What is going on with my case? Put on hold...

RapunzelsChameleon

I have had a case open with the CSA now for what seems like ages. My ex denied paternity and then refused a DNA test. Finally they tracked him down at his current job and did a maintenance calculation, and he is already in arrears now. This was about a month ago. I was told they would then give him 2 weeks to make contact with the agency before putting a DEO in place.

Today I spoke to a caseworker who said that NRP has not made contact with the agency but that the case has now been put on hold until 1st March. I have no idea why this would be and the caseworker was not able to tell me. Surely it's unreasonable for them to now just leave it nearly another 3 weeks with no explanation??

Can anyone advise me as to what might be going on here? Should I complain or just wait to see what unfolds next?

Crellow4

I would push for the DEO to be issued. There is a slim chance that it would be received in time for February's payroll - very slim though. If it's not implemented by the employer in Fenruary the very earliest you would expect to receive a payment is towards the end of April. If a deduction is made from March's salary, the employer has until 19/04 to get it into the CSA. It would then need to be processed before forwarding to you.

RapunzelsChameleon

Thanks. Yes it all takes a very long time to actually get a payment at all. When you say press, do you mean phone them again and ask why it's not being implemented now? What if they don't then do it? I find it strange that they would put things on hold at this point.

Crellow4

Yes, I would phone again and ask for a callback from a team leader.

RapunzelsChameleon

I have just called again and the person dealing with the case said that there is nothing at all in the notes to say that it won't be looked at again until 1st March. Instead they said that they will be issuing a letter to NRP today which says that if he doesn't contact them they will set his payments at 40% using a DEO - but they have to warn him of this first, because there are arrears.

I don't know why they don't all say the same thing? The CSA is a strange organisation :huh:

pammii

Ring them back and demand that the DEO is applied for because he has already been given the 2 week wait time and not responded. Tell them you will not put up with it anymore and just want things to be moved forward. There is no reason for them to WARN him further. Ring them every day if you have to.

RapunzelsChameleon

Well this is still going on. Still no DEO applied even though he has been warned weeks ago that it will be set at 40%.

Apparently they tried to call him 2 days ago and answered the phone saying he could not talk now but to call back today after 4pm. This is a man who has threatened me, refused a DNA test and denies his daughter is his. He has been totally non-compliant throughout the case and yet they are letting this run on and on and giving him endless chances to comply, why exactly? I pointed this out but was told 'don't worry once it's sorted out you'll be the first to know'

I can see that the outcome of this is that I will get nothing, like countless other people. I can't make them pull their finger out it seems. The calculation was done over a month ago and therefore it seems unreasonable that the DEO would not have been applied for by now. Why would they be leaving the situation to roll on like this?

Is there anything else I can do now? I'm frustrated.

Crellow4

I would write a letter if complaint. Be specific about what your are complaining about as they will only address the issues you raise. You could also phone and ask to speak to a Team Leader.

RapunzelsChameleon

Do you know who I need to address the complaint to? To be honest, I would be quite happy for him to start paying at the assessed rate - 40% seems harsh even for someone who is as unpleasant as he is. If I were getting at least something it would really help us.

RapunzelsChameleon

Ignore me, I have just checked and it seems I have to write to the address on their letters. I think the case is now with debt enforcement so why they are not enforcing the debt now is beyond me. If they were just to set the DEO at a manageable amount then surely that would be much less of a shock for someone and would be less likely to prompt them to quite their job.

RapunzelsChameleon

Just a quick update. I put in a complaint via the online form submission that the CSA have and it seems as if the complaints team have dealt very effectively with it.

Three days after I posted the form I received a telephone call from the complaints team to let me know that the DEO was going to be put in place that day. The next day I received a follow up call to say that the DEO has been set up and they had telephoned his employer to check that they were aware of it and they were.

So I just wanted to post this to say that it is worth using the online complaints form. I explained everything as clearly as I could and asked for an explanation as to why repeated attempts were being made to contact him via phone when all of his behaviour so far had indicated that he had no intention of paying and was actually trying to stall the process.

Thanks for advice on the thread.