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2014 Frugal Living Challenge

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  • macwah97
    macwah97 Posts: 126 Forumite
    Morning everyone!!

    Whilst chasing up another late maintenance payment I had an interesting conversation with a chappy in the CSA who advises me that possibly as early as within the next 6 months a new computer system is being installed which will bring charges to the joe bloggs of us who either pay or get paid child suppot maintenance.

    e.g if you are liable to pay £100 you will pay £120 but does your ex get all of this money??? NO!!!! Instead of getting £100 as before they will get £96 ie 4% deduction so for every £100 the CSA gets £24.

    Apparently the CSA will now be suggesting that if either party is not happy with these charges then they can come to a private arrangement !!! HELLO????!!!! why do we use the CSA BECAUSE a private arrangement has been tried and failed on many occasions.

    Anyway rant over - back to emptying daughter's room and maybe actually getting something done

    Its a bitter 8 degrees here today - Brrrr

    Happy Bank Holiday Weekend
    Live as cheaply as possible
    ,
    Current debt £85k (includes mortgage):(
    ,
    Taxman £7500 :mad: bank of FiL 760 Simply B 945 Jacamo 150 Ccs 3000
    A lurker not a shirker, part-time worker and carer for DH (recovering from Cancer and recently diagnosed as a Diabetic with Heart problems) and DS who is suffering from MH issues
    £1 a day Xmas 2015 7/364
  • macwah97
    macwah97 Posts: 126 Forumite
    forgot- T3sc0 has N@ir Facial Hair remover - paint on for 1/2 price £1.90
    Live as cheaply as possible
    ,
    Current debt £85k (includes mortgage):(
    ,
    Taxman £7500 :mad: bank of FiL 760 Simply B 945 Jacamo 150 Ccs 3000
    A lurker not a shirker, part-time worker and carer for DH (recovering from Cancer and recently diagnosed as a Diabetic with Heart problems) and DS who is suffering from MH issues
    £1 a day Xmas 2015 7/364
  • cw18
    cw18 Posts: 8,630 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    macwah97 wrote: »
    e.g if you are liable to pay £100 you will pay £120 but does your ex get all of this money??? NO!!!! Instead of getting £100 as before they will get £96 ie 4% deduction so for every £100 the CSA gets £24.
    That's been the situation for all newly opened cases for quite a while now. DD used to get for her 2 eldest, then 'scumbag' left the country so they couldn't collect from him. He's now back in the UK, but she had to apply to start a new claim as they can't reopen one that's been closed for more than ?? years - and the charges would have been applied to it. They've come to a mutual agreement for now, although I think he's got off lightly as it barely touches the backpay he owed when he moved abroad (let alone what he should have been paying during the interim years), and the agreement's until they reach 16 rather than finish full-time education.

    I think it's grossly unfair they charge the recipient as well as the person paying the maintainance.
    Cheryl
  • Kantankrus_Mare
    Kantankrus_Mare Posts: 6,141 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Dawn.............I probably missed it earlier in the thread.....what is your lock up for? Im guessing you run a small business?

    You will probably feel like you are day off/holiday for a few weeks yet and then get yourself into a new routine.

    Enjoy! And is it wrong to wish yourself twenty years older? ;)

    I suppose I am lucky as I get the best of both worlds. I work 25 hours but the way my shifts fall............I get a four day weekend off every other week so keeps me sane.
    I know some don't have a choice but I would be so miserable if I had to work full time hours and not be able to fit in all the other things I like doing. Even at the hours I work, its sometimes a struggle.
    Make £10 a Day Feb .....£75.... March... £65......April...£90.....May £20.....June £35.......July £60
  • cw18
    cw18 Posts: 8,630 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Got an email from my council today - and now don't have to find 91p I wasn't expecting to have been asked for this year anyway ;)

    When my Council Tax bill for 2012-13 arrived it said I owed money from the previous year, so I phoned to ask why when I've always paid by D/Debit according to their schedule and never missed a payment. Some of it was due to DS1 moving back in a few days before the end of the 2011-12 year, so I paid that. But there was a further 91p the lady said looked to be 'roundings caused by a change in computer system', and said she'd pass my account to the back office to have it written off.

