All I seek is that my CSA payments are fair
As with everybody else, I am discusted with how the CSA operate. Their arrogance, rudeness, and constant threats are causing me and my family great distress. I have copied my complaint letter below;
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Dear Sir,
I write this letter more in hope than in expectation but it is with some regret that I must complain about the actions, or rather inactions of the Child Support Agency, along with the constant harassment, rudeness and underhand tactics.
I feel I should go through the ‘proper channels’ before escalating the situation to the public domain and to my MP.
Before I go any further, I would like to point out that I am not in any way trying to ignore my responsibilities or avoid paying child maintenance. I do, however, feel that what I am currently being ordered to pay is totally unfair and is on the verge of plunging me and my family into extreme hardship and poverty.
All I seek is a payment that is fair, taking into regard my current living costs.
I first contacted the Child Support Agency in December 2010, after I received a letter stating that my ex-partner had opened the case. I sent a letter confirming my income details as requested, and ever since there has been a string of errors and dishonest comments added to the system after telephone calls had been made.
The majority of calls that I made to the agency ended with me stating that I did not wish to discuss the matter further at present, due to the rudeness and appalling attitude of staff.
Twice I was requested by post to send payslips, which I promptly did. I received the payslips back along with a letter thanking me for the information. Shortly afterwards, I start receiving calls – claiming to be from the Department of Works and Pensions – demanding incorrect amounts and denying receiving any payslips.
Concerned about this, I send a letter in February 2012 to the Data Protection Unit to request all recorded correspondence to date. I was appalled, to say the least, at the lies and incorrect information recorded.
Setting aside the complete lies claiming that I became abusive and slammed the phone down on a few occasions, I am very much concerned about how my case is being handled and calculated.
At present, I am being ordered to pay £3,552 in a lump sum within a week – or face legal action. I have tried phoning to come to an agreement, only to be told by staff that unless I pay, they cannot speak to me. I have recently had another daughter with my current partner, and they refuse to take this into account.
Before the lump sum was demanded in full, a direct debit was set up (without my knowledge) to deduct £342 a month. This is 55% of my wages prior to other deductions. Again, when I called to query this, staff were extremely rude and refused to discuss the matter.
I had no choice but to contact my bank and cancel the direct debit. I was more than willing to pay a sensible amount, but had these payments gone through, I would have been left with no finances to pay bills or even feed my family.
Again, as I only have Data Protection information leading up to February 2012, I am extremely concerned as to what staff are entering onto the system as ‘fact’.
I have never had any problems discussing the situation in a polite and professional manner over the telephone, but now simply refuse to do so as a result of the dishonesty, blatant rudeness and underhand dirty tactics used by your staff. I also feel that the constant calls demanding this lump payment are tantamount to criminal harassment (as per Section 1 of the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act).
As already mentioned, I am in no way trying to avoid paying – I just want to pay a sensible amount that will not leave me and my family on the verge of poverty. If your agency claims to act in the welfare of children, why do you not give a thought for children/families already living with the father?
A copy of this letter has also gone to my local MP, who has already been made aware of this situation. As this is causing major distress, I would be grateful if this matter could be resolved immediately. If, however, this continues, I shall be escalating this matter to the Independent Case Examiner and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
In the meantime, I shall await your response.
8 thoughts on “All I seek is that my CSA payments are fair”
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This is a really good letter, clear, concise and accurate. It is also likely to be a complete waste of time, your MP may feign an interest but is powerless to intervene, the Courts have been neutered and are treated with disdain by the csa.
