CSA cost me my home

February 23, 2010

I am currently having 40% of my eranings being taken by the CSA.

I had an agreement with my exhusband when we split, and due to the fact I was in a wellpaid job and he would not have been able to pay me maintenace along with the agreement he had with his ex wife, he stayed with the childern and i worked and supported them. No money changed hands between us as was the agreement so that the social benefit he had didnt get disrupted. Obviously due to the fact he claimed benefit we were contacted, stating on the phone and in writing our agreement the case wasnt continued. April 09, after i had been employed by a government body I was send a letter claiming i had arrears of over 6000.00 I contacted them and they said the case was never closed.

I tried to agree a payment after they had spoken to my ex husband and made a deduction of half of what i owed, making it clear to them i thought this was wrong i had to pay back the secretary of state this money. It has finally ended up i don’t have a leg to stand on and i need to try and see if they are prepareds to agree me paying a lesser amount as they can claim arrears back over 2 years while i still fight my case.

I intend to take this matter to anyone who will listen to me, with the intention f getting back the money they have dedcuted, this has cost me my home and very clearly so far the only way i can see out of this is to leave my job.

So if they havent contacted you – be warned they will

How do I know if CSA has closed my case?

February 21, 2010

Hey.

Just wonding if you guys think I should rock the CSA boat or leave well alone.

I havent heard a peep put of them for four years now. I pay CM to them via a Standing Order.

I haven’t seen my children for almost 4 years now (not by choice) and am wondering if my ex has closed the case but the CSA have never bother to tell me. I have no contact with the ex and dont even know where they live, she refused to tell me.

My pay is still the same all these years so I wont have an issue with arrears or anything.

I’m wondering if I should write to them and ask if its still open, or perhaps stop the Standing Order and wait and see if they complain. Obviously I would keep the money to one side so that I would have it to pay them if needs be.

Thoughts?

BF

How do we avoid the Child Support Agency (CSA)?

February 21, 2010

My partner does not live with me. He lives on his boat and therefore has not postal address. Over the winter months he was unemployed and I agreeed the DWP could send his mail care of my address. However on opening one of his envelopes he found the CSA had used the address and neither department has addressed it as care of. Can they legitimate pass on an address in this way? Neither he or I had given the CSA permission to use my address or neither had we given DWP permission to pass it on.

Secondly, despite having insufficient income, his ex wife who has remarried and building an extension to what was their marital home is claiming poverty and he has had a default order slapped on him. How can this be. They wrote to him saying as he hadn’t provided informattion requested the default had been gained and put in place. He had never been written to. They had written to someone who had employed him, but not him.

Where do I stand in being able to stop them using my address? Do I have a right to complain? And where does he stand with them. They have evidence that has not had the income they appear to have assessed him on. Its all fabrication.. What can he do?

CSA complaints letters have received no answer

February 20, 2010

Heres some letters ive sent to the Complaints Resolution Team yet never received answers.

2nd May 2009

Dear Janis Crook

I am writing to you because I am extremely unhappy with how my complaints and issues are being dealt with. Due to all the problems I will list myself and my family have come under large amounts of emotional stress and I would like these problems dealt with as soon as possible.

The issues I have at the moment are:

  1. I have several times requested an interview to be arranged so I can discuss my problems face to face with someone. And my response has always been ‘This is not possible’
  2. I have requested to have a DNA test done because after further investigation I feel there is a possibility I may not be the father of the child. But ive been told ‘Because I have already paid child maintenance this is not possible’.

    Also the mother of the child has told me via email the child will not accept to have a DNA test done.

