Should I give my partners details to the csa?
April 5, 2008
Someone asked us the question:
Should I give my partners details to the csa
The short answer is no. If you’re a parent with care and you’re claiming benefit then the CSA will be notified and involved automatically, you can’t avoid it. However if you’re not claiming benefit then you have a choice to make on whether you involve the CSA or not.
If you do you should be advised that you won’t receive all of the money they take, and even if they do manage to get money from the father of your child it could be months or even years before you see any of it. The CSA are a messy dysfunctional organisation who have a past history of losing details, making mistakes and costing both parents with care and non resident parents hassle and stress.
It’s much better if you can work out any payment for your children with your ex-partner and don’t involve the child support agency at all. You won’t find them to be helpful.
Arrears?
March 25, 2008
I’m neither a NRP, nor a PWC… I am a NRPs partner… and believe you me… it’s not just the NRP, or the PWC that get affected by the CSA! Not only do I have to see and feel the hell my partner has to go through time and time again… but I have even been threatened by the CSA for them to take me to court, as I refused to give them any information about whom I was or what I did for a living!
Anyway… not the reason I’m writing here… nope… I’m writing to rant, and also seek advise regarding “arrears”.
Since 2004, my partner had been paying CS through the CSA, always paying what they wanted him to pay… whatever new letter arrived in the mail… we complained… but paid what it said there (and yes… we paid… not just my partner, as there were time the CSA left my partner with less then £50 to survive on a week after everything had been paid off… not to mention the sweat and tears we’ve paid with).
However, at the end of 2006 my partner became unemployed, and he stopped his direct debit, and informed both his ex-wife and the CSA about it. His ex-wife wasn’t interest in the pennies she would recieve out of his Income Support, so the CSA backed off. In March 2007, my partner became employed again, and him and his ex-wife agreed to to do a standing order directly to her, for £250 a month.
In October, my partner ex-wife contacted the CSA again, without informing my partner that she was breeching their contract. A lot of palaver later on, and the CSA wants my partner to pay £16.53 more a week then what he was doing when paying her direct…
BUT… and here’s the big but… not only do they want him to pay £16.53 more a month - but they also claims he owns £2500 in backpay! Not only that… but they are not willing to tell him what the supposed arrears are for!
I worked it out… and if my partner was supposed to pay £16.53 extra a week since October, his arrears would be £396.72… so where in the world do they get such a number from? And how in the world can they get away with not informing people what the arrears are for? Oh we’ve asked… both on the phone and via letter, and so far the best answer we’ve gotten is “it’s complicated”… complicated my behind… either they can justify it, or they can’t.
The CSA are crooks, and the whole system should be abolished… a new system should come into place, with both parents paying towards the child in a percentage of what they earn… towards a set target that the children need! Let’s say a child needs £250 a month (this is only to cover clothes, food, extra electricity [as clearly the family the child lives with also uses electricity], gas, toiletries, etc), and the PWC earns £20000 a year, and the NRP earns £30000 a year. Then the PWC should be contributing 40% towards the £250, as they earn 40% of the gathered income of both parents (which in turn means that the NRP should be contributing 60%)… but this also goes for travel to see the NRP… as if the CSA, care one bit for the children they claim they are “helping”, then they should know that it’s important for a child to have a good relationship with BOTH parents! If either of the parents cannot afford to contribute their share towards the upkeep pf the children, then the government should contribute the rest!
Record your phone calls with the child support agency
March 4, 2008
When dealing with the child support agency you will find that anything you tell them gets lost or not noted properly. Anything they say they’ll do you’ll find they won’t actually do. If they promise to call you back, don’t expect a call. For this reason we strongly advise that whenever you speak to the CSA over the phone you take the following precautions:
- Take notes, including the name of the person you are speaking to, their line manager, the time of the call, the duration of the call and of course the date of call.
- Any actions they say they’ll do you write down.
- Record the call! This is vital. You don’t need their permission to record the phone call, you don’t even need to notify them that you’re doing it. This way you will have proof of what was said and what was agreed.
I realise this all sounds a little draconian, but sadly it is all necessary. The CSA will lie to you, make sure you’re prepared for that eventuality.
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Earn Money