    My 2013-14 bill arrived last year still showing the 91p as an outstanding amount, so I phoned again. This time I was told they'd get someone to investigate (as it still wasn't clear what it was for) and get back to me, but it 'could take a few months'. I then forgot about it....

    So my 2014-15 bill arrived with it STILL showing. I decided to go into the office to try and sort it out face-to-face, but it appears they've closed it. So I sent them an email explaining what I'd been told, and asking for an explanation ASAP.

    The system says they'll get back to you in 10 working days - which ran out on 22nd April (I emailed on 5th April, so need to discount Good Friday and Easter Monday as well as weekends).

    So this morning (after 18 working days) I get an email with an attachment, which turns out to be a letter from them about my query.

    And it turns out the lady I spoke to in 2012 was right - it IS down to a change in computer systems. And they're now going to get it written off.

    So now I guess I have to wait for my 2015-16 bill to see if they've actually done it !!


    People on another forum thought I was crazy to make an issue of 91p, and almost everyone said I should just pay up and consider it a 'contribution' to the running costs!! OH agreed with me that is wasn't a huge amount of money, but there was a principal at stake. I'd love to know how many other people had money added to their bills due to this glitch and just coughed up......
    Cheryl
  • kb_soma
    kb_soma Posts: 270 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary Name Dropper Combo Breaker Debt-free and Proud!
    So, at lunch time today, I declined the urge to go to savers and buy household cleaners.

    Instead, I went to the library and got out some books. Just need to remember to return them!
    LBM: NOVEMBER 2011 || debt free date:30/06/15 || The Fighting Debt Army: #442 || Frugal Living Challenge 2018 || January 2018 Grocery £1.22/£100 ||
  • Goldiegirl
    Goldiegirl Posts: 8,806 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Rampant Recycler Hung up my suit!
    Dawn, congratulations on your retirement - but sorry to hear about your car
    Early retired - 18th December 2014
    If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough
  • DawnW
    DawnW Posts: 7,760 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Thanks for all the kind wishes on my retirement. To be honest I probably wouldn't have gone ahead and done it had my job been part time and / or less stressful. But it was a stressfest, and some weeks I ended up working 50 odd hours :( and I was fed up with being tired all the time and having little time for anything else.

    I am not ruling out getting something part time at some point but only if I want to, and / or cannot manage otherwise (as my pension is tiny, and I won't be a 'proper' OAP for another 5 or 6 years (?)). We will see.

    Been busy doing work for my small biz today, sorting out and pricing up stock, and continuing to stock the new unit. Had a quick look in the old unit, and nothing noticeable seemed to have shifted :( In contrast with the new, cheaper one where several things have gone in only 2 days. I suspect I may be giving notice on the 'old' one later this month, then have to move all the stock out of that (there is A LOT :eek:)

    Only spend today was labels for my stock, which is a business expense to go through the books :)

    In a minute we will finish up the curry I made last night, with rice and naan to make it go further :)
  • cw18
    cw18 Posts: 8,630 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    sounds like you're still going to be plenty busy Dawn :D

    time you changed your signature though...... Taking needs to become Took ;)
    Cheryl
  • skintygerlinky
    skintygerlinky Posts: 417 Forumite
    Evening Frugalites xxxxxxxx


    Well I'm hopefully getting back on track money wise. I don't mean I've suddenly found a bit more of it hahaha!! More like getting back into a sensible frugal frame o' mind. Ooooh that sounds like a Ray Charles tune doesn't it?!! "I got a frugal...frame o' mind..."


    Shopped for friends' 3 yr old daughters birthdays today and sensibly chose a few nice little gifts that a) didn't cost loads and b) are NOT a load of old tat either. Which can be quite difficult! But hopefully I've done OK.


    Hope everyone has a nice bank holiday, what are we up to? I've got a family meal to look forward to on Sunday.


    Have a good one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X7RyGBq2E8
    2014 Frugal Living Challenge
    #48 Crazy 2014 Clothes Challenge: £95.00/£100
    Number of read books/unread books: 9/56
    Number of new books bought in 2014: 1

    Ain't nothin' goin' on but the rent
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