I’m being left with just £50 to live on – what can I do?
Hi all
I changed jobs nearly 2 years ago, and despite contacting the CSA a couple of months after starting my new job, they finally “caught up” with me yesterday. My ex and I have a great relationship, and we both had decided to wait until the CSA contacted my employer instead of me paying her directly.
Anyway, long story short, the CSA have doubled my payments to £72 a week, or £303 per month. Arrears for 18 months or so are at £5385. They want a minimun of £122 per week. After doing my sums, I have realised I simply cannot afford to work.
I dont want my ex or my 2 boys not getting the money they deserve or need, but what would happen if I stopped working (a job i have done for years and love btw). Would she still get £72 a week from CSA, if I was signing on? A drastic measure, but after rent and utilities and CSA, I am left with around £50 per week to live on.
I see my boys every weekend, but this is self defeating, as I wont be able to have them over, which is really hurting if i am honest. Is there an appeals procedure? Is there a means test? I dont want to hit my ex financially if I can help it. Any help or advice very much appreciated.
5 thoughts on “I’m being left with just £50 to live on – what can I do?”
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Ask csa if its possible to reduce the amount or come to an agreement with ur ex if ur on good terms. Ur prob best coming to an agreement with ur ex rather than wait on csa they r a joke of a government agency.
Im on the opposite side, i dont get any csa money what so ever. I have to live off less than £20 a week and thats to feed me and my child. Ive fought and argued with csa about this but have done nothing about it. They even told me ur ex is refusing to pay. Still nothing. In the end i closed the case as they were as useful as a chocolate teapot!
Hi mate sorry to hear yet another poor chap is being robbed by this abhorrent place, if you have a good relationship with your ex she can close the case down and have the arrears written off so you can have a private arrangement between you therefore cutting out CSA which most people prefer, if however you leave work and go onto jsa the CSA will take a fiver a week that will take forever as well as all things do where CSA are concerned best thing is speak to your ex tell her what the problem is and that you can’t afford to live and arrange payments that are affordable so you can stay in the job you love, the CSA cannot force your ex to keep the case open regardless if she is on benefits the mother keeps all the money so really it’s in her best interests to tell CSA to back off and close the case, since your the parents working it out between you is better than them lying to you both causing a wedge and problems then your kids losing out
So let me get this straight. You and your ex decided to wait 18 months until the CSA contacted your new employer instead of you paying her directly? Meanwhile us UK tax payers can pick up the tab for supporting your kids? This is exactly why Margaret Thatcher created the CSA! Leaving aside that they don’t function. The law is very clear on this. Once you have had a deduction of earnings order imposed on you, you have a duty to notify the CSA of a change in circumstances. These arrears are your fault and your fault alone. Seems for once the CSA are doing their job properly.
@marcus yet again your piss poor attempt at a reply makes me wonder why your posting at all, if not trolling, not sure whether you know this you only need to be £50 in alleged arrears before the CSA will put a deo on your pay, it’s there preferred method of collection, as we know they make people non compliant so they can issue the deduction of earnings, how can you judge when you don’t know this guy hasn’t handed over money to his children, tar everybody with the same brush springs to mind!!!! Maybe you have been in this situation yourself and it’s made you angry enough to rant at everybody else, if you stopped for one minute and sorted yourself out and looked at the bigger picture, you would realise this abhorrent agency isn’t fit for purpose costs billions of wasted money to run and then can’t get it right anyway, whose the big loser in all this, the kids nobody else just the kids
@lisa I stand by remarks about Peter. What does it say about him, and his ex for that matter, If they let things escalate 18 months until a Deduction of Earnings Order has to be put in place by the CSA. A DoE is an option of last resort for NRPs after all other routes to make them pay for their children have been exhausted.
This post suggests that Peter felt safe that meanwhile his ex could live of benefits. He even suggests he will pack in his job himself and go back to scrounging of the rest of us.
There is nothing in his post that suggests he was ‘handing over money’ any other way, I base my opinion solely on the facts presented.
I have dealt with the CSA for 20 years and I can assure you the NRP has plenty of opportunity to set up a standing order and avoid the stigma of a deduction of earnings order and get his employer involved. I know this because I had to call them and call them and even play the detective to find where my wife’s ex worked so I could finally nail him. He was quite happy paying five pounds a week for arrears of 12,000 pretending to be unemployed. Meanwhile on LinkedIn he was boasting how successful he was as a manager. That was his big mistake!