Help me Please

NiceMan2007

I was contacted by the CSA on 23rd April 2007 with regards to some outstabnding arrears from the 19 Oct 1993 to 11 Nov 2000 for £9,395.71p
I Spoken on the telephone to CSA about this and they told me that these are arrears to my old assessed Maintance for those at time. I was unware of this debt and Have never been inform of this debtand my last contact with the CSA was 1999 which was Just a letter tosay that I had a Nil Assessment for that year.My children have all now grow upand my youngest is 19, I informed the CSA that I was made Bankrupt in 2002 and was informed that Bankructes do not apply to CSA.Despite the fact that I went bankrupt in 2002 before the new law was introduced. I have nothing ofany valve now and no saving.
I made a verbal offer of paymentto CSA which was refused they would not take any living cost into account. So I contacted the the Community Legal service who told me that the debt might be statute barred under section 5 of Limitation Act 1980 and could be defended on that Basis of the debt being over six years old without any information being recieved by me in writting.
In addition section 2.14 of the office of fair trading debt collection guidence state that it is unfair to pursue such cliams where there has been no contact during the relevent limitation period.
The Community Legal service sent me per written letter to send to CSA which I did, I have today recieved a reply to this letter in which CSA says
The office of fair trading has duty under consumer credit act 1974 to produce Debt collection Guidence to ensure that Consumer credit licenses are only given to. and retained by those who are fit to hold them.
However the 1974 act and office of fair trading do not apply to the CSA because 1. The CSA does no have a comsumer credit licese and 2. the Comsumer Credit Act 1974 does not applied to the crown and therefore the CSA???, they still want me to paid this amount
What is interesting in this letter that is say nothing about the Limitation act 1980 section 5.
It seems very unfair to me that CSA can do this to people who have not known about the arrears after six or seven years and when you try to work with the CSA they do not wantto know, if this go the way i expect Ilandupoutof work and pennyless for next 40 years by which time I be 88 and dead through stress and worry.....

I disagree with amount the CSA say I owe and believe that I should not be held responsible for arrears from CSA that are over six years old, Could someone explain the limitation act 1980 section 5 to me and how it helps

thanks
Steve
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TheWaltons_3

I shouldn't think that the CSA does come under the Consumer Credit Act - it's not like a Catalogue or a company that loans money!

https://www.consumeractiongroup.com

Check them out and post this thread there - the legal people will know.

As for the Limitations Act, I have no idea... but I think that the CSA can still get you to pay money, even if you go Bankrupt... especially if you are earning a wage.

kelloggs36

TheWaltons is right and even if the statute of limitations does apply it does not stop the CSA for pursuing anybody for the arrears, it just means that they can't take you to Court over it. If you disagree with the arrears, the first thing you need to do is to get an accounts breakdown of how it arose - the liability at the time and the payments made etc. Whilst you may have had a nil assessment at some point, doesn't mean that you always had one and from your post, it looks like you had an assessment between 1993 and the year 2000. If you didn't pay anything then this is why the arrears built up. You didn't say that the arrears were nil, just that the assessment from that time was nil, so the arrears still existed. They are 2 separate things. Before you can dispute them you need the figures, then take it from there.

NiceMan2007

Hi,

Thanks for your replies, Let get the facts right here I pay the CSA throught DEO between 1991-1995 when I force into reduntacy between 1995-2000 I did work alot and was assessed at Nil for all those years.

Secondly Why has it taken The CSA 7 years to tell me that there was Arrears ?? I have had a account broken down from CSA which looks floored in many area examples of this is one assessment for 1999 was redone 2002 how can that be right 4 years after the orginal assessment?

I am not trying to aviod paying off this debt but believe that this is unfair and when you try to work with CSA they do not seem to listen. As i mention earlier in my last posting I was made bankrupt in 2002 which was discharged in 2005 therefore At this time I have no current assest. Yes I work but have a second family of 5 indepent children to support plus pay general up keep of daily life so the amount I could pay back is limited and this offer has already been refused by the CSA??

I really do not know what to do? Looks like it will take me forever to pay the CSA this money. It is very unfair that CSA can dothis topeople and destroy more famalies, drive them into proverty which is what it is not suppose to do,

you know there an old say which said you cannot get blood out of a stone,I simple cannot paid this off and I am unlikely to be able to do so for sometime.
I am not one of those fathers was pay nothing I have paid over £10,000 between 1991-1995 so plaese do not have go at me I am just trying to resolve this diffuilt sitution.

Thanks

Steve

kelloggs36

Why is the accounts breakdown flawed? You could PM me with the details and I can try to explain it to you, as they are very complicated sometimes.

I have no idea why it has taken them so long to notify you of the arrears - have you kept all correspondence that you have had from them?

kelloggs36

BTW nobody is having a go at you, just pointing out possibilities as to why the arrears built up.

NiceMan2007

Hi Kelloggs36

Thankyou for your reply I will talk to you inline about the breakdown but it has been look at by a Fincanal Expert and a Solicator who both said it looks floored But I am happy for another opinion, When is the best time to see you on line and we can have chat

Thanks

Steve

janiegs

Your account breakdown is easy enough to check. You don't need a solicitor etc. Even if your accounts have charged monthly, the difference in the end balance should only be about £50.

The dates of your liabilities and the amounts of your liabilities are the first thing on your breakdown. You can calculate how much you owe just by going from date to date, calculating how many days you owe at that liability and adding them altogether, then taking off your payments.

If you put your liabilities on here together with your payment total, and the end date of your liability I'll even do it for you.

kelloggs36

I am on most of the time! But will answer any queries as soon as I get them.

NiceMan2007

I would like to thank you all for your replies to this question about the CSA. Which is currently in hands of solicators, I still thinks it is very unfair that CSA can do this people who have no knowledge of any arrears and it would apppear that CSA is above the law.
Well I am now saddled with debt that take my over 20years to clear and could lose my driving licence and go prison for but who I am to say this is wrong. It is unfair and has destoryed my family, nothing postive has come out of this experience,

Thanks again all

kelloggs36

You will only face prison or losing your driving licence if you refuse to make any agreement to pay the debt - no judge will enforce that unless you have proved that you are refusing to pay.

Bankruptcy has never been taken into consideration as far as the CSA is concerned.

Did you ever have any correspondence from the CSA which said that you never owed anything at all? I ask this because a nil assessment just means from that point on you have no ongoing liability - it doesn't mean that you don't owe from the past.

They cannot legally write off any debts so that is why they have refused your offer.

Whilst you have a nil assessment, it is likely that they won't persue you for the arrears as you will be deemed unable to afford them. However, once your circumstances change then they will start asking you to pay again. This may be what has happened.