Help please - reassessment not allowed

kingfisherblue

Hi, I'm PWC, two children under 18 from my marriage. My ex has been non-compliant in the past. He failed to tell the CSA when he moved to a different area, and also when he changed jobs. In the eight years since he left, he has had four addresses and several jobs, but has been in this house and job for about four years now. The CSA took him to court at one point, but as he was on JSA at the time, he only had to pay £5 a week, which was fair enough.

When he started working again four years ago, he failed to inform the CSA and they only found out when I rang to ask why a payment had not gone into my bank. They searched some records and found that he had started working. A DEO was put into place and all arrears have been paid off. Since then, I have been receiving £266 a month for my two boys.

A year ago my ex was promoted to supervisor, an increase of about £8000 a year if he is to be believed. This takes him to about £24000 a year before tax. I rang the CSA and asked for a reassessment but was told that it wasn't worth doing, and what he gained in earnings would be lost in tax credits.

Today I have received a statement of expected payments for the coming year, and it remains at the same amount. I decided to ring the CSA and have been told that I must provide evidence that he is earning more than 5% than he has been assessed at. I explained that he has told my children that he is now earning around £24000 a year, and that he has told me that he. Head a couple of promotions, including one to supervisor, but the CSA say that this is not enough to request an up to date payslip, or to ask the employer what his current earnings are. I need to provide evidence. Now, I have no way to get a copy of a payslip or bank statement, but they won't tell me what other evidence there could be. I have never been to his house, and my children rarely go. He has already been non-compliant in the past, on several occasions, and he won't tell me what he earns.

I seem to be at a standstill. He appears to be earning considerably more than he was, and has just bought two new cars (one for him and one for his wife, who works two days a week in a shop). I know they are probably on finance, but he needs to be earning enough to get the finance in the first place. I cannot provide the evidence that the CSA want me to, but despite his history they won't ask for recent payslips or other evidenceof his wages from his employer.

A our older son is severely disabled, I am unable to work Adam on income support, Carer's Allowance, etc. Due to government changes, I get very little help with the mortgage (he hasn't paid a penny since he left), and I now have to find council tax every month as well. We have endowments, and I have to find the shortfall. I was hoping that a little more from my ex would help with these additional expenses.

I am on CSA2, and I know that I am luckier than many because I do receive something, although it was a battle to get it. Im just hoping that someone can advise me on whether there is anything I can do to get a reassessment. My ex will never agree to asking for one himself, or telling the CSA that he has been promoted. He resents paying for anything, and won't even take the kids for a day out, although he sees them once a week for a few hours. Mind you, his mum pays his petrol money to come back to our town - she admitted this quite openly to our daughter (now an adult) a few weeks ago, saying that he wouldn't come home often if she didn't pay his travel costs.

So, sorry for the long post, but can anyone suggest how to get a reassessment please? I did ask for a supervisor but was refused. I pointed out that many PWCs will be in the same position as me, unable to get the evidence they require, but basically was told that it is my responsibility to get that evidence or never be reassessed. Surely it would be fairer to check wages periodically, especially when the CSA has already had contact with his employer to set up a DEO.

There is nothing on his company website to indicate how much wages are, and I can't think of anything else.

Thanks for any advice

HappyMJ

How many children in his household? The pay rise might not make much difference to your assesment.

kingfisherblue

Two children in my household. My ex and I have three children together but the eldest is an adult. I have no other children.

My ex has one child in his household, which I know there is a disregard for.

GwylimT

According to the CSA calculator, I have put in that he earns £24K, he needs to support two children and has one child living with him, according to what you say about contact I stated that he has his children overnight less than once a week. According to the calculator he should be paying £66 per week, so £264 per month.

kingfisherblue

Thanks Gwylim, I didn't think about the calculator. In that case, he is paying about the right amount, which is fair enough. I can only assume that he no longer receives tax credits due to household income, and that they were used in previous calculations.

It still seems unfair that a PWC has to provide proof that he or she cannot get, in order to have a reassessment, even when they genuinely believe, as I did, that a large increase in pay could make a difference to the amount to be paid for the children.

ETA: the amount based on your calculations is actually £286 a month. It would be £264 if paid every four weeks, but I receive payments monthly.

I don't know if this would trigger new payments or not. I think it would, as 5% is about £13, and the amount due has increased by £20, which is more than the 5% change that is disregarded.