New CSA fee announced

January 31, 2011

The Child Support Agency will introduce a new fee for couples who wish to use it to settle child maintenance disputes, it has been announced.

The fee of £100 is to be used to discourage parents from using the Child Support Agency as the default option for sorting out child maintenance issues, instead encouraging them to sort out their differences on their own.

The decision was largely made because the government believed the previous system created greater conflict between parents, since it meant often child maintenance payments would be sorted out while tensions between parents remain high. The Department for Work and Pensions claims that 1.5 million children have been left as part of families who have no real form of financial aid arranged. This issue was the source of criticism in the past, although some charities have raised concerns that charging this fee could mean that less well-off parents may choose to avoid seeking help, which would therefore put them in a disadvantageous position.

The government has also said that parents will be given extra support to help them make arrangements on their own before CSA intervention is needed, and although the fee for most will be £100; it could be reduced to as little as £20 for those in severe financial difficulties.

Further criticisms have been made about the fact that this fee may end up mostly being picked up by single mothers, who struggle enough as it is. It is universally agreed that the system did indeed need changed, but only time will tell whether the new methods are effective or not.

Comments

  • rach says:

    i think it wil make pwcs think twice about using the csa as a weapon if they have to pay. Ive said it once and i will say it again THIS NEW SCHEME WILL NOT WORK UNLESS THEY TOTALLY GET RID OF CSA1 AND CSA2 CASES have they not learnt from past mistakes? running 3 child maintenance schemes at the same time is a recipe for disaster abolish the other 2 straight away and give everyone stuck on them a chance to work things out between themselves NOW

  • Kev Blythe says:

    So is this £ 50 pounds each or dad £90 mum £10.

    I agree with the above the CSA is the middle men who control things – so write to both mum and dad asking if they would like to opt out the current system.

    Advise them in detail of the pros and cons – it they are both happy with terms go for it – any outstanding monies to be collect by the CSA as normal.

    One final review of case by CSA – any monies outstanding dealt with and signed off – not 5 years later – you owe us £ 2500.

    Its makes my laught the minsters spending £6500 of taxpayers money on a book case – but the CSA ask you you to a outstanding balance of £0.73 yes 73 pence.

    I will leave you with that

  • gambit says:

    I think a fee to use the CSA would be fair enough IF they did their jobs!!!!! rach is right, it would stop money grabbers trying to get more money through CSA, but penalises people who are genuinely struggling to get maintenance from the NRP. By the same token if I am paying for a ‘service’ should I be entitled to a refund if they don’t do the job correctly?

    CSA needs to be sorted out before they can start saying they’ll charge us for it, they’ve not gotten me any further forward in the space of 5 years, who would be willing to pay for that???

    Plus the fact, if they do bring this charge in, where does that leave single parents who’s ex refuses to pay maintenance? It’s hardly fair that you have to pay your ex to pay maintenance for his/her kids!

  • Mark Thorpe says:

    This is the first good idea from the CSA that I’ve ever seen, as long as its the Mother who has to pay this but from the CSAs history I’ve got a feeling It’ll be the Father who has to pay it or the great majority of it therefore making the idea totally pointless. Also Mothers who wrongly accuse males of fathering a child which is proven not to be true with a DNA test should be forced to pay for the cost of the test like males are. I don’t know why this is not already in place as it would cut the cost of the CSA to the tax payer and make Mothers think twice before pointing the finger because a lot of males will refuse DNA test even if they are unsure about paternity as they cant afford to pay for a DNA test. Currently there is nothing in place to prevent Mothers from guessing who the Father is cause there is no consequences to them if they get it wrong. The fee should it come into law should be paid every year by the PWC to encourage them to get on with the Father and allow access to children which at the moment many don’t and instead use the children as weapons. Women have been allowed to use the CSA for to long now as a tool to destroy their child’s Dad and it’s about time that things were put in place to put a stop to it. I really hope this idea actually happens cause it’ll mean that more Fathers will have relationships with their children as it’ll encourage Mothers to actually speak to their ex partner without having the ease of picking up the phone to the feminists at the CSA.

  • hannah says:

    I am furious about this new idea of the government. My ex, refused to pay child support, even though he is a head of science and senior examiner. I had no choice but to use the csa to surrive as I look after the kids full time. Now Im going to be penalised for his disgraceful behaviour? This is so unfair. Plus they cant even get the amount right….and Im still waiting on back payments…

  • Julie says:

    CSA needs to be sorted out before they can start saying they’ll charge ANYONE for it, After 21 years yes that right my son is now 21!!! they’ve not gotten me any further forward. The arrears are in their thousands up over 40k, but still no money even when i have supplied addresses for AP and registration details of his car. I even sent them copies of delivery notes from the company he worked for when he was the delivery driver where i worked with his name and signature on. Still not got a penny. WOULD I PAY FOR IT DEFINATELY NOT