  3. The amount of maintenance I am being expected to pay is extremely excessive.
    You have stated between 2/11/2003 and 1/12/2004 I was expected to pay £299.09 a month when my weekly pay after tax was only £230.09
    You have stated that this is the formula under the old scheme which equates to less than 30% when under the new formula now it is only 15%. This is a massive difference and I would like to know why?
  4. At the time I was assessed to pay £299.09 I spoke to someone at the CSA and told them honestly I had 2 options. Either pay my mortgage or pay the CSA only to be told ‘It’s not our problem’.
  5. On numerous occasions my assessments have been backdated and due to this I have accrued sometimes large amounts of arrears and have then been told ‘We need the money within 7 days’. Even when I have given all the information needed by the CSA within the time they ask I still get punished by everything being backdated. It’s not physically possible for me to have these funds paid to you within 7 days.
  6. Several times I asked for a complete breakdown of my payments and assessment only to be ignored until I had written to my Member of Parliament. It should never have got to this point and upon ready it the amount of times I was either under or overcharged is unacceptable.
  7. The mother of the child has been in contact with me via email stating her current partner wants to adopt the child and that I will no longer have to pay child maintenance. I would like to know if you are taking into account that he is obviously providing towards the upkeep of the child when you assess how much I should pay?

Yours sincerely
Reece Sanford

10th November 2009

Dear Janis Crook

I wrote to you on the 2nd May 2009 regarding many issues I have been having with the Child Support Agency which I am sending you another copy of.

I either spoke to you or Pauline McNeice on the 18th May 2009 and I was happy because I thought my complaints were being dealt with, however I still in the dark about nearly every issue I wrote to you about.

I received a letter from Pauline McNeice saying she tried to contact me on the 17th July 2009 to discuss the current position of my case but at the time I was unable to answer my phone.

As I requested a face to face interview in my original letter she states in the letter she sent ‘A face to face interview has been requested and my local office will contact me directly’, which they have not.

I also requested a DNA test and she sent me a list of approved laboratories. However I am not sure whether I have to contact these myself and what I say to them, also due to the mother of the child emailing me and refusing a DNA test I am unaware of where I stand with this. I will also send the emails I received from the mother.

Today 10th November 2009 my employer spoke to me saying he received a fax from Mel Crompton of the Child Support Agency ordering a Deduction from Earnings. They want to take £113.09 a week from my wages until 18th November 2011 and also say that ‘The protected earnings proportion is £190.58 a week’.

I currently take home after deductions £270 a week so I cannot see how they can come to this figure, bearing in mind when looking at the Child Maintenance Calculator it states for 1 child the figure is 15% which is nowhere near £113.09 a week.

I also today received a letter dated 9th November 2009 saying a change has been made and they have worked out that £95.28 a week should be paid from 19th January 2009, which completely goes against the fax my employer received. Now I am unaware which figure is correct.
There is a breakdown in figures on this letter but it is the most confusing thing I have seen. Even when showing it to a friend who works in accounts it does not make sense.

For instance it gives figures for carers allowance and a premium which I have no idea what they are.

It also mentions my exempt income for my personal allowance at £60.50 a week but nothing else. No housing costs or travel to work costs have been taken into account bearing in mind I have to drive 50 miles back and forth to work every day and have to pay rent to live in a house.

Plus taking into account I am also at the moment paying arrears at £200 a month.

The only time I have been contacted by the Child Support Agency was on the 16th April 2009 to say they have been told my circumstances have changed and they need to see if everything is accurate. Then again on the 26th October saying the same thing.

Yet it has taken until now before they have come to a figure which to me still doesn’t seem fair.

Also on one of the letters I read that the surname of the mother has changed so I am presuming her husband is now taking care of the child. If so has the planned adoption gone ahead and if he is working has his wage been taken into consideration?

One other issue is I am receiving letters from the Child Support Agency with several different phone numbers and addresses and I am unsure who to reply to. Some are letters that have Crewe as an address, others Newcastle Upon Tyne and others Stockport.

Again I hope my issues are dealt with promptly because this is still continuing to drag on and I am suffering more and more getting into financial and health problems.

Yours sincerely
Reece Sanford

13th November 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

Yesterday 12th November 2009 I spoke to someone at the Stockport branch of the CSA. I was repeatedly told she had no answers to my questions and the person I needed to speak to was not there. She then told me the reason I had not been contacted was because there was a digit missing from my phone number. The problem being it didn’t stop the CSA calling me in May and July 2009. The CSA also have my address and know where I work yet I still wasn’t contacted.

