I thought that this government wanted people to work hard and be rewarded?

Hello all.

I was looking for help and advice about what the CSA are currently doing to me and I came across this website. Now I can see many other people are facing extreme hardship and faced at being forced into unemployment as we are not left with enough money to live a life.

Well my story is as follows:

I was 19 years old and full of life I meet a girl and within 6months she fell pregnant on the 20/02/1998 my daughter was born. she was the most beautiful little girl in the world. Over the next few years I ended up with 3 beautiful girls. To be able to support my family I worked all the hours I could, I never once took money from the state as I was brought up to work and provide for my family with my own hands and so I did. I worked nights at a local factory picking up a good wage never once did my family claim anything.

Sadly my ex become more and more aggressive to me hitting me and throwing the iron at me etc. In 2002 I left her and moved back to my parents while I could get back on my feet. I agreed to pay my ex weekly £100 as she then didn’t need to get the CSA involved, sadly the benefits agency told her that if she didn’t get the CSA involved they would deduct money from her, I tried to explain that they wouldn’t but she was worried and went with them.

Over the years I have continued to work and done everything possible to maintain a relationship with my girls but again my ex has done everything possible to destroy it. I would come and collect my girls each week, then my ex would tell them that they didn’t need to go and could stay with her and visit family/friends etc. I would tell her not to say this when I come to collect them as she was giving the girls more conflict and that isn’t fair on me. Sadly she didn’t agree and continued to do this. I went to court many times and each time I got their court wouldn’t give me court order to see my girls even after 8 visits they failed me. Also Cafcass got involved and reduced my visits from the start from each week to every other week, this again increased the distance in relationship with my girls. I would phone every other day at different times to talk but the ex would hang up on me without an explanation.

In 2006 I brought a house with my girlfriend near to where my girls went to school so I could offer more time and help bring them up (well that was the plan). I explained this to my ex offering to pick the girls up after school on my days off etc and drop them off, my ex moved house with a month of my offering this. My last contact was in august 2009 when I turned up unexpectedly as my ex was not responding to my texts, the girls wouldn’t speak to me all they did was look at their mom then return to the house.

I fully understand that I should pay towards my girls even though I haven’t been able to see them but to be honest I cannot even go to court because I cannot afford to pay for a solicitor.
April last year I found out my ex had moved and not informed me so I went to a solicitor and had to borrow money from my dad to pay for this. As expected my ex refused to disclose and I had to threat going to court before she relented. I shouldn’t have to borrow money from my dad to be able to pay for this.

October last year the CSA did a reassessment. I work for the NHS and also have a second job with them on the Bank (pay as I work, none contracted hours) the CSA took my extra work into this and sadly I had worked a good few hours over as my family (sisters + kids and my mom/step dad) was coming to me for Christmas and I wanted to put a good spread on (as I’m sure you would also) so I picked up a few extra hours over September/October and November to ensure that I could look after everyone. Well I on average take home £1200-1300 each month (without bank work) my rent and council tax take up £750 of this leaving me with an average of £550 to pay my travel to-from as I work 20miles from home (200per month for car running costs) as well as my other household living expenses. I work on rotational shifts yet the CSA feel that I can live on £71 a week? Are they joking? I work and yet a job seeker is better off than me? And they get to sleep in till late yet I have to work in a stressful job working with mentally ill children and earn less than £71 a week as the CSA takes the rest. So now please tell me why I should work full time and yet only get £71 wage? That Is beyond wrong. I have come close to killing myself due to this stress before, I now haven’t had my heating on since February as I cannot afford to pay the bill. I cannot afford to eat and live off scraps from my mom and eat at work when I get chance.

It is wrong that the CSA can take 70% of a wage and not even leave me enough to get to/from work as there assessment says they measure travel as the crow fly’s. That is fine if I was harry potter and I could fly on a broom but I’m not and cannot so why should that system be in place? It is wrong in so many ways. I have a car as I work shifts over 7days, they give me nothing towards the cost. Public transport is too unreliable to be of service to me. And even then the cost is near £100 pcm for train/bus pass deduct that from the great £307.66 pcm that I am aloud to live on gives me £207.66 average to feed myself as well as pay for gas/electric etc does that appear fair to you?

In February this year my nephew moved in with me due to him running away from my sister (another very long story) so I contacted the CSA to inform them of this they have now agreed an assessment and only reduced my bill by ……. You ready for this??? £0.35p a week so now I get to feed and look after my 15year old nephew on 35p a week. I will not claim working tax credits as my wage is sorry my wage was well enough to feed me and my nephew and I do not need benefits to live on nor do I agree with claiming benefits and anyway if I did claim them the CSA would take them off me also.
I am writing this because I am now lost on what to do, I cannot afford to live any longer I am physically and mentally drained I cannot pay my credit card no longer nor any other bills. I am borrowing money from my family just to get by which I shouldn’t have to do.

How can anyone justify leaving a working person who you/government class as an absent farther with just Job seekers money? I work hard for my money I work so hard and I am now on the verge on total collapse again. I feel that this government are only trying to look after themselves and ruin everyone else who works hard.

This isn’t the first time the CSA has taken me to deaths door and if it wasn’t for my ex partner I wouldn’t be writing to you today about yet again another breach in my rights. I thought that this government wanted people to work hard and be rewarded? If this is a reward I hate to see what the other end of the table is??

Remember what I said above? I left to ensure my girls didn’t see domestic violence and I am the one who has lost everything. I lost my girls, I lost my wage and now I have no life worth living. I cannot even afford the antibiotics on a prescription my doctor gave me last week because of the CSA a government agency which continues to destroy people lives.