  • Kirsty Macleod says:

    In particular to Mark Thorpe…you commented on a thread posted by a guy who had a one night stand and was very blatant about not wanting the child or wanting to pay for that child. You called him disgusting and supported the fact he had no access to his daughter but still had to pay for her through the CSA..So how can you also suggest Mothers pay every yr for using the CSA when unfortunately there are so many more guys out there like him..I understand that you are in a different situation and I agree it should be a fairer system but the only way that can happen is by the CSA properly assessing each case, especially if they are being paid individually to provide a service, and depending on who is being the unreasonable parent the fees should be applied accordingly because just as all fathers are not useless like that idiot i mentioned before not all mothers are money grabbing bitches…I agree changes must happen but they need to get them right for the sake of the children.

  • bellatalbert says:

    What recourse is there going to be if parents privately made arrangements then the NRP stops paying?. I had no choice but to go through the CSA when my ex stopped paying last year, in fact he told me that this was the only way that he would pay for our daughter. I have read that it will be £100 inital fee then the PWC would pay 12% each payment and the NRP 20% on top also. I was under the belief that the CSA was set up to ensure that children don’t go without, charging will only reduce their money. My ex and I had a long standing agreement which stopped when he met his new partner and they later married. If I had to pay for this crap service then thats less money for our child.

  • Mark Thorpe says:

    Hi Kirsty, i totally understand your point about it being either the PWC 99% of the woman who are complete arse’s who use the techniques like preventing all access to the child as the CSA agent had directly told them they’d get more money from the Father. On the other hand there’s Father’s who’ll no whatever they can not to pay like that horrible waste of skin you mentioned.A fee to use the child support agency will discourage a high percentage of woman who use the CSA as “their personal gang to financially and mentally destroy the Nrp (most are Fathers.) The whole system needs over hauling because there’s Dads already on the breadline and are being pushed more and more into poverty to the point my 2 kids with me get less money than my boy who lives with his Mother> I’d love to see the formula they use to come to the random number payments amounts cause they sure as hell ain’t the their 15%, 20% and finally £25 person cause more often than not they’ll steal 40% of your take home wage straight out of your wage before you get it. when you ask them how the arrears were accrued there’s a different story every time which they cannot or point blank refuse to send you leading to claim for a full disclosure (i think the price now is £40 but didn’t quote me on that and even when you do get that paper work through guess what……………? Still no indication as to why they.ve said you owe then more. It seems likely they’ve just pulled amounts out of a top hat or the infamous “computer” decided you should pay it with no reasoning.
    Kirsty in your comment that not all PWC are bad to the bone which i a true comment that you made, also on the flip coin not all NRP are bad, whoever brings this in needs to start looking at case by case cause have you probably heard and read Women are treated 10000s times better than males, maybe that’s cause they dint scream or hurl abuse at the incompetent trained monkeys that work there like males do. There’s also been a big change to Legal aid too no, it’s being largely cut to telephone conversation with solicitors to save money which is fair enough because our legal aid scheme has become out of control with everybody using it like criminals being served HalAl meat, Sorry but if you do the time you get what you’re given or starve. By making legal aid harder for couple to get for quick y divorces hopefully people woont jump blind int a marriage that’ll prob fail cause they now know that lega aid will not cover the costs and it will costs the £10000s in divorce fees settlements etc. If this was the case people who truly believe marriage is for life like i and a dwindling population do maybe we wont have so many kids without fathers trashing our neighborhoods. I do believe before any charge should be brought in is each case needs to be dealt with individual instead of a onr size fits all attitude. For example if i was a mother who had a good job with a partner who also worked and coped comfortably from day to day i wouldn’t want a penny from my children’s dad and instead would be more interested in their father having a relationship with them. Unfortunately there are thousand of mothers out the who’re in the middle and upper classless through their own hard work or family but still insist on really hurting the NRP with the CSA to the point of suicide (ive been there myself) which this day and age shouldn’t be happening, even if the NRP wasn’t paying a penny (which i think is totally wrong btw) the state will always ensure one way or another the mother is fairly comfortable. Sadly that doesnt work the other way round with the NRP cause the CSA takes whatever made up figures they’ve got and steals straight from bank/wages/savings/pension/new child tax credits whichi think is unforgivable really and wheres the Government to help them when they can only affor to eat twice a week (which you guessed it it my fault) while i live in some scummy little bed site shes with the fella she ran off with and kidnapped m yson with and got him to call him dad for the first 7 years of his life until my solicitor tracked her down and she finally had to tell him tthe truth.All the time she was gone she was demanding £400 per month through the CSA that a paid whilst at the same time changing my boys name to her fellas name and telling him he was his dad!!! Wouldn’t mind but she aint even with the fella no more so my lad had got some other scum bags name that isn’t part of his life. The biggest cock up she did was greed, if she hadnt still been squishing me for every penny i had the CSA wouldn’t have had her details to give to court. I’m sure there lads out there that are bad enough worse but what ive learnt is more and more lads and girls are just arter what they can get thats why im staying single forever its easier lol

