CSA chase money quickly, but take so long to refund it!

September 5, 2015

This CSA case is regarding my stepson, and the payments that are taken from my husband’s wages every month. My husband has been paying £229 every month for a long time, but his son recently turned 19 and left his college placement to work full time. He told the CSA of this development in May, when his son left college, and CSA told him he would have to continue paying until September when the new academic year begins. Seemed a bit odd given that his son is a working man, paying tax etc, but we accepted that was the way it is. In June my husband called CSA and was told that he had overpaid by £229, as his payments had been reduced to £71/month. They said that the money would be refunded as soon as he supplied his bank details. The man we spoke to was very helpful, and sure enough, as stated, 5 working days later the money was in our account.

However, on my husband’s next payday, again £229 had been taken by CSA! He and I have called them up 7 times between us, and each person we speak to gives us a different story. The employees we speak to seem to recognise that they are due us a refund of £158, yet they can’t just give us our money back like they did with the £229. We are being told that it will take 6 weeks as they need to pass the case to another dept, we have to be allocated with a case worker who will go through our case thoroughly to make sure the figures are correct before requesting the refund from the government!

In the meantime we have absolutely nothing in the bank, no petrol in the car for my husband to get to work and a dwindling supply of food for us and our 2 children. I just don’t understand why, when they have taken too much of our money they can’t just give it back. As one of the employees I spoke to agreed, if we didn’t make a payment, they would be chasing us for it after only 2 days, yet they can take 6 weeks to return what is rightfully ours!

Comments

  • MrWhitey says:

    The whole raison d’etre of the CSA was to claw back as much money as possible from NRPs to offset the benefit payments to PWC…this was what it was all about, supplementing the Treasury, pure and simple.

    That, and only that, is is purpose for existence. It was never designed to give money back, that would be anathema to the whole ideology of the CSA scums’ mindset.

    It was simply made that way and never corrected by a corrupt House Of Commons.

  • Jen A0509 says:

    Thanks, it would seem that is indeed the case. Further developments on this case:
    One person at csa agreed that we are due a refund of£158.
    Another person (our designated case worker) said that actually, we owe them over £2100!
    After complaining (again) another case worker was assigned to us, and after his investigations we are told we are actually due to pay csa around £1300.
    Yet another csa employee has agreed that it seems a bit strange that we should be given so many different figures. She is looking into it herself, and will be in touch in 3 weeks to let us know the outcome of her investigations!
    We have the local MP on the case…

  • MrWhitey says:

    I did find it slightly amusing when you said that the latest piece of scum said it ‘seems a bit strange that you should have been given so many different figures’…

    This is how they work, they all lie, all the time, they must be trained in it, and no doubt that everyone that you spoke to claimed to be telling you the truth and couldn’t understand why the previous employee gave you such misleading information?

    It’s good that you now have your MP involved, only deal with the scum through them, keep in touch and let us all know how you get on.

    Good Luck.

  • Martin mckeiver says:

    I’m wait for a refund of £4500 an it’s taken 9months an still not got it.they said it would take 12wks the first time then agagain again….waste of time

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