Confused- csa case closed but son still in college!

Pennn

I wrote a while ago about my brother. He ended up contacting the csa to say that he was now self employed and they said his case closed last sept!!!!! They said that they would send a letter to his house and that if there were any money owed, they would let him know.

My brother is obviously happy but we don't understand why it's closed as his son still goes to college. He nearly 17. My brother has never missed a payment and sees his son every fortnight.

Has anyone any idea why it's stopped??

justontime

Perhaps his son is not on a qualifying course (not all college courses are). He should ask CSA to put what he has been told in writing and he should also get an account breakdown so that he can be sure there are no arrears. It sounds as if he may have overpaid. Did he ask why he had not been informed that the case was closed?

If he the case is really closed he could still pay direct to the mother while the son is at college if he wants to (once he has written confirmation that the case is closed) or he could give money to the son. I think it is possible for a new case to be opened by the mother if the son meets the conditions to claim CSA in the future.

Pennn

Why would she be eligible to open up a new case if the csa have closed the previous one?

justontime

Pennn wrote: »

Why would she be eligible to open up a new case if the csa have closed the previous one?

Because in some cases Child Benefit and therefore CSA can be claimed up until the (so called) child reaches age 20. If the son started a course of non advanced education which met the Child Benefit criteria the PWC could then open a new CSA case. There are fairly complex rules around this and I'm afraid I can't provide all the detail, I just wanted to warn that it was a possibility.

The fact that the case closed last September suggests that this was the Child Benefit cut off date for a child who had left full time education in the summer. CB contact parents several months before the CB is due to end and if the 'child' will continue to qualify for CB after that date the parent has to complet and return a form and provide evidence. So either the son is on a course that does not qualify or the parent failed to claim CB (which seems unlikely). CB ending would mean that the case closed from that date, but it seems that nothing triggers CSA to close it unless they are notified by the PWC or the NRP (but the NRP may not know that CB has ended!).

Pennn

Ah ok that makes sense. We didn't think his ex could claim child benefit tho as her husband earns well over £80k a year.

So do you know what will happen about the money he's paid since Sept? Will the csa have that money or his ex cos there's no chance she'll pay it back.

Will they ask for his payslips to check to see if there's any arrears? The csa said the letter they will send will detail any arrears. Does that mean arrears my brother owes or they owe him?? He's since had a baby and so that surely needs to be calculated in if he owes arrears. They didn't ask him if his circumstances have changed- just said the case had closed.

Csa_Survivor

Pennn wrote: »

I wrote a while ago about my brother. He ended up contacting the csa to say that he was now self employed and they said his case closed last sept!!!!! They said that they would send a letter to his house and that if there were any money owed, they would let him know.

My brother is obviously happy but we don't understand why it's closed as his son still goes to college. He nearly 17. My brother has never missed a payment and sees his son every fortnight.

Has anyone any idea why it's stopped??

