Hi,
This is a summary of my last 3 years dealing with the CSA and would like to know if I have a good case for maladministration
Up until August 2007 everything what pretty much ok, although for a long time my ex refused to pay the full amount of maintenance that was required. This resulted in a large amount of arrears building up on his account. However I never complained about this as I was happy with the £45 he was paying.
• August 2007 the CSA decided to pursue the amount of arrears that was owed. This I believe was because another party involved in the case made a complaint as she was not receiving her full maintenance. This resulted in a DOE being imposed upon my ex. The amount they wanted for my part alone was approximately £90 per week, which I thought was rather a lot considering there was another assessment to be taken into account.
• December 2007 my ex quit his job and the arrears were sent to the Legal Enforcement team so they could pursue the debt through the courts……
• April 2008 I went to see my MP as I was not happy with the way things were progressing and I was still not receiving any regular maintenance despite the fact I knew my ex was working again…… The CSA’s response was that they were doing all that they could to try and secure regular payments and would not be able to take any further action with the arrears until the case had gone to court. I excepted this and made no further contact with my MP
• May 2008… I received a letter informing me that Mr T****s H*ll should start paying me £54.47 per week …. I rung to query this as this is not the name of my ex partner…. I was told that they use a template letter and they had not changed the name……. I did however start receiving payments for a few months…. I was never sure if the money was coming from Mr H**l or Mr H**l
• June 2008….. The case finally went to court and a liability order was granted for a debt of about £6,000.
• July 2008…… Despite the LO being granted, someone from the CSA told my ex that they believed the amount of debt was incorrect. This action resulted in another holdup while a breakdown was carried out and sent to him…. The original amount of debt was proven correct.
• August 2008….. The debt was referred to the Bailiffs and I was told that this process could take a couple of months
• November 2008….. I was told that the Bailiffs had not been successful and the case would have to be sent back to the Enforcement team so they could prepare a case to present to the courts for possible committal action.
• December 2008….. I was told by enforcement that the case was ready to progress but they were waiting for some information from Bolton.. I rang several times regarding this but each time I was told the same thing……. Bolton was holding things up as they were not sending the required information for them to proceed.
• January 2009….Same story.
• February 2009 …Same story
• March 2009 …. More excuses
• April 2009 ……. Still more excuses
• May 2009…… I was told that some new information had been presented that could affect the case.
• November 2009….. I was told that my ex had been declared bankrupt in May and although the case was now ready for committal action they would not be able to pursue with this until his bankruptcy was lifted in May 2010. I was told however that they were still able to try for regular maintenance. I was also assured that the case would proceed as soon as the bankruptcy was lifted
• February 2010…. I made another complaint regarding the way my case had been handled…. In my opinion if Bolton had had done as they were asked back in December 2008 the case would have gone to court before the bankruptcy….. I received a letter which stated that my case had been referred for consideration for a consolatory payment….. I would be notified of their decision within 30 working days…… It is now September and although I have phoned them many times regarding this I have never had a reply….. I also received another letter stating what I should be receiving in regular payments (£22) and that another £2,208.90 of arrears had been sent to enforcement.
• May 2010….. As my ex's bankruptcy has now been lifted I rang to
Make sure everything was ready to proceed again but I am told there was still more paperwork to be done….. I have rung several times since then but each time I’m fobbed off with some excuse or other. The last time I rang was August 11th…. I spoke to a lady who was not able to tell me much except that she was doing another breakdown on the case which should be completed by the following week…. She also told me that she would get my caseworker to ring me but as yet he has not bothered.
I have now been to see my new MP and presented him with the documentation to support my case.
BTW...... I have proof that 2 weeks after my ex was made bankrupt he purchased a new motorcycle and within his years bankruptcy he purchased 2 more.
Many thanks for reading
Meg x x x
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