I received a letter dated 17th July 2009 from Pauline McNeice (Complaint Resolution Officer) to say ‘A face to face interview has been requested and your local office will contact you directly’ and ‘Your case has been allocated to a case worker James Leebetter’. However since 17th July 2009 I have had no contact whatsoever from James Leebetter or my local office to confirm a face to face interview.

I have also today 13th November 2009 spoken to somebody that tried to explain how my maintenance was worked out and that according to her there will be no change in how much I pay. Yet my housing costs and travel to work costs have not been taken into account. I also cannot understand how you can tell me you need maintenance of £109.84 a week to look after a child, yet my personal allowances a week are only £60.50.

I was also told today that ‘One to one interviews are only accepted in certain cases and you prefer to sort things out by telephone’. I feel I have so many issues regarding my case that a one to one interview is a must. I could not even understand most of the telephone conversation today when I was bombarded with figures, constantly interrupted when I was talking, and then told ‘Are you sure you understand because it can be very difficult to understand everything’, which I find very rude.

I have a long list of complaints and issues and I would like answers to my questions:

  1. Mrs Norman must now be married as her surname has changed recently. Is her new partners income being taken into consideration?
  2. Mrs Norman has informed me several times she will tell the CSA to stop taking money from me but I still need to pay the arrears.
  3. Mrs Norman has told me via email her partner wants to adopt the child and she has been to a solicitor to arrange this.
  4. I’ve emailed Mrs Norman telling her the child is not mine and I want a DNA test. She has refused a DNA test which I believe tells me the child is not mine and she cannot refuse a DNA test.
  5. You have told me a DNA test is not possible because I have already admitted the child is mine by paying maintenance yet your website says.
    The person named as the parent of a child may deny they are the parent either
    Before we work out child maintenance and After we work out child maintenance
  6. Why is there such a huge difference between the old system and the new system?
    You have refused to put me on the new system where I would be paying 15% of my income yet on the old system I am paying 30% of my income.
  7. Why can I not be put on the new system?
  8. You sent me a letter dated 26th October 2009 stating you needed information about my housing costs ie mortgage/rent and council tax. You give me 1 week too reply and also do not take into consideration there was a postal strike and I didn’t receive your letter until 2 days before you were due to receive an answer. I sent the information you asked for yet on the 9th November I receive another letter which completely ignores my housing costs and doesn’t not include travel to work costs either. Bearing in mind I drive 50miles a day back and forth to work.
  9. Also on the telephone conversation of 12th November 2009 I asked why there was a Premium charge of £16.75 I was expected to pay every week. The answer I received was ‘I’m sorry I do not know. I also asked about the Carers Allowance of £60.50 and received the same ‘I’m sorry I do not know’ answer.
  10. I cannot understand how you can tell me you need maintenance of £109.84 a week to look after a child, yet my personal allowances a week are only £60.50.
  11. I have been sending you all the information you have asked for including my employer telling you about my income yet it still takes 10 months for you to tell me how much maintenance I have to pay. Then you backdate everything those 10 months which means I accrue even more arrears.
  12. My employer sent you information about my income yet after looking at this I realise she has completely given you the wrong information. Plus due to the recession my hours at work have now been cut so I am earning less money.
  13. It says in my assessment ‘The other parent is receiving a type of benefit or income which we cannot use in the assessment’
    Why is this? Because as far as I’m aware the other parent is in employment and earning money that should be taken into consideration.
  14. Of my telephone conversation on 12th November 2009 I was told you could not contact me because there was a digit missing from my telephone number. However I received 2 telephone calls in May and July 2009 (One from Pauline McNeice, The Complaint Resolution Officer on 18th May 2009. Plus you also know where I live and work yet still I receive contact.Why?
  15. Why has my case worker James Leebetter not been in contact with me via telephone or letter? I was told on the 17th July 2009 he would be in contact shortly.
  16. With all these issues why am I still being denied a one to one interview?

