BR, IPO and CSA arrears

thesilent1

Hi Everyone,

I ned some help with this. I became bankrupt in Feb of this year and have have given an IPO of £120 a month which intself is high.

The main thing is that I was contacted by the CSA end of last year about arrears for a child I honestly was not aware of. I was with the parent at the time but not disputing the paternity really. The issue is that the CSA have said I owe them £50,000.00 and I am at a shocking loss at to what to do!!!

I have been told that BR does not cover this type of debt and I have now been contacted by a bailiff (Rossendales) demanidng this money and "intention of seizing goods". There is just no way I can make payments to this with our breakdown already as it is. Please can anyone help with some useful advice on this??!?!?!?!?!

I am the main earner in my home and my wife has very unstable working hours but I included her average salary into my financial breakdown.

Her hours are now getting less and less due to her studying as well. Can I now inform the OR of the change in our finances and send them a new breakdown with just my salary?

Thanks everyone. Really need some expertise or experience on this please.

fermi

The OR should take maintenance payments into account and adjust ant IPA/O accordingly. Let them know.

http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/freedomofinformation/technical/TechnicalManual/Ch25-36/Chapter31/part7/part4/part_4.htm#31.7.119

thesilent1

Thanks Fermi for that.

I will inform OR. SO what do I do about the bailiff visit? Do I speak to OR first or arrange a payment plan with the bailiff. As its such a large amount what kind of realistic payment would they accept. It is very clear that I would not be able to make a dent in this debt due to the sum and also my balance income.

PippaGirl_2

I would bypass the bailiff and offer the original company (CSA?) all available funds, so up to a maximum of £120pcm or whatever is then spare on your SOA. Bailiffs add fees on willy nilly, so bypassing them saves money in the long run so deal with the original debtor if at all possible. Then contact your OR with your new SOA.

Out of interest, do you really have an IPO rather than an IPA? Just wondering because if you went BR only in Feb, then that process was done really quickly. I'd thought it would take longer than that.

thesilent1

Hi Pippa,

Thanks for commenting. Been reading your experience with interest! I think it might be an IPA; my bad.

The £120 was orinigally based on both mine and my wife's earnings but as that is no longer the case; I definitely would not have that amount to spare.

debt_doctor

Hi,

Your main issue is that the CSA, when there are arrears, can take 40% of your net income without a court order. This is subject to a protected earnings rate. Do the CSA know you are working, because if they do I would be surprised if they have not done this already.
Usual bailiffs advice; keep the doors and windows locked and don't let them in.

DD

thesilent1

Hi DD,

Thanks for this. Yes they are aware I am working but they have passed it on tp the bailiffs. I am not sur eif its because my son's mum has not been in touch with them for a while now as they said the case was opened in 2009 but as I moved they only just found my new address. Its not like I am currently paying them anything as they have said themselves that they have not been contacted by the mother.

It seems crazy though that they have that much power when someone is already ina BR state which would reflect the financial difficulty of the person in the first place.

pauletruth

i take it you have had a dna test done just to be sure. at 50k that is a heck of a lot. assuming they are 16 you would have been paying 260 a month. so were you getting about 900 a month. through out that period. my dear father fought over 50p a month.

thesilent1

Chiled was born in 1996 but I definitely was not working all that time.

skylight

You need to find a CSA based site for some advice on what to do with that.

If you were not aware of a child up to now, then they have never managed to make contact with you at all, either through the post, your employer(s) over the years and so on.

Any CSA arrears cannot be included as a debt in BR, but payments will be allowed on your SOA.

If a bailiff is now involved, then this has gone very far down the line without your knowledge so you need advice fast. That is a huge amount of money to build up. Try https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk or https://www.csahell.com Many, many people with experience can help there.

This CSA thing is a separate issue to the BR and you need to deal with it fast. The CSA are a nightmare at the best of times so you will need help.

And big hugs to your wife. Been on the receiving end of an unknown (to me!) child, and its a huge shock. Let alone with everything else that is going on at the moment.

thesilent1

Thanks Sky,

Its really stressfull to be honest. Especially as myself and wife only got married in August and having to deal with BR and this is taking its toll.

I just can't see how to go about this. The main things are:

1. Bailiffs (CSA) - As its a CSA debt I am not sure what their powers are and also what my options are.

2. O.R payments of £120.00 which was based on the SOA having both mine and my wife's earnings. Now that wifey is no longer working, I need to inform the O.R