Before you get to the pariamentry ombudsman you have to follow a procedure. The csa is a part of the DWP, you have to first make a complaint in writing which will be ridiculed and ignored, sorry I mean ‘considered’ internally, before being rejected. You then have to go to the ‘Independent’ (haha) Case Examiner, another part of the DWP. You could try an Appeals Tribunal, another part of the DWP but you have to have grounds to do this and be very careful how your argument is framed. When you exhaust all other avenues you could try the Parliamentry and Health Service Ombudsman with a refferal from your MP but as the tory party dreamed up the csa and labour implenented it you should not expect any success there either. They really are “all in it together”. When you have had all of these experiences you may think the csa is nothing but a ‘criminal’ organisation who’s sole purpose is to create jobs for low grade civil servants in areas of high unemployment while collecting stealth tax for the government. Does your ex get all the money? Many on here dont. Nothing will change until one day someone ‘loses it’ and drops a bomb on the secretary of state from a great height. The latest ‘criminal’ scam is to charge people to have the csa ruin their lives. This is a disgusting organisation and whoever thought of it should be put against a wall with a blindfold and final cigarette. Welcome to our world.
It is a very good letter. I also done this sending a letter direct to Maria Millar and got an immediately reply basically defending the Agency and saying that my partner could afford the payment they were taking because they do not take into account house costs, debts etc. That was not their priority but to get the money to the pwc as maintenance is a priority deb to them! I also argued that their deductions split my family up and when together had left us in financial poverty. This the Agency disagreed with and stated that there is no set figure which would mean living in poverty – this I found strange as the Government set an amount which you should have as an income!!
More people should do a letter like this to Agency, Maria Millar, MP’s etc. just to highlight what a disgusting Agency it is and the real life impact that it actually has.
Carol on November 11th, 2012
“More people should do a letter like this to Agency, Maria Millar, MP’s etc. just to highlight what a disgusting Agency it is and the real life impact that it actually has.”
Even better is a campaign of ‘naming and shaming’, I wonder where ms Millar lives, I wonder if people where she lives realise what she does for a living, I wonder if people are aware of how many lives are destroyed as a direct result of the csa? Politicians, civil servants and anyone involved with this disgusting organisation should be in the public domain.
Awesome reply j
All I can add is the csa do not understand the the meaning of the word “fair”
It does not take into account any living cost .as far as its concerned,we have 100% disposable income and no bills at all.
I’d dearly love to know how much of this stealth tax (£320) a month robbed from me for 1 child actually goes to the lazy greedy benefit grabbing ex? I suspect I will never know and neither will she as its probably disguised and hidden amongst her total benefit payouts ?
Anyone who could confirm or clear this up for me ?
Gonk on November 12th, 2012
“I’d dearly love to know how much of this stealth tax (£320) a month robbed from me for 1 child actually goes to the lazy greedy benefit grabbing ex? ”
Do you mean after they take out the amount needed to pay for a bombing campaign in Libya or the funding of arms supplies to al qaeda terrorists in Syria?
Yes j
That’s exactly what I mean.you know it amazes me how certain people defend this trash as looking out for the children….pmsl …it’s a plain and simple extra tax designed to pay back the treasury for all the benefits it hands out to layabouts and single mothers who think by dropping kids here there and everywhere will give them a free roof over their heads with all the cream topping in the way of benefits,and the csa is even extra income for them at idiots like me’s expense lol.
As we moan and bitch on here about the csa BUT for one main reason….IT’S NOT FAIR.NO ONE is against paying a fair amount for theirs kids,but this is WRONG. I want to spit teeth at the csa,I DO NOT NEED YOU telling me to I have to pay and making me pay and dipping into and helping yourselfs to my money that’s meant for my child.
i honestly cant believe what im reading. the way some poeple speak of pwc is disgusting. It is the people with this idiot idea that they are so much better than us, “single mothers dropping kids here there and everywhere” YEP im a single mother, YEP i have “our” (what a joke) child and YEP i have to work two stinking jobs to support both myself and my son who’s father, in the loosest sense of the word, refuses to pay AT ALL. i have never in my life tarnished all men with the ” sperm donors who won’t pay” brush so where do you get off judging all single mothers as money grabbing benefit scroungers who would put there selves through motherhood for 30 fucking quid a week?!?!? i realise both pw/oc and pwc have problems with the csa, and sometimes you get people without work who claim whatever they can for the kids, but you also get nrp’s with money coming out of their arsehole who wont pay a penny. it works both fucking ways.
Great letter and some great comments.