Bearing in mind I cannot understand most of the time who I am speaking to and its not possible for me to explain all these issues or get the answers via telephone.

With this letter I will also show you the email I received from Mrs Norman or Miss Ward as she was know then to show you she has told me her partner wants to adopt the child, she has also refused a DNA test and its possible for her to stop all payments for the child.

Yours sincerely
Reece Sanford

———————-

Also while speaking to the CSA on the phone they said i am actually on the New System but part of my case is still on the Old System so my case will still be calculated on the Old System. And it could take between 2012 and 2015 until all cases are moved to the New System.

Ive never received any answers to any of the questions i raised to the CSA.

Then i thought to myself “Now they know i am not the father they will just disregard all my issues”.

Well guess what i receive a letter today dated 12th February 2010 and it pretty much summed that up.

Some extracts from this letter said:

In this call of 3 December 2009 you advised you were going through a DNA test and that the results were not back yet, we agreed we would wait for the results to come back before your complaint was investigated further as this may change the whole complaint issues depending on the result.

That just goes to show that the CSA will now completely forget my complaint because now its not an issue as i am not the father.

I will post the letter in full when i manage to scan it.

Abusive ex husband refuses to let me see my son

February 19, 2010

I have been forced to live apart from my son. This is my story…

I’m a woman who was in an extremely abusive marriage (mental, physical, verbal abuse, the lot) – can’t go into all the details here of everything he did or I would be here forever, but trust me, it was bad. We had a son together, (the violence started after I had him, charmingly enough), and I developed Post Natal Depression which he could not handle. He left us both to fend for ourselves for a year, no visits, no payments, no support, not a phone call, nothing. He eventually swans back home, whereupon I was so badly in need of help and furious with him for deserting us that I just gave in (remember I had severe PND) and accepted him back as I needed the help – not that he gave any.

He spent his time in the pub, was never at home but when he did there was trouble, blah blah blah…I eventually got up the balls and some cash to leave him. He showed no interest in his son at all, despite me offering him contact whenever he wanted, but he seemed to want to live in the pub instead. One weekend he took me up on the offer, and after promises to return him on the Sunday night, he did not appear.

Imagine my horror when I phoned him up and he laughed and said “I warned you that if you left me I would do something to you that would f*** up your life, well this is it – he’s with me now, you will never see him again” then hung up.

Next I knew he had skipped the country with him, and only crawled out the woodwork with him again when he had returned when he was old enough for school, and had put him in a school a long long way away from where I live – on purpose. I do not drive as I am not allowed to medically, so it is very hard for me to get there and they also live in the middle of nowhere. How convenient. He lied to his family about why I left and painted me as some kind of s**t with all sorts of crazy problems that just don’t exist. Who did everything for that child until he was 3 and a half years old? Yes, me. Full time housekeeping and childcare combined with very poor self esteem and being locked in the house by him all day and night makes it quite difficult to be doing the things he was accusing me of, I must say…

So after loads of appearances in court, CAFCASS reports saying I am a perfectly fit mother thank you very much, etc, I get a court order that states I must have 50/50 custody. And this is despite his violence and drink problems and the abduction – unbelievable.

However, he kept breaking the court orders by not turning up etc, which forced me back to court all over again, thus wasting extraordinary amounts of time, which is what he planned the whole time. His attempt at Parental Alienation was patently obvious but didn’t work as my son is always very happy to see me.

This went on and on and on and eventually a TENTATIVE date came up for a final custody hearing as I think the judge was getting a little fed up of his messing around – why he didn’t stop this sooner is beyond me but there you go.

My ex has also roped his family into the ritual humiliation and abuse of me, purely because I dared to leave their darling son. The final insult was bumping into my ex father in law in the supermarket who sidled up to me, told me I “ought to be spending my money on the boy” (well I would if I ever saw him) and that he had cancer and if I “f***ed that boy up, then he would live longer than me” (father in law, not son, obviously). So, a death threat. Lovely.