Told you didn't I !!!!!!!!!!!, the system is an absolute joke and fraudulent really if you think about it. Is anyone really telling me that the means cannot be put in place somehow, somewhere to make sure Non Resident Parents do not carry on having money taken from them when they are no longer liable to pay ! I was only reading the other day that the Child Benefit office writes to Parents With Care asking them of the intentions of the qualifying child/children in question to see if child benefit should still be paid from September (the beginning of the next nearest academic year).Surely any information on that form that stops child benefit being paid to the Parent With Care can be passed on to the Csa, end of!!!!, they just don't want to do it. Can you imagine if you were paying a car off or something then it was discovered that the car dealers had been taking money from you for a long while after you had fully paid for the car, there would be absolute hell to pay for that on every rogue trader program. Can anyone please tell me what the difference is?
The letters they send out are a damn cheek, you notice there is no mention that they may owe you money, only that they will contact you if you owe them money, funny that isn't it! The letter I received told me that the reason why I was no longer liable to pay child maintenance was because the qualifying child no longer lived with the Parent With Care. When I questioned them about this they told me that this was a standard letter they send out and it could actually be one of a number of reasons why, THEN WHY NOT SAY THAT INSTEAD OF MISLEADING PEOPLE!
At that point I made it clear I now had nothing to lose as my dealings with them were now over, and I would pursue for a refund and complain at every level as far as I could go with it. A few weeks down the line I received a refund, I suggest your brother keeps on at them and rings them at least once a week to chase up his refund.
One last thing, they even had the cheek to say to me that "if in our opinion we decide that the child has benefitted from the money, you may not get a refund" WHAT! , I have not been legally liable to pay for two years but they expected to possibly keep my money, I don't think so!
I come across as very angry on here , and obviously I am , but I kept my cool with them during the refund process, but was very persistent and made it absolutely clear I would not go away and luckily it paid off in the end.
Oh, just one very last thing, assuming that your brother is entitled to a refund once they have done their calculations, they will probably then try to send him on a guilt trip. In my case they actually asked me if I still wanted my money back ( seriously), the reason being that they said they would now have to pursue my ex to claw back the money she should never have had in the first place. Just for the record I genuinely hope they leave her alone, we have no contact, it is now several years on and that is how I like it without this situation stirring things up!
However............ Footnote:
When our child was tiny it cost me several thousand pounds to go to court for access for no other reason than my ex wanted our child all to herself.
Several years on it may or may not be the case she now has to repay several thousand quid and has to find it from somewhere!
Our child no longer lives with mum, works, and is doing well so any hardship shall fall solely on mum and not child.
That, my friends is called Karma!

justontime

Pennn wrote: »

Ah ok that makes sense. We didn't think his ex could claim child benefit tho as her husband earns well over £80k a year.

So do you know what will happen about the money he's paid since Sept? Will the csa have that money or his ex cos there's no chance she'll pay it back.

If she doesn't get CB due to high income she would still be entitled to claim CSA if the son was on a qualifying course. Just be a bit cautious about what CSA have said until you have it in writing.

If the case has really closed and if he has overpaid she will have to pay the overpayment back via CSA. I think your brother will have to pester CSA a lot to make it happen.

They will do a reconciliation on his case before paying any overpayment back to him. If they come up with any unexpected arrears your brother should challenge the calculation and ask for a detailed explanation of when the alleged arrears occurred. If he still thinks the calculation is wrong he can appeal the decision. I am sure someone else can tell you how to do that if/when the need arises.

shegirl

Slightly ot,but what on earth counts as a qualifying course now that legally all kids have to stay in education until they are 18?Surely all post 16 education should be included now as it has been forced?Surely the government don't force the educationthen say 'but we're taking away all the financial support for those who aren't doing xyz course because it isn't suitable for them'???

justontime

shegirl wrote: »

Slightly ot,but what on earth counts as a qualifying course now that legally all kids have to stay in education until they are 18?Surely all post 16 education should be included now as it has been forced?Surely the government don't force the educationthen say 'but we're taking away all the financial support for those who aren't doing xyz course because it isn't suitable for them'???

I can't comment on what is right or wrong, but this may explain what does or does not qualify. Entitlement to CB (even if it is not actually paid for income reasons) would mean that CSA could be claimed too.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/childbenefit/keep-up-to-date/when-child-aged-16/further-education.htm#2

Pennn

Would the csa have contacted him before now if he owed money? I know he's worried about the letter.

Do they automatically reassess when a case closes? As I said, he's always paid but not been assessed since 2006.

shegirl

justontime wrote: »

I can't comment on what is right or wrong, but this may explain what does or does not qualify. Entitlement to CB (even if it is not actually paid for income reasons) would mean that CSA could be claimed too.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/childbenefit/keep-up-to-date/when-child-aged-16/further-education.htm#2

Thanks.It's pretty much anything that isn't higher then,it seems and most of the courses listed as not included are those generally for over 18's.