child support

julie87_2

hi
i would like anyone from child support to answear some questions.
my husband has worked all his life and never been on benefit.
he left his wife as she was violent towards him only not the children he had too,he didnt have an affair or do anything wrong.his children have stayed with her as they are at school doing exams.

we live a long way and we have the children for the holidays which is great but my husband earns a low wage and we cannot claim any benefit as his wage is £201 a week. we get £5 87p working tax credit thats all.the child support have been taking £85 a week off us as this the arrears they say we owed which we didnt know.this is coming to an end this week we have been paying this for five weeks now. we now have to pay £42 a week. my husbands wage will be £150 which is still below the poverty line.we are behind with our rent and council tax as we get £127 a week plus the working tax credit.can someone tell us how we are supposed to live on this.we have bills to pay and food to eat as well.
my daughter who is 20 is at college and she trys to help us but she doesnt get much and we shouldnt be asking her in the first place.
iam looking for a job but so far i have found nothing.
we are on the breadline and no one gives a dam.
how are we supposed to take the kids out when they come up they are teenagers by the way and like to go out and do things. how are we supposed to pay for them to come up and take them out.
people like my husband have no choice but to pay and he wants to pay but he can only pay what he can afford and this amount we cant.
the house is a council house we have missed two payments of the rent and one month council tax we could get thrown out of our house but do they care no they just take ur money and leave us with nothing.we have no life we dont drink we dont smoke and we dont go out either.we stay in and pay child support.my husband is thinking of leaving his job he works very hard and its not an office job.he thinks why work for £127 its nothing and i agree.

kelloggs36

Whilst we can sympathise, there isn't much we can do, other than ensure that the amount you are assessed to pay is correct in law. Have you applied for a Variation on the grounds that you have high contact costs?

N71

Does the children staying in the holidays total over 52 nights per year? Are you getting the shared care allowance?

I'll have another look in the morning, but it looks right to me, not sure if you are getting any shared care allowance though.

pinkpig08

Are you entitled to any housing benefit? Do you have any income yourself?

kelloggs36

You can't have both shared care AND high contact costs though

julie87_2

kelloggs36 wrote: »

Whilst we can sympathise, there isn't much we can do, other than ensure that the amount you are assessed to pay is correct in law. Have you applied for a Variation on the grounds that you have high contact costs?

hi
no i dont know what that is and will it make any difference.

julie87_2

N71 wrote: »

Does the children staying in the holidays total over 52 nights per year? Are you getting the shared care allowance?

I'll have another look in the morning, but it looks right to me, not sure if you are getting any shared care allowance though.

the children dont spend that amount of time in the holidays. its three weeks in summer and one week at christmas and one week at easter.what is a shared care allowance?i applied for housing benefit but we cant get it.
we get £117 a week thats his wage now the other ten pound was working tax allowance but that has gone down now.
i have told the housing office about us not been able to pay the rent and they noted it down but if we keep not paying we will be on the streets.iam starting to suffer from depression with all this and i keep thinking about it every day.
i rang the csa and they said that they come above paying the rent and council tax but surely keeping a roof over our head is more important.if we have no house to live in how can we see the children.it just doesnt make any sense at all
my husband is made out to be the bad one in all this and its so unfair when its not his fault.
we only got married last year and all we want is to be happy and all this is coming between us.its not fair on us and its not fair to the children too.

julie87_2

hi
no i dont have income myself

N71

3 weeks in summer, saying sat to sat, would be 21 nights, 7 nights for christmas, and 7 nights for easter, totalling 46 nights per year. Do you have the children for any other times, weekends? If its over 52 nights per year, you get a reduction. for 52 nights 1/7th off. for 104 nights 2/7th off etc.

If the CSA have included you working tax allowance, you need to tell them you/re not getting it any more.

julie87 wrote: »

the children dont spend that amount of time in the holidays. its three weeks in summer and one week at christmas and one week at easter.what is a shared care allowance?i applied for housing benefit but we cant get it.
we get £117 a week thats his wage now the other ten pound was working tax allowance but that has gone down now.
i have told the housing office about us not been able to pay the rent and they noted it down but if we keep not paying we will be on the streets.iam starting to suffer from depression with all this and i keep thinking about it every day.
i rang the csa and they said that they come above paying the rent and council tax but surely keeping a roof over our head is more important.if we have no house to live in how can we see the children.it just doesnt make any sense at all
my husband is made out to be the bad one in all this and its so unfair when its not his fault.
we only got married last year and all we want is to be happy and all this is coming between us.its not fair on us and its not fair to the children too.

kelloggs36

You need to ask the CSA for the forms to apply for a Variation on the grounds that you have high contact costs. Basically, depending on how much you pay out to have contact with the children in travel costs will be looked at and your net income reduced accordingly which will reduce the assessment a bit.

::OMG::

julie87 wrote: »

the children dont spend that amount of time in the holidays. its three weeks in summer and one week at christmas and one week at easter..

As N71 states, you are not that far off getting the 1/7th reduction. However, let it not be a false hope. I am sure the PWC is aware of the situation, and will endeavour to make sure that the kids never stay more than 51 nights a year.