I did the expected and what they wanted, and backed off in absolute fear and terror as I believed he would do me some damage, he is the type. The custody hearing date was in a few months from then, and I was waiting for my lawyer to give me the final date and time for it as it hadn’t been decided at that point.

Next thing I knew I was getting a letter from my so called solicitor telling me that it had all happened and because I had “failed to turn up” then automatic custody was given to my ex! It turns out that my crooked lawyer had been paid off by the family. Just my luck to pick a crook.

Since then I have been hounded by the CSA and I now pay £200 a month to my ex, which doesn’t leave me much from my pay after everything else, and I still don’t get to see my son. I have not seen him for nearly 2 years as my ex messes me around so much. He changes his email address, phone numbers etc and if I do track him down he doesn’t let me talk to him on the phone.

And all I did was dare to leave him to save the skins of my little boy and myself. He has since got together with some other poor girl and has another son, and as far as I hear, he still doesn’t work, but sponges off her as he did me, and the last I heard she was complaining to everyone that she never has enough money as he spends it all in the pub! Funny that, that was my complaint about him too. I wonder when the violence will start?

My little boy is now 8 years old and I have since met a new partner and we are expecting a set of twins in the next few weeks. I am still paying ex £200 a month but surely this is not right? I don’t mind supporting son, of course, but it galls me to know that he goes to the pub with it and it doesn’t get spent in the appropriate way. I know this because he was stupid enough to use this as a taunt to me once.

I contacted the CSA myself a few days ago via the website and got a call this morning from the 01925 number which I didn’t answer as I didn’t recognise it, and they did not leave a message. This is what led me to this site so it seems it was the CSA who was trying to call me earlier. Is it worth answering the next time? Will they help me? ?Should I tell them to write if they want me? I hate all this.

Anyway, I just wanted to say my piece a bit, and let men out there know that there ARE some women who sympathise and that it is NOT only men who suffer with not seeing their children and having to pay out a shed load of money every month and also that not ALL women are as awful as some of you make us out to be, so people, please spare a thought the next time you post an anti women message with regards to the CSA.

I lost everything when I divorced my ex – I was forced to give up the house and got not a penny as I was bullied all the way into signing it over apparently in return for him not going after personal maintenance for himself and a slice of my pension. What a cheek – he shouldn’t have been entitled to any of that anyway, but my lawyer was so rubbish he told me it was a good way to get him off my back or I would be paying a share of the mortgage on the house forever. I caved in for a quiet life. I lost my home, my child, do not get a penny in maintenance, he burned the possessions I hadn’t managed to take with me when I was fleeing in the night for my own and my son’s safety, he destroyed my self esteem, left me in debt up to my neck, destroyed my credit rating, stole a credit card and ran up two grand on it, beat me, drank, raped me and humiliated me. I have nothing to show for those 5 years of my life apart from photographs of my darling son.

Please guys, it’s not just men who suffer when relationships break down.

Fourth Complaint Letter to the CSA – Resolution Team

February 18, 2010

Here is my most recent letter to the CSA, complaing about their lack of action:

Donna Holland
Resolution Team 2
Child Support Agency
PO Box 442
Crewe
CW98 1AD

Dear Miss Holland

Further to my 3 previous letters of complaint, dated, 20th September 2009, 27th October 2009, and 7th December 2009, I am incensed that I must again write to you again, raising further complaints. I believe the time has now come for this to be taken up with a Senior Complaints Manager and an Independent Tribunal as a matter of urgency. This is of no disrespect to yourself and I want to make it known, that I have no direct complaint with you, other than the fact that the issues have taken far too long to resolve.

You will recall that on 6th February 2010, I telephoned you to advise you that I had been dismissed at work and made unemployed. You will also recall, that I asked you for a breakdown for monies outstanding on the arrears, as owed to the Liability Orders obtained against me in mid 2009. Your advice, was that I contacted Clare Weale in Enforcement at Hastings, as she was the one dealing with arrears etc. Following this, you will also remember, that I have made it clear in previous correspondence to both you and Read more

Third Complaint Letter to the CSA – Senior Complaints Manager

February 18, 2010

This is my third commplaint letter to the CSA, to the CSA senior complaints manager:

Senior Complaints Manager
Complaints Department
CSA Hastings.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Further to my letter of 20th September 2009, and my letter of 27th October 2009, I am incensed that the CSA has not even had the courtesy to acknowledge receipt of my complaints or to actually deal with them in any form at all. My question to all concerned is why?

