Better off with a private agreement

March 25, 2013

Hi all, it seems to be the same ole story regarding the dreaded CSA. I worked at ford motor company for 17 years up until i was made redundant in march 2009. I paid CSA for my two children out of my wages from around 2003 when me and the ex separated and i paid her well as I was on very good money then.

Yes I agree absent parents should pay and support their kids and at the time I was pissed off with the amount I had to pay and the CSA dont take your living costs into account like the courts did many years ago, my dad paid my mum 10p a year for two kids cos he had debts and bills etc yes that was right 10p a year for two kids. When I lost my job in 2009 i found further employment with a wage less than half it was at ford and me and ex decided to do a private arrangement so when I got paid I would tell her the monthly amount she worked it out on the CSA calculator I would show her a payslip, pay her and she gave me a reciept we both signed and she would state I was up to date.

The CSA would contact us every now and then asking if all was working out and I would always ask if any arrears were outstanding and that my ex was giving me reciepts, they always told me I was up to date. My ex and I were fine with this and had a decent relationship until I lost my job again in august 2012, my ex wife wanted more money and went to the csa and told them all my details and that i was going to be starting a new job but as a bank worker (this means a zero hours contract and work as and when needed) The csa phoned me to tell me that i had to pay them in future and that I was 577 in arrears and was calculated from when I worked at fords over 4 years ago when they were deducting the money from my wages.

They even said that if we keep a private arrangement the arrears do not exsist but through the csa I owe this amount so I argued it then argued with the ex and why she did this and we were at war for weeks and now I have not spoken to her or my kids since sept. I dont pay for daughter now cos she is 20 just pay for son who is 17. Any way my first months money was £738 and I sent payslip to csa they said they wanted 2 payslips to assess me but I sent that slip in and a cheque for 15%, they come back to me and said I owe based on the infomation I gave them £192 per month plus £43 a month arrears £235 a month, I phoned and argued this and they said it was standered, so I argued I was on zero hours contract not guaranteed work it was impossible for them to work out a schedule the amount they were asking was way to high on what I was earning and what are the arrears about?

I got my MP involved who wrote to the csa, my next pay was £900 so i sent that to the csa and a cheque for 15% so as you can see i am not refusing to pay but they put arrears higher to over 700 and payment of £243 per month plus £55 arrears so now they want nearly 300 out of an un guaranteed £900. My MP got into this and the csa wrote back saying over the years I have over paid and I now only owe £19 a week or £116 a month, when I was at school 19×4=76. on top of that even though they said i had paid too much they still wanted £33 a month arrears.

How can arrears keep changing? if you over paid your mortgage, bank load etc would the bank write to you and say you have overpaid and now your in arrears? no they wont but the csa does. From 18th march my pay goes weekly so i informed the csa of this change and my first weekly payslip will be 29 march. I now get a letter from the csa asking for me to give them 5 weekly payslips by the 29th march or they will take an action against me. WTF?

It proves the csa cant add up, make up arrears, and cant work out if you are paid weekly you wont possible have 5 payslips in 2 weeks. They say if im on a zero hours contract they will default my payments to £30 a week which is law, but if i only work one day that week and i cant pay 30 they will add it to my arrears and if i work 7 days one week they will take my arrears plus put payment up to match that weeks money and if i work 1 day the following week my arrears go up again based on the work i did the week before, so its a no win situation.

I was better off having a private agreement with ex but she chose to use the agency for some reason and iv been stuffed and stressed. the agency does breach the human rights act and everybody on here needs to bombard the prime minister every week with the same letters and dont stop until we are heard.

