CSA increase my arrears after moving me onto ‘new system’

I have been paying the CSA ever since they threatened me with prison and ‘never getting a decent job‘ if I didn’t pay them £2300, this was while I was a full time university student and had let them know. I paid and had to leave uni as I couldn’t afford to stay on.

I had been paying privately to my ex for some time, then early 2009 the CSA contacted me to tell me I hadn’t been paying and owed them somewhere in the region of £2000 for non payment and my monthly payment was to be about £500 based on earnings of £50000 per year. I am actually on about £15000, the CSA got that figure from my ex and that was proof enough. I contacted the CSA straight away and they couldn’t care less. I had to jump through many hoops and provide evidence of everything, my ex had to prove nothing. After getting into arrears with my mortgage, CSA acknowledged their mistake but couldn’t do anything as the money was ‘in the system’. My maintenance figure was worked out and included arrears at a ‘comfortable level’.

A woman has now come forward and made a claim for CSA with me as the father of her child. Because of this I have to pay CSA up to the dna test even if the child is not mine.

The problem I have is the CSA say my old case has been pulled over to a new case or current or whatever they call it and because of this they are taking back the arrears at a massively increased rate that I cannot afford (original payment £40, new payment £279) I explained to the cheerful CSA chap that I could not afford it and he couldn’t care less, he told me to go away and think about it. I suggested giving up work and he swore if I did that to avoid payment I would still have to pay. I then told him I was going to get a shotgun and rob a bank, he reminded me the call was recorded, I replied ‘oh goody, I’m going to blow up the houses of parliament too!‘ The stooge then said ‘if I think you are being serious then I will have to report this‘ I said ‘crack on, son, I’m going to be running naked through the streets of London, I should be easy to spot!‘

On a serious note, what can I do about getting the arrears reduced to a level that doesn’t bankrupt me?

Thanks