CSA Arrears

Fourdam

Last year, during a particularly bad time financially, I went through a period of burying my head in the sand, not opening mail or dealing with bills etc. I also wasn't paying the CSA, having started a new job at the start of the year, neither did I respond to their requests for information. I'm aware this was stupid...

Getting to my point, the CSA made an assumed assessment (of 86 a week) around July last year, dating back to the start of the year. I wasn't aware of it as I hadn't even been opening the letters. Now I have started dealing with the financial mess, I have provided them with the information required to assess me, and they have assessed that I should be paying 56 a week. I am earning the same as I was earning all last year, so if I had provided the required information that is what my asses,net should have been last year.

However, my arrears for last year have been calculated at 86 a week, and despite me saying I can provide all the payslips to prove I should have been getting assessed at a lower level, they will no reassess, saying I had a month to appeal that and now that right has gone.

I've now been served with an application for a liability order for the arrears, but for an amount 1500 more than I should have been because of the incorrect assessment.

I have been told that I can object this order, however I would then have to go to court to contest it. And that they would stand by their original assessment, and their right to ask for this because I did not appeal it within the given 1 month time period. Which may end up costing me a lot more in court costs etc, and still have to pay te same amount of arrears.

So what should I do? Should I just accept this amount, a lesson learned for not dealing with my finances properly? If I did object it what sort of costs would I be looking at to fight this, and what would be the likelihood of me getting anywhere? Is there anything else I can do? Does anyone else have any experience of this situation?

Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated. I'm in Scotland, if this makes any difference towards the legal side of it. Cheers.

shoe*diva79

There isnt anything you can do. You have gone past the appeals process which gave you the opportunity to provide the correct information. Sadly for you, burying your head in the sand has been a costly mistake. Come to a payment arrangement with them on top of your usual CM liability.

Fourdam

I feared as much, thanks for your input.

HoneyNutLoop

You can still lodge an appeal, but the CSA will have to forward it directly to HM Courts and Tribunals Service to decide if it is willing to hear an out of time appeal.

Legally, the one month time limit can be extended by 12 months if there are good reasons for the person having delayed submitting their appeal. Good reason isn't defined. So the maximum timescale that HM Courts and Tribunals service will normally consider for an out of time appeal is 13 months from the date you were told in writing about the decision you want to appeal.

Fourdam

Cheers.

When you say lodge an appeal, are you talking about me lodging some kind of appeal directly with the CSA, or opposing the application for a liability order in court? Financially the latter isn't really a route I can afford to go down, with the obvious legal costs involved.

However if there is some way for me to appeal this decision outside of the 1 month limit, directly with the CSA, I would give it a go, in that situation it doesn't sound like I have anything to lose.

HoneyNutLoop

You can send a letter of appeal to the CSA about the £86 calculation, it will then have to forward it directly to HM Courts and Tribunals service to decide if it will hear your late appeal. The costs to you should be no more than time, postage and travel to the hearing should HMCTS allow your appeal to be heard. This is the CSA appeals booklet: http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@benefits/documents/digitalasset/dg_198854.pdf

As you are outside the one month limit you will have to explain in your appeal letter the reasons why your appeal has been submitted late. Once you get past the 13 month limit your chances of HMCTS accepting your appeal reduce to somewhere between slim and none.

Fourdam

The decision was made in July, so I'm well within the limit for an out of time appeal, I will get onto this straight away.

I don't however see them accepting "burying my head in the sand" as an acceptable reason as to why my appeal has been submitted late, but nothing ventured........

Thanks a lot for your help, I spoke to three different departments from the CSA last night and not one of them mentioned the possibility of an out of time appeal, they all told me that I'd had a month from the date of the assessment and that was it, there would be no possibility of an appeal outside of this time. Now I accept my part in all of this, but lying to me about my ability to appeal is just corrupt.

HoneyNutLoop

I'm really not sure how well known it is that an appeal can be accepted directly by HMCTS outside the one month time limit, although you would think that as it's in the booklet it should be well known.

justontime

I am not trying to put words into your mouth, but it sounds rather like a period of depression and during that time you felt overwhelmed by your problems and were unable to think clearly about how to deal with the situation. Did you see a doctor during that time? Good luck with the appeal.

supermum38

It is my understanding that you can appeal within one month of the date of a liability order. My ex-husband has had a case with the CSA for 11 years and even had the cheek to appeal again last year after receiving his most recent liability. The point of the appeal must be that you will be affected if the calculations are incorrect and that itself would be a good enough reason for an appeal. It should not cost you anything unless you get legal representation as it is all about incorrect calculations by the CSA.