Hopefully this letter will make a difference

This is a letter ive just wrote to the independent case examiner.. ive had a nightmare. its a long drawn out case and ive had enough. the letter will give you my story .. and any help we can get would be very welcome.

Copy of letter….

Dear Sirs

I write to you in desperation to get a matter I have with the csa/cms regarding historical arrears Over the last 3 years. I have been in a constant battle with them over the phone trying to sort the arrears out , and also I’ve been back and forth to my local mp who has also been writing to them but still as I write this letter , I’m exactly where I started from.

I have a statement dated 31march 2015 that states my arrears are £37310.80p. The arrears are from a case on the old csa 1993 scheme. This is a case that the child support agency openly admits they lost and then came across it in 2011 when my ex-partner made a new claim.

When the new claim was made I was automatically given a deduction order. Without any information being taken. When I argued the amount and explained that I was not a single man but had a wife and two children living with me that I support, they adjusted the payments however after many attempts to supply the csa with a statement of means… so they could see that my wage could not possabley meet there demands. They finally checked on my situation and I was placed as nil liability. The case was closed.

However after the demise of the old csa and the introduction of the new cms… a new claim was made. And being nil liability would now not count even though my circumstances had not changed. Other than my wife being diagnosed with fibromyalgia and being forced on long term sickness where she remains today. I raised a concern about this and explained that nothing had changed in circumstances only got worse for me, I was given the same answer every time and that was there’s nothing we can do contact your local mp.

My current deduction of earnings order is £59.82 per week calculated for the two children who do not live with me, this figure is out of my reach on its own with everything I am paying at home. but on top of this they are taking the arrears payment making the deduction £435.94p per month, however they have now sent me a letter stating the amount they will now be taking is £526.65 per month, I cannot cope with this any longer, I’ve made some bullet points below that I need addressing and looking into toughly as I I have exhausted all other help.

1. I was making payments to ex-partner on a regular date always by cash. I never knew there was a case against me, other than a csa case worker that visited me at home around 2000-2001 she was happy with what arrangements were in place for regular maintenance. After that I never received any letters stating that there was any involvement from the csa.

I had been paying my ex-partner and then all contact was stopped by her, I had my regular cash payment ripped up in front of me, and told never to return, around 2002 I went to get legal advice and a official letter was served on my ex-partner asking for bank details so I could pay money direct to her for maintenance. This was refused, at the same time I contacted the csa to tell them what had happened. I was advised they had had no contact from my ex-partner and should wait to see if she contacted them and then I would here from the agency… i heard nothing and i was devastated about not being able to see my son but thought i would get my chance at some point to talk to him when he was older. Looking back I know I should have tried harder to see him however I had to respect his mother’s wishes.

** I must add that when the csa found the mystery claim they did not find any information from my contact with them. ** This I find very strange.

2. My concern regarding the arrears is that for 37 years I have lived in the same town and only moved within 4 miles over this time. I have always worked locally and been contactable by my ex-partner and indeed the csa. And also my parents have not moved house since the children were born, however the csa claim they have not been able to contact me over the years in which the arrears are concerned with there has not been one letter that I have signed for in all this time, I too find this very strange.

3. When calculating the maintenance assessment under the 1993 scheme they allow for circumstances i.e. children living with you that you provide for also travel to work cost and many other things, however I have never been asked what my expenses were or indeed if I had children I was providing for over the said time scale of the arrears, the csa have admitted they have gone back using information directly from the inland revenue, so I’m unsure how they have got to the calculation when they only have income information. The only information I have ever given them is a statement of means to which they deemed me nil liability in 2011-2012. And when asked if they wanted the information by me and the mp it has been one of the issues they seem to ignore and neglect a reply to.

4. I am unsure to why no blame or responsibility can be met from the csa regarding the arrears, they have on paper to myself and the mp stated that yes they have made a mistake in closing the case back in 2000-2001 and also issued me with a payment of £100 to say sorry. However I feel that they could have done a lot more to make me aware of a claim against me, after all I had tried to contact them, and if I knew that a claim was there I would have been paying. But because of their mistake I’m now in financial problems I find that unjustified and unacceptable from them.

5. I was deemed nil liable because of my circumstances at home. To me this means I was in a terrible set of circumstances and the csa felt I was not able to pay! Csa won’t pursue this matter any further. This is exactly what they did. A huge relief for me and my family.

However then comes the cms. New scheme new rules. This organisation does not care about any circumstances apart from children in your care. And they can take away the fact that the csa have scored you as nil liable because you have not got any spare capital, and put a £500 per mth deduction of earnings order on to you .. This is ridiculous. I love this country, but I don’t understand it. How on earth is this a method of helping the children? Take all I have to give to two children but destroy the lives of two more children.

I am looking for help in getting to the bottom of this, in addition the issues I have been exposed to with both agency bodies have made my life hell. I am on medication for depression also it has and is still putting strain on my relationship with my wife and children , this whole experience has turned me into a different person, I am struggling at work to concentrate whilst driving . And I am very much an un-well person.

The cms sent police officers to my house on one occasion as I was at such a low point due to all this I was having thoughts of ending my life. I’m a little better now but I do not want to end up there again. I have money problems now. At the start of 2012 I had just got married and had no debt and looking forward to a new start I now find myself owing £4000 in credit cards and a loan, with no other reason but because the csa and cms have ruined my life I’m hoping that this service will get to the bottom of it and get back in touch with me Many thanks.