Iv recently finished university and graduated (june 2011). since finishing i turned my part time job at a pub into full time for 6 weeks whilst looking for a job in my degree area. over the time iv been at university and up until now iv earnt about 8000 pounds and had around 15000 in student loans. iv paid money to my ex in cash for essentials around 25 per week for 2 years now. iv now recently got a job in my degree area and as im only an apprentice im earning 1000 pounds roughly a month after tax. iv agreed to pay my ex 140 a month as i have my daughter 2 nights a week. my ex however wants 250 pounds a month which i simply cant afford. she works 16hours per week and gets housing benifit, income support and all the rest. she is now saying because i wont pay 250 pounds a month she is getting the csa involved and wants to back date all the payments from when my daughter was born. my question is. will csa backdate even though iv only earnt 8000 pounds as i was a student however iv had student loans of 15000 and secondly, if i was to pay her directly to her bank account as im planning to do will she need to declare that as an income as i think its very unfair with all the money she recieves already to have that aswell. im extremly new to this system and the thought of being even more in debt (in arrears) and paying 250 pounds a month when my rent is 500 pounds per month is getting me worried. iv heard that the csa will only backdate from when a case is opened. any information or knowledge would be greatly appreciated. t