CSA kept making mistakes with the amount owed
January 19, 2012
Me and my husband have been fighting with the CSA for about 4 years. Originally we had a letter at the end 2007 saying my husband owed £1500 in arrears. We didn’t understand why so rang them up to find out what was going on. After several phone calls and being promised they’d ring back we heard nothing! Refusing to change the standing order until they could tell us why the money was owed as he had never missed a payment they ended up taking £130 a week out of his wages instead of the £23 a week he’d been paying.
Their reason was that he owed the money and they were taking it. Managed to come to a better agreement eventually!! We found out that the CSA had made an error at the begining of the claim 4 years earlier by £5 a week which added up to the £1500.
So we were happy to pay what was owed. However 2 years later baering in mind they were responsible for taking the payments straight from his wages, we recieved another letter saying he was £1000 in arrears. Again after many phone calls no returned calls and having them blame the employer for not following intructions we were really losing it with them. Over an 18 month period we were told they needed to do a break down that would take 6 weeks.
7 times we requested this and it was never done!!!
We spoke to managers that promised to look in to it and call back. They never did. After 34 phone calls and getting nowhere we contacted the local MP. Within 15 days we had the breakdown! And right enough he owed the money but again it was due to their miscalculation as they had been responsible taking the money. Then!!!! We paid off all the arrears that they caused and the payments should have been reduced to £46 a week as we’d been paying £59 to clear the arrears and it hasn’t happened!!!!
6 weeks now and again they’re trying to blame the employer and again they aren’t calling back and again they say they need to do a break down. We are giving it 6 weeks and then going straight to the MP. I don’t understand how people can do their jobs so badly or not at all!!
Don’t leave it 6 weeks – Go to your MP now.
This the whole problem with this ‘flawed’ system. Nobody can get on with their lives as long as they are involved with this incompetent shower, because you don’t know what is coming next!
I got stitched up with £6,400 of alleged arrears because of CSA mistakes. They make them up so that they can fill the government pot!
The DWP are writing off £ 300 million pounds of arrears from those who have not paid, what they owe. How can this be fair to those trapped in this crap/illegal system. It is blatant discrimination.
I have lodged a complaint regarding this with the Standards commission in Parliament (which by the way is sinking into the thames. Ha! – No wonder with the crap they come out with).
I urge all victims of this shambolic system to write to the Parliamentary Standards commission and lodge a complaint regarding the write off of £300 million pounds when others are repeatedly targeted by maladministration!
My husband is still paying arrears for his daughter who is now 30 years old. CSA say he still owes as payments he made directly to his alcoholic ex wife cannot be proved. She is now dead so we have to keep on paying. It is so unfair.