Can he pay by standing order?

pinkpig08

Hi, My OH has changed from a voluntary DEO to paying from a bank account. He wanted to pay by standing order so that the amount doesn't change, but CSA told him they can't do that because you have to renew it regularly as it doesn't last very long. Is this true?

Thanks for any help

Vomityspice

A Standing Order will continue until you cancel it. The CSA are talking rubbish.

Strapped

Rubbish.

Are they are suggesting a Direct Debit mandate, by any chance? Do NOT give them a DD or you will lose control over your finances completely!

SPANIEL36

A Standing Order Will Run For As Long As You Want Till You Cancel It, You Choose The Amount And The Frequency That Is Paid.

Its The Csa Talking Bottoms Again

bear in mind though that it can take a few days to reach the other persons account, i have a standing order going out every thursday yet the other person doesn't get it till the following monday

justontime

Yes, he can pay by SO. My husband does, it means a bit of extra work for him when it changes but he is happy to do that.

pinkpig08

Thanks everyone, I have to say I was a bit wary of a DD because that means they can take whatever amount they want, and in our experience their rules are so barmy that they try to tell us he owes arrears when in fact he is in 'credit'!

pinkpig08

Well I've just phoned my bank to clarify the situation, and they said that the CSA change their policy number slightly every month (no idea what this is!) and that we would have to ring up every month ( don't know why). He said that we could set up a direct debit for a certain amount, and that the CSA would have to notify us if they wanted to change it. I'm even more confused now!! Does anyone else have to ring up every month? His maintenance payment hasn't changed for a year.

justontime

No, they are talking rubbish. The only time you need to change the SO is when the CSA assessment changes. Our SO has been the same for ages.

Vomityspice

I pay my CSA via SO. Indeed it was sent out to me by the CSA! I pay into the same bank account number and it has never changed.

Just set it up and then you can forget about it

The problem with DD is that the CSA can vary the payment without you knowing. Although there are guarantees about getting your money back why would you take the risk?

pinkpig08

Exactly vomity I don't trust the CSA not to take too much money off us! Thanks all for your help :T

AndySkint

Just to say that I was initially told that I could not pay by SO and it had to be DD. I told them that there was no way I was setting up a DD and insisted that they give me account details in order to set up the SO.

At first they tried to tell me that I could only do it if I made the first payment by credit/debit card!!!

I stuck to my guns and have been paying by SO for some time now with no (major) problems.