My experience with the CSA

January 12, 2012

Two children,i split from their mother about fifteen years ago.
After we split the children lived with me.

The CSA asked me to make payments for my children;it took 18 months of payments before the CSA accepted that my children lived with me, they gave back all payments, although this in no way made up for the hardship we had endured.

I have brought my children up on my own for 15 years,and held down a fulltime job.I earn to much money to qualify for any benefits,but not enough to pay all the bills;As a result,over the years i have accumulated more and more debts,at times its felt like we have been living in poverty,eg,never had a carpet on the stairs.

I’ve only recently turned the corner and started to pay off debts accumulated as a direct result of being the best father i can be. My son is trained as an accountant, and is no longer classed as a child.

My daughter has just started A-levels in college.She has decided that she wants to get to know her mum,and at the age of 17,she has gone to live with her mum.

The CSA are once again involved,and they make no allowances for my past conduct as a father,or the accumulated debt;I am now faced with the prospect of selling our house,,taking out another loan,or asking other family members to pay the CSA for me.

My thought on how the CSA is run…..They should pro actively persue farthers who avoid responsibility for their kids,this is after all,why the CSA was formed in the first place.

Fathers,,good fathers who want to be part of their kids lives should be treated with respect,and all circumstances should be taking into account.

I am a good father,but this recent CSA involvment has caused bad feelings and resentment through the whole family,and as a result,the CSA involvment is responsible for a break down of a once strong family unit.

The CSA do not know how to deal with good fathers,and in our case the CSA are not in any way responsible for a better life for our children,in fact the opposite is true.

Financially,i would of been better off, if i walked away 15 years ago,and never knew my kids,.Why is it that i am now financially punished?

Started to rant there,appologies,,so thats my CSA nutshell.

Comments

  • John says:

    If you are having problems with the CSA. Complain to them and the ICE. Given your circumstances, I would go to my M.P. now. Don’t wait. Ask him to refer your case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman because of your history looking after the children and CSA interference.

    My whole complaint is the system, the civil servants and politicians. What happens between parents and children is between them. It has nothing to do with these incompetent people, who cause more trouble and problems between parents than they solve.

    The CSA and their entourage will wave the banner as doing a good job in collecting maintenance. Only recent New Years honours have been given to Executives for their contribution in this sham system. What a joke!

    The CSA is divisive, it’s whole purpose is to breed resentment between parents in order that the government can cash in on recycled benefits. They do nothing to ensure that the correct benefits are being paid, they use any scam in their book to bleed the NRP dry.

    The CSA are about to write off £300 million pounds in maintenance as uncollectable. There are people over-paying, under-paying and not paying at all. £3.8 billion pounds remains uncollected. There is a three tier system, where people are paying at different levels. CSA 1, CSA 2, CSA 3. This may breach human rights!

    My experience of the CSA is 12 years of repeated and wilful incompetence, the msot recent of which was to stitch me up with £6,400 worth of debt because of their mistakes, with ‘made up arrears!

    I want to provide for our children. What I don’t want is me or anybody else having to put up with the ‘poo’ that i have had to put up with for 12 years from incompetent civil servants and and politicians that turn a blind eye!

  • chall says:

    Hi simon,

    Did you claim maintenance from your ex when the children were living with you and was this when the CSA were involved before?

    Your status has changed from parent with care to non resident parent as daughter now resides with the other parent. The case will commence from the date the agency contacted you. Unfortunately, the last 15 years whilst you were the PWC will have no bearing on such.

    chall ~ afairercsaforall

  • karen bedford says:

    Well done – need more fathers like you, sorry to hear your bad experiences too.

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