CSA robbing selfish scum who only take the word of the mother need to be brought down…

Comments

  • lisa says:

    Everybody should boycott the place, they would soon buck there ideas up then, private agreements has got to be the way forward, getting rid of the csa is the only way to go, nobody wants them in there lives, the kids lose there father and the mum ends up hating him because of the lies the csa tell her,

  • KMcQ80 says:

    Private agreements are great until one of the mother’s ‘friends’ tell her she can get more money by using the CSA……

  • lisa says:

    I have a feeling nobody is going to want to use the CSA as soon as the new system comes in and both parties get charged,

  • John (original) says:

    Dealing with children, after marriage/relationships ends is a very emotive issue. There are financial and contact issues, and most genuine parents want to support their children financially.

    The problem arises when the CSA get involved and treat parents worse than the low life scum i.e. murderers, rapist etc that are in our prisons.

    I also would like to see this ‘not fit for purpose’, debacle shut, and staff and executives held to account, and criminalised, as they are attempting to criminalise parents.

    I have been informed that if my ‘child’ (19 a child is a joke, I was working 6am-2pm at 16) stays in education, I will be expected to pay until 20, and having all ready been stitiched up with £6400 arrears a few years ago, I know what is coming next! More made up arrears, to pay for some other buggers Universal credits.

    All on here, please remember the words ‘restorative justice’, because eventually, when there is a breakthrough and ths CSA are investigated and held to account, thats what we will all be seeking through a ‘class action’. Plus a political apology and financial compensation for prolonged maladministartion and stress, caused by this incompetent shower!

  • Brett says:

    Anyone out there received an official letter from the CSA, saying child maintenance is now payable until 20 years ? Thought not.
    They’re too busy going after the decent NRP’s, already in the corrupt system hounding them for more and more money.
    The CSA belongs in the bottom of the sewage with the rats and other vermin down there.

  • mike hunt says:

    With regards to the above if you visit the CSA website the amount calculated is still based on the CSA2 method (Net wages) Rather than CSA3 (Gross wages). Some NRP are in for a shock as the new calculation is based on your gross wage – before tax/NI taken off.. So calculated on a gross wage you do not see..

    With regards to calculation errors the CSA are an incompetent, Dishonest waste of skin. They do no have any academic qualifications to assess your arrears prepare statements etc. I have had three statements/ breakdown of payments within a period of a month all stating different amounts of arrears. Always arrears… I had spoken to a helpful lady within the CSA who helped me with my arrears and worked out I had infact overpaid. She told me to reduce my payment for one week to recoup the overpayment. I asked then for an up to date new statement. This arrived again showing me in arrears. What they had done was listed all my payments they had received, minus the latest weekly payment (which takes a few days to get onto their system??) and listed as payments due the following week AFTER the statement had been prepared.. Showing me in arrears for an amount adding up to two weeks maintenance.. Apparently this is how the system works it out..

    Ask them to send you an account breakdown of money owed and money paid. Advise them if it is incorrect you will take the matter to the Police as they are trying to unlawfully gain money by deception.
    Ensure you have all your proof ie receipts for monies paid. All that b*llocks about direct payment is twoddle. When the CSA started dealing with me they told me in letters how much to pay. In their letters they made it very clear that if I did not pay I I could face a £1000.00 fine or imprisonment.. I paid direct to the PWC (and had for a year previously but that’s another story.. lying bitch etc..) I was made redundant and notified the csa.. they told me I still had to pay.. With What?? Citizens advise told me I did not have to pay. In subsequent statements the period I was out of work have become direct pay. The months before & after are listed as through the CSA. As they have this listed as direct pay they say I cannot claim back.. I have an appeal hearing next week.. Seven years later.. Watch this space.
    Luckily I had saved all my documentation and had found a letter saying I had to pay a certain amount and it included the period I was out of work. I also had a letter which had not been sent to me.. Which stated a nil calculation had been done for the period I was out of work..
    I think it costs approx. £10.00 but write to the CSA data protection officer and request your case notes.. You may find some info in here which helps you ie phone logs, internal paperwork etc. They have a certain period of time to get this info back to you 40 days I believe.. not 40 working days though..

    More info below

    http://www.deadbeatdadsassociation.co.uk/index_files/Page2387.htm

    Good luck my friend.. Keep up the good fight..

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