Can I claim compensation against the CSA?
I first contacted the CSA way back in March 1999. Since then due to a series of mistakes and several closures of my case on the CSA’s behalf I still await my first payment – yes you heard right, I have never had a penny from my son’s father over 11 years!!!.
After meeting my partner (who does pay for his 2 children) it prompted me to once again try the CSA, I thought maybe with the new system that was brought in I might finally get somewhere. Huh……how wrong was i?? I contacted them again in late Dec 2010 (my son is now 16 and I think this is maybe my last chance before he leaves full time education). I spoke to an advisor who told me they would track down my son’s father and I was to call in a few weeks for a progress report. I called back in March 2011 and was told they had contacted my son’s father and his employer and had no response from either.
The next step would be for them to send inspectors out to his work place, which would be happening in a weeks time, and I was to call back in a couple of weeks. 2 days after that last call, i received a letter from the CSA telling me my case was found to be closed since 2006. I called the CSA and was again told that even after my recent contact in Dec 2010 and March 2011 the advisors I spoke to didn’t ‘realise’ my case was closed (even though they had tried to get in touch with my ex) and that once again I have to go right back to the start and begin everything all over again………..like it was 1999!
Please somebody help, can i claim compensation, I’m at the end of my tether with it all and don’t know what to do.
4 thoughts on “Can I claim compensation against the CSA?”
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Ha ha can I get compo too! ! I never got anything from my ex and if I had my income support would have gone down. And believe me I was much better of then than I am now as my husband had to get loans to pay his ex s settlement and fee s to get access after years of csa demanding unreasonable payment we have half his wages taken. So we can’t afford anything I’ve had 12 years of struggling while she can take her 3 to centre parks while we can’t manage day trips fair! ! Make the best of what you’ve got stop winging
i am having the same problem, i put in a claim for my son 9 years ago gave my ex’s name, address, dob, mob phone no, place of work, work no, home no and ni no. im still waiting for a payment as they could not contact him so just closed the case, me and my husband both work and pay csa to my husbands ex partner. we also have his children every weekend. i have now been told by csa, after i told them i was going to take legal action against them, that my case has now gone to a special fast track dep and i can have compensation as they took so long and closed the case without informing me, also extra payments of them for loss of income. you can also ask for copies of your file to take to a solicitor this costs £15 but normaly just the threat of doing it gets them to speed up a bit oh and another bit of advice always ask to speak to the supervisor and make a note of there name then next time you phone back ask to speak to the same person that way they cant keep telling you different things to excuse that they have not done there job properly good luck.
Yes you can claim compensation against the Child support agency, on the grounds of Maladministration. I advice you to write to the parliamentary ombudsman who will investigate the child support agency if there is injustice and clearly in your case there is. It is a waste of time going to a solicitor because they do not deal with child maintenance issues. I have been to top barristers and still it has not speed up the CSA or got them to act. I have even been to my local Mp and a letter from him to the CSA achieved absolutely nothing. I have written to Iain Duncan smith who replied back saying there was nothing he could do. I am in exactly the same position as you if not worse. My Father owes £2 million pounds in child maintenance arrears and getting the CSA to act has been terrible. I am 19 years old in a couple of months and when I reach that age there is nothing the CSA can do and My father gets away with not paying maintenance money. The CSA have told us on about 10 occasions that they are going to investigate my Father and after 2 months they close case and then it more hell trying to get them to open it. The CSA are useless and are unfit for purpose. £ 200 million pounds of tax payers money is spent on the CSA each year and it just makes you sick when they fail to collect Billions of pounds in maintenance arrears. I would also advice you to write to the PM because your letter will get to the people in charge of the child support agency at the top and because you have written to downing street it carries a bit more weight. I wish you the bestest of luck and hope that my advice helps.
My daughter is 16 in June and we started the csa process in 1998. To date we’ve received 3 payments and that was back in 1999!!! Even been to court in 2002 and by then he had clocked up over £
6000 in arears! I’ve called twice a yr since and have now put in a complaint! Cant ever see this being sorted !