CSA state I owe them money from over 10 years ago

AtariSoul

Hello All

As CSA have stopped handling my payments, I have just set up a family arrangement with my ex to continue my child support.

I rang them to inform them this and they have told me I have on outstanding balance of over £600. They state it goes back to when I was on benefits while I cared for my Mum who had alzheimer's disease. £5 per week should have been deducted and they claim it wasn't.

I have always paid whatever they tell me to pay and haven't missed a payment. You can imagine how annoyed I am as this relates back to 2004-2006, over 10 YEARS AGO. On no occasion have they ever said I owe this money either by telephone or letter.

They want me to prove that I did make the payments and suggest I contact the Benefits Agency (BA). I was under the impression that BA took the money from my benefits. But I have not kept any records going back 10 years. Do BA even keep records that long?

I am really upset about this and I have no idea who to contact at the BA.

Any advice would really help with the anxiety this is causing me as I don't have the money.

Thanks

shoe*diva79

You can request your file from the CSA. They may charge £10 for this but you'll have every assessment, letter, phone call etc. Once you've gone through that you could contact your MP for help.

pmduk

In practice the CSA doesn't levy the £10 charge for a SAR.

MikeShorty

I am currently arguing over £1k from a 6 month period 10 years ago so I feel your pain.... My circumstance I paid the PWC directly and managed to prove most apart from the period in 2006 so I have done the following.....

1. I would ask them for proof, so a statement which will confirm what's been missed. As it may be the odd payment here or there?

2. I sent a letter and asked for everything they had on me under the DPA, and as it is at the moment you don't need to pay for this. The purpose for this is I want to see what calls and discussion were made around the time they are saying I missed the payment

3. Speak with your bank, I bank with Barclays and they were able to go back to 2007, in my case the payments I cant prove went from a closed account at Natwest and they also said they only keep things for 7 years....Worth a try though

4. I also asked for the Liability Order,
Since 12 July 2006, there has been no time limit for applying for a liability order to enforce Child Support Agency (CSA) gov.uk/child-maintenance/overviewand Child Maintenance Service (CMS) gov.uk/child-maintenance/overview CSA arrears that were older than six years on 12 July 2006 (i.e. that became due on or before 12 July 2000) and where no liability order had already been obtained, cannot now be enforced using a liability order. The six years do not begin to run until the non-resident parent is notified of the assessment or calculation. Although an assessment can be backdated, liability does not exist until the assessment is made. CSA arrears (and CMS arrears) can be enforced via certain methods without a liability order. This means even if the debt is statute barred, the debt can still be collected by the following means. Deduction from earnings order (DEO) Deduction from bank account Deduction from benefit For debts that became due anytime after 12 July 2006, the CSA (and Received: therefore the CMS) can apply for a liability order at any time. Also, there may be a significant delay before the CSA or CMS takes any further action after the liability order. However, for actions that directly aim to recover money (for example taking control of goods, there is a time limit of six years from the date of the liability order in which to act. For actions that do not themselves recover money, such as imprisonment or disqualification from driving, the six year time limit does not apply. You may have an arugment if there is no liability order, Which is also something I have requested a copy of.

Last week I received confirmation from the regarding my DPA request which they are working on and no request for payment, but all quite on the other part....

Good luck and I hope this has helped!

AtariSoul

Hello MikeShorty

I appreciate you taking the time to help me. I have been away, hence the late response.

I presume DPA = Data Protection Act?

Are you saying in point 3 that if the payments were before 12 July 2000 they can't force you to pay?

Thanks and good luck yourself!

MikeShorty

Hey AtariSoul,


Sorry yes DPA = Data Protection Act


Not entirely, This is my understanding as the above was provided to me via an awarding body.....this is an issue of contention from what I can gather...With regular 'DEBTS' the person seeking the payment has 6 years to make contact and attempt recovery, should they make no contact and cant prove they made contact then they cant inforce the debt 3 years down the line.. Now you can use that as a rule of thumb however as its not really a debt they do need a liability order to enforce anything between July'00 onwards to 12/06/2006......That's how I read it....


What I am going to do, as I am still awaiting on updates from my letters and requests of information, and depending on what the outcome is, seek some advice on what exactly I was told.


I have also been advised to speak with MP and gaim support locally


All the best