I have been more than patient in my dealings with the CSA, but my situation has deteriorated massively whilst waiting for someone to actually correspond with me.

In the first instance, I am currently on suspension from my employer, which has affected my ability to earn overtime which was crucial to offsetting monies being taken from me by the CSA. Apart from the obvious stress that this is causing me, the amount that is being recovered by the CSA is still far too high for what I can afford. This has put a massive strain on my relationship and my partner and I are on the verge of splitting up through the stresses that are affecting our relationship. I am on the verge of a breakdown myself and am suffering stress and depression which is worsening week by week. To be honest, I feel suicidal at the moment. Having gone through years of the same grief which almost broke me, I find myself in pretty much the same position and have little stomach for a fight. The option of suicide appears so appealing when my mood is at it’s lowest. I can say with certainty, that if my relationship fails, if my health deteriorates further, then the CSA will have blood on Read more

Second Complaint Letter to the CSA – Complaints Department

February 17, 2010

This is my second letter of complaint to the CSA:

Complaints Department
CSA Hastings.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Further to my letter of 20th September 2009, addressed to Mrs Willis The Team Leader Manager of the Legal Enforcement Department, Room D2, CSA Hastings, setting out several issues and a complaint, I am disgusted that almost 5 weeks later, I am yet to receive any form of response.

If you are unaware of my original letter, I have supplied a copy for your perusal. During previous communication with my case worker Clare Weale and Mrs Willis, I was criticized for allegedly not responding to any letters that the CSA sent me. It was this alleged behaviour which resulted in the CSA taking the action they have against me, which is to basically put my family and I under immense psychological and financial pressure, just to try and “teach me a lesson”.

If this second complaint shows anything, is that the CSA have also failed to deal with the issues to hand, even though the complaint was sent by first class recorded delivery to the exact person and department it need to go to. I can prove that the CSA have received my letter…..can the same be true of the CSA and the supposed correspondence that was sent to me, where as a result of me not receiving it and then failing to contact yourselves, I have been punished. However, it’s not just me who is suffering, it is my entire family and they are innocent victims of the CSA’s bullying and over zealous incompetence.

Almost £600 is being taken direct from my salary per month (40% of my earnings) by way of DEO, which I’m sure you can appreciate, just how anxious I am for the CSA to respond. The information I have asked for, should be at the touch of a button, however, I have waited all this time and Read more

Letter of Complaint to the CSA

February 17, 2010

Here are the last 4 letters I have written to the CSA, and as yet, they have not written to me once with an explanation or an apology and continue to steamroller me into paying a “statute debt” which is by law unenforceable. Instead, they have been taking this by way of DEO, even though I have made it clear that I do not recognise this debt and want payments suspended, so that I can go before an Independant Tribunal to determine if I should pay or not. In the meantime, they have 2 Liability Orders hanging over me and I have now lost my job and am worried that they will use enforcement action, even though I was led to believe that the massive DEO against me was to pay that off!

See what you think:

Letter #1

Mrs Willis
Team Leader Manager
Legal Enforcement Department
Room D2
CSA Hastings.

Dear Mrs Willis,

Further to my telephone appeals to my case worker Clare Weale, other CSA staff and yourself, I wish to lodge a formal complaint about the way my case has been handled and the attitude of staff, including yourself.

I believe that I have been treated shambolically by those concerned and now my partner, my family and I will be suffering immense hardship as a result of your determination to recover a substantial debt accrued over 13 1/2 years in a 13 month timeframe, with an additional £170 per month to find in maintenance assessment.
During my conversation with all concerned, I have never shied away from my responsibilities. I accept that I must pay for my daughter (despite being denied any contact by her mother notwithstanding her refusal to comply with a Court Order for Contact in my favour….but that’s another story!) and I accept that there is a debt that needs to be paid within a “reasonable” timeframe. This is the crux of our difference in opinion!!!!

