can be claiming everything, and get £400 a week child maintenance without it affecting anything haha its actually laughable...so I think there was a great rise in CSA claims once this became known. Everyone was happy to be amicable and accept maintenance without involving CSA when involving them meant the mother could only keep a fraction...

REALLY??? gobsmacked!

labyrinth84

kizz79 wrote: »

REALLY??? gobsmacked!

Yes, we only had any dealings with CSA from May so we're on the new rules!

My issue isn't child maintenance. Fathers should financially contribute. But I do think the fathers partner Tax Credits should be left untouched if the ex partner gets to keep all her benefits regardless of maintenance.

Tax credits made out to my daughter, are my daughters...not money for other children in my opinion

kizz79

labyrinth84 wrote: »

Yes, we only had any dealings with CSA from May so we're on the new rules!

My issue isn't child maintenance. Fathers should financially contribute. But I do think the fathers partner Tax Credits should be left untouched if the ex partner gets to keep all her benefits regardless of maintenance.

Tax credits made out to my daughter, are my daughters...not money for other children in my opinion

couldnt agree more, Im on the other side and get a grand total of £17.50 a week for three children, its a joke!