CSA reassessed me after many years and invented arrears
I have a 14 year old daughter from a previous relationship. I have paid maintenance through the CSA all of my life. Back in 2007, i was told to pay £82.90 a month, and i never heard anything since. Until last week. I was told that they were going to re-asses my payments, so i provided them details of my payslips.
They told me that my new payments would be £176 a month. Fine i thought. Then they asked about the £5,200 that i owe in arrears to them, of which i knew nothing about. Apparently, there has been a system error, through no fault of my own and one they have admitted to me is their fault, and they want this money, either in a lump sum (which i dont have), or in 12 monthly payments (£433 per month). That would make my payments over £600 per month, if you included my regular monthly payments.
I am currently the main earner in our household, as my wife is currently off on maternity leave (we have a 4 month old daughter). This would financially ruin us, as our mortgage is nearly £900, so with other bills we would not have anything remaining.
I understand that i should of paid this money over the years, but there has been no contact between the CSA and myself in 5 years, even though they still have my employment details and phone number on record, which have not changed. How have they allowed my arrears to get to this amount. Surely somebody should of been in touch?
I have been told that if i dont pay the full sum, they can instruct the bank to take the first monthly arrears payment on the 5th October.
Can anybody give me any advice on what to do. I have already been in touch with citizens advice. My wife is part of Unison, which entitles us to a free half hour conversation with a solicitor. I have also sent an email to my local mp.
What would be the chances of the CSA admitting it should never of happened and them clearig the arrears, or at least reducing the amount.
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Sorry to hear the CSA hell your going through. I was put in the same situation over 4 years ago, when they contacted me stating I owed over £11,000, despite never having missed a payment.
I saw an independent CSA advisor who said the government of the time had given them the power to do this and that the figures were correct. This totally turned my life upside down and I had to make drastic changes in my lifestyle.
The CSA case worker left a message on my phone intended for the mother, saying he was giving consideration to sending baliffs to my house/issue a liability order. Fortunately the woman on complaints saw sense and put a stop to this, but they still took 40% of my net pay for nearly 3 years.
The CSA will tell you the debt has to be paid off in 2 years, but this is only a guideline. Offer a reasonable amount. Get your MP on your side and make an appointment to see him/her with a summary of the case.
Sadly the CSA will target a certain type of person “the sitting ducks” and make their life hell, whilst there are so many nrp’s out there who don’t pay anything.
Good luck !
I am going through exactly the same hell myself. I spoke to the CSA regarding my son who I have been paying for via a DOE for almost 16 years. I have now suddenly got £9500 of arrears. How? They cannot tell me, I have asked twice for a statement showing how these arrears were accrued but got nothing. They have checked through a credit reference agency and said I can take a loan or use the available balance on my credit card to settle the debt. They have told me the arrears are through errors at their end but I do owe it….still awaiting the full breakdown.
Sadly I am a sitting duck too…..16 years of low income now looks to be continue for many years to come.
Same thing here, have complained for many years that arrears are not my fault as always paid by DEO, finally my MP got a meeting with the minister, the CSA changed tune and have paid me £2k back, should be £5k as that is the debt they have caused, CSA admitted maladministration over ten years and wrote off all arrears also. Contact your MP’s and the CSA and state you wish them to investigate the maladministration on your case and offer proportianate redress for this. My case is now at ICE as they still have not adressed the years of debt and stress due to their errors. Meanwhile non compliant fathers get away scot free.
Stuart,
Have you got an update on your case?
Regards
Nick
Just a bit of general ‘advice’ –
Don’t deal with the csa by phone, everything in writing, sent recorded, keep the receipts.
Copy your MP into everything and try and get them involved as your advocate.
Make a formal complaint about any decision you are unhappy with from the outset as time limits are involved. Always go for an appeal tribunal asap following the internal process.
Get a copy of your Data Protection prints from the outset so you know what you are dealing with, again follow the correct procedure in wording your request to get ALL information, send it to the right department, send the correct fee.
Don’t be afraid to complain about any csa staff, or their superiors if you feel you have just cause.
Remember the process, internal complaint, ‘independent’ case examiner (the csa protection department), appeals tribunal, parliamentry and health service ombudsman through your mp for maladministration.
Hope others can add to this with a bit of ‘specific’ advice.
baz,
The CSA can negotiate the collection of arrears, but they do ‘prefer’ to them be collected within a 24 month period.
Initially, to save time, I would suggest ringing the CSA to try and secure a figure that is more achievable given your circumstances. Remind them the arrears are NOT due to you being non compliant, but their maladministration. Make sure you get the name of the person at the other end of the phone.
If you manage to agree a lesser monthly figure, over a longer period of time, ensure you put the agreement made in the telephone conversation in writing and post them a copy.
If the CSA refuse to negotiate, you can escalate your case to a clearly marked, written complaint
Even if the CSA agree to negotiate, it may still be worth considering making a complaint as you may be entitled to a consolatory payment.
chall
Adrian don’t refer to me as your son thanks for moving out of the country bellend
to adrian mants commment, our son is now 17 and you have seen him 20 times in hislife so really do not slate me or your son or the csa. you walked out on us when he was 5 months old and are you forgetting your daughter from a previous relationship which you have not paid a penny for.
The above karen Bedfordshire comment isn’t very nice, has a huge 17k lump sum from CSA yet has the nastiness and audacity to call her ex on here when she also states in another post she stopped her kids from seeing their dad because he wouldn’t pay, maybe the case being couldn’t pay, truth always comes out eventually
You need to tell them this will cause your family extreme financial hardship and due to this being their maladministration you need your payments lowered . I would also put that you can not expect your children to suffer due to this payment as they would if you paid such a high payment . They have different department when a letter is posted in you need to mention keywords so letter is taken note of , extreme financial hardship , contacted / contacting MP , full investigation into your account , financial ombudsmen , maladministration on their half , good luck hope it all gets sorted