Clare Weale and a chap by the name of Tom? (Ref: SpocREs/JJ/RP12451-Crewe) both informed me that it was Child Support Law to recover the money owed within 2 years. Since when did it become Child Support (CMEC) law for you to recover all monies owed within a 2 year timeframe? In fact, I would like you to respond with the exact legislation in law, that this Read more

Fed Up Complaining About CSA

February 16, 2010

Don’t get me started on the CSA!!

I was one of the decent chaps. When I seperated from ex a year ago, I left everything and the house to her. I left with 3 black bags of clothes and personal belongings and my car, nothing else that I worked for over the years while she didnt work at all (well, she was found out later that she was advertising herself on the internet as a prostitute) I offered her straight away a reasonable amount for the children based on the CSA calculator. She refused and insisted going to the CSA. Like most fathers, I never once ever wanted to see my children do without but she simply would not take the money from me.

The CSA then got involved and straight away things went very quickly down hill. Firstly, everything my ex partner told them, they took as being the truth. She claimed I didnt have the children at all. LIE No. 1, they stay with me every 2nd weekend and schol holidays. Without warning or my right to appeal, I noticed they arrested my wages. I contacted them about this and said they had sent letters asking for information which I refused to give them. In my defence, I would have responded if they had sent it to the right address and I had known about it!!

They then wanted to set up a direct debit for nearly £900 a month. I have two jobs, £1,500 from one and other job varies between £100 and £250 a month. They didn’t care that I couldnt afford to pay bills, feed myself and new partners children who live with me or struggle to clothe and feed my own children when they visit. They just wanted my money.

I appealed the amount calculated with regards to shared care, which I was succesful in. However, its now 5 months since that appeal and they have still not adjusted payments. I received the appeal outcome the next day! It still wasnt enough for me to fax and send a copy of that decision to them.

Even with the intervention of my local MP, they still dont seem to be in any great hurry to sort their mistakes out. Their phone number costs a fortune to dial and they NEVER once have returned any call or message I have left. Now, when I want to speak to them, I submit it through their complaints website and insist they call me back. On one occasion, I cancelled a direct debit and didnt pay, just so that they would phone me. (I must add, I made payment by credit card as soon as they called me back so have never not paid)

Like, most fathers, the problem is not with paying it, the problem is with the AMOUNT of payments. After outgoings (rent, council tax, bills etc) its not physically possible to pay it, I literally DO NOT have the money, thats the bit they dont understand. My second income is with the retained fire service and is not guarateed, it just depends how busy the previous month was for me.

Another thing that frustrates me, is that my ex partner, for a fact, doesnt spend the money on my children. They visit at weekends with holes in their trousers, my daughter has never had a matching pair of socks on her yet, holes in all socks. Yet, my ex continues to have nights out with her new boyfriend, frequent holidays, all with the kids money! Why do I not get anything to help with looking after my children. £9.74 allowance they give me for staying at weekends, how the hell is this meant to feed, clothe and care for 2 children??!!

A good example of her greed, was this weekend. My 9 year old was in tears and upset all weekend because her Mum told her that Santa wasn’t real and couldnt afford it anyway so she wouldnt be getting much for Christmas. However, her Mum is also going away on Boxing Day for a few days with her boyfriend while the children stay with me. She blamed me for not paying anything towards kids for Christmas, Im sorry but my receipts in excess of £300 a month prove she is LYING again. Any genuine parent, I believe, would see that their children were looked after BEFORE anything else.

What I have always stated to the CSA and my MP is that she should have to prove that the money is being spent on the children, whether its clothing receipts, days out tickets etc. She is taking my money to fund her lifestyle while the innocent amongst us are suffering. If I didnt have such a good career in the emergency services, I too, wouldnt think twice about never working again. I certainly would be so much better off.

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