CSA said any overpayment would not be given back

December 29, 2012

When I was first assessed by the CSA they came up with a reasonable amount for me to contribute to my 2 children. A couple of years later they cam back and told me my payments had be reassessed again again I now owed them in the region of £7000 and to ad insult to injury it was being taken from my wages. so they are now taking a third of my wages every month brilliant I thought.

Now to add insult to injury my eldest so who turned 19 over three months ago is still being credited to the account so i am still paying towards him though this should have been adjusted after his birthday. I emailed the Csa about this no reply .then out of the blue a letter arrived to say they would try contact me only problem got this letter 10 days after they were going to call.

So I called them only to be told they were investigating my complaint but any over payment would not be credited back. Funny thing is they take the money fron you with no problem but wont give you back whats yours .

Extortion seems a better word

Comments

  • chall says:

    Ian,

    The agency prefer to offset over payments against future liability.

    The age limit for a qualifying child changed from 19 to 20 years on 10/12/12, if they continued to meet the criteria.

    chall

  • stuart says:

    The agency prefer to offset over payments against future liability.

    Keeping hold of money that does not belong to you is theft.

  • Alice says:

    the reason the CSA prefer to offset the overpayment against future liability is not that they are holding onto it – it will already have been paid out to the PWC, refunding this to the NRP would mean they would either have to ask the PWC to pay it back (which could impact on the welfare of the child(ren) in the pwc’s household) or they would have to stop future payments (until the overpayment made to PWC is balanced out) to the PWC – again this may impact on the welfare of the child(ren) in the PWCs household.

    If there is any outstanding debt on a case and there is an outstanding CoC – in this example removal of 1 QC – unless the adjustment to the debt once this CoC has been completed is higher than the full debt then this is not classed as an overpayment so no refund would be considered

  • KMcQ80 says:

    chall says:-
    ‘The age limit for a qualifying child changed from 19 to 20 years on 10/12/12, if they continued to meet the criteria.’

    I thought the limit was, if the child is in full time education the end of the academic year after their 18th birthday.
    So if your child has just had their 18th birthday and is still in full time education you pay until 31st August 2013.

    Do you have a link for this change?

  • chall says:

    Quote KMcQ80; Do you have a link for this change?

    (3) The person is a person in respect of whom child benefit is payable.”.

    http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/2785/made

    ~ Child Benefit could continue until the child reaches the age of 20.

    chall

  • KMcQ80 says:

    Thanks chall for that link which is as clear as mud!!!

    Could you put this into plain simple English?

    Once a child has finished the last academic year in the August past their 18th birthday but goes onto father education, university, college etc will the CSA close the case (providing there are no outstanding arrears?

    I am of reasonable intelligence but can’t understand this clause so is it any wonder CSA staff struggle and contradict each other.

  • chall says:

    KMcQ80,

    It’s basically the same as it was, just the age has changed.

    When a child leaves full time non advanced education in the summer, Child Benefit generally continues until the first week of September (terminal date).

    If a child then went onto advanced education, child benefit would not then be paid.

    But regardless, once a ‘child’ reaches 20 years Child benefit ceases.

    The link below will a more detailed explanation.
    http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/childbenefit/keep-up-to-date/when-child-aged-16/further-education.htm#1

  • stuart says:

    the reason the CSA prefer to offset the overpayment against future liability is not that they are holding onto it – it will already have been paid out to the PWC, refunding this to the NRP would mean they would either have to ask the PWC to pay it back (which could impact on the welfare of the child(ren) in the pwc’s household) or they would have to stop future payments (until the overpayment made to PWC is balanced out) to the PWC – again this may impact on the welfare of the child(ren) in the PWCs household.

    So the welfare of the children impacted by the NRP not being able to afford to see the children due to overpaying, does not count? Who pays the NRP’s bills in this time? The CSA ARE holding onto the money and is illegal for them to do so. If overpayment is due to CSA error they should meet the shortfall not pass their errors on to the NRP to pay for.

  • KMcQ80 says:

    Sorry chall, I am still not clear on this.
    So when does child maintenance end?
    I, like many people, thought if a child stays on at school/college till they were 18, maintenance would finish at the end of that academic year ie the End of August after their 18th birthday.
    Are you now saying it continues till they are 20?

  • Alice says:

    if a child remains in full time non-advanced education they remain a qualifying child up to the date of their 20th birthday.
    If they leave full time non-advanced education leaves education prior to the date of their 20th birthday Child Benefit is generally extended to 5th Sept of that year and as such the CSA case will remain open until that date also.

  • KMcQ80 says:

    Just to clear up definitions.
    Advanced = University, acquaintanceships etc.

    What is full-time non-advanced?

  • wilf says:

    KMcQ80:- Full time non advanced education is when a person attends an institution for 12 or more hours per week studying for a qualification which is less than a degree level.

  • chall says:

    KMcQ80,

    The link I gave on December 31st, 2012 @ 10:44 am (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/childbenefit/keep-up-to-date/when-child-aged-16/further-education.htm#1) fully explains the difference between non advanced and advanced education.

  • DRG says:

    The legislation under the existing scheme is that Child Maintenance can be in payment until the qualifying child’s 19th birthday, as long as they remain in full-time, non-advanced education, and are still living in the PWC’s household. (I think unpaid apprenticeships are considered to be full-time, non-advanced education, if 12 hours or more a week…?)

    Child Benefit, which is a non-means tested benefit and entirely separate to Child Maintenance, is only really used as an indicator to the CSA as to whether a child still qualifies in accordance with the above rules and can be in payment up to the age of 20.

    If while still under 19 years of age a child leaves full-time, non-advanced education but does not leave the PWC’s household, get a job, or claim benefits, then Maintenance is still due until the next: 1st Monday in January, 1st Monday after Easter Monday, or 1st Monday in September. This is called a terminal date and is the date Child Benefit will still be in payment under the above circumstances. The reasoning behind this, I presume, is that this would be (approximately) the start of the next term at college/sixth form, and the child could possibly resume full-time education at this point.

    Whoever receives the benefit payment is considered by the CSA to be the primary carer in cases where this is disputed, but mostly this info is used to confirm a child’s education status from the age of 16, as the CSA is not permitted to contact education establishments for this purpose.

    The CSA do not investigate allegations of fraudulent claims or likewise possible admin errors relating to Child Benefit, as the information they use has been obtained from another Government department, namely HMRC, and so is considered by them to be accurate. So, if you suspect fraud, or an error regarding Child Benefit, you need to contact HMRC, as the CSA can only act once this is amended.

  • Robert Brown says:

    Interesting confusion above – I was told probably over 2 years ago by the CSA that I would have to pay until Sept following my childs 18th birthday irrespective of what he does after that date.
    I have had NO correspondence from them relating to this change concerning 10/12 2012.
    Having said this, if the rules have changed there’s not much you can do about it, and after all it is your child and that’s what’s important. I always took it that when the leaving age for children changed from 16 to 18 that is what determined the CSA closure date? Very confusing?
    Of course, if truth be know, the real reason for this is so the government can ‘doctor’ the unemployment figures!! lets face it – if a child passes his or her GCSE’s in the last year at 16, chances are they will then take A levels completing at age of 18 then go on to uni or similar and get clobbered with a MASSIVE bill to proceed and to boot the CSA will hope the absent parent doesn’t notice and keep paying – hence ” you wont get it back”.
    My advice is pay by direct debit then you have control over the end times!!!!
    Period

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