  • lizzy says:

    well wat to say firstly why should my ex girlfriend son get the percentage first and then his only child gets second and now they want to charge my daughters rights to be paid maintaince for the csa when we waited so long for it to get sorted and now its working they want to do more damage i work full time and try to provide a better world for my daughter and what we get helps but you take money away from me or her it leaves us less to live on. we dont have any special treats as food on the table and roof over are head comes first but my ex has apartner has agd life see his daughter when he remembers to doesnt have her over night as they dont have room for her so i have to pik her up most times as he doesnt have approiate travel arrangements. so if im rite in understanding this tax payer pay the csa so i pay my taxes so why do i pay twice all i can say is why dont we work and live on nothing then maybe the gouverment could have it all

  • […] #3 Debs A(8) Member New CSA fee announced | (CSA) Child Support Agency According to this it's already been announced. A very good example of this Government really not […]

  • angela laws says:

    About time too if some of these mothers are made to pay to use the csa system they will think twice about involving a government department that is totally unfair, biased towards the mother and sod the father. THE CSA is the most UNFAIR and messed up system ever to have been invented. My partner had an agreement in place which worked really well until his greedy ex leanrt about the csa and knew she could get more money through that and she doesnt even spend the money on the kids but on holidays…my partner never refused to pay and never missed a payment but she still got the csa involved like i say through nothing but GREED…

  • Stuart says:

    I think the charge is wonderful. It will help against mothers using the csa as a vicious attack rather than for the child. A child needs to be supported from both party’s. But it should also be done fairly. Every case should be assessed indervidually. I think parents will be better off coming to an agreement without the over the top amounts the csa ask for

  • gemma says:

    At the moment we pay child maintenance for my husbands 2 children by a private arrangement. she uses threats all the time when my husband does something she doesnt like, “watch yourself, ill go to the csa” etc etc! we pay every month and as my husband is self empolyed builder and they are alot of times these when there is no work and we dont have the same wage every week. times like these our 3 children have to go without things they need but we are always under massive pressure to pay her “her money” which we do and when there have been times that we have to reduce payments coz we just dnt have the money, thats when the theats start. she doesnt realise that we are paying her 10 pound more than what the csa says we should be! but with 20% charges as an nrp, is just sick!!! we pay every month and have to fight to see the kids still! so no even if she does go to the csa at any point, we wil pay what we have always paid to her and not a penny more! we are happy to stick to the agreement privatly instead of paying her less throught the csa, but she thinks she will get more and the only reason she doesnt is becasue she likes to play god with the kids! so charge us, they wnt be getting any more than what she has now. the car is in my name and our house is rented and all things owned by the landlord, so what then put my husbnad in prison and take him away from his family and stop him from earning to provide for that family! go for it my husbnad says! but his children will not thank the csa or their mother for this complete f*** up! my step daughter is 11 and says to us often that is rubbish that dads are the ones to lose out and the women can do whatever they want, at least i can come see you whenever i want when im older dad! ” mum is always spending that money you give her on nites out and stuff and then we dont have any dinner money for sch and she takes it out of our money box”
    i feel sick to my stomach with it!

  • trevor lloyd says:

    I was paying voluntarily, that was not good enough, didn’t like me being in charge of my money and wasn’t convinced i was paying what I should. Advice she was given – go to CSA to calculate the amount. Deep joy £50 less to pay.

    I claw back the overpayment. Bad move, she gets CSA to collect. Deep joy, due to their processing timescales the November payment is missed and December’s is reduced, too. Poetic justice. However how is that explained to the kids – her fault or mine? I’m having difficulty thinking that through.

    Anyway with the impending charges and the loss of another £30 plus per month I’ve suggested reverting to a voluntary payment would help her as well as me.

    Voluntary contributions are far better, i’ve been trustworthy and thus far have been the beficiary of her invlvement of the CSA. Looks like that’s about to end, though. On the plus it’ll cost me about what I paid originally. I suspect i’m in a minority of one.

  • Sally says:

    @ Rach…. good suggestion, you are not going to please all of the people all of the time but your idea is better than anything the government has introduced or proposed…. @ Gemma… I am with you 100%. My partner has paid his ex faithfully since they split up over 3 years ago but when I came along (last year) she started demanding more money (based on MY income) and threatening him with the CSA!!! She was driven by nothing more than GREED and jealousy… NO thought for her children’s feelings!!

    My partner got in contact with the CSA, and found out he was paying her the correct amount based on the arrangement they had (he had the kids stay over one night every weekend, picked them up from school 2/3 days a week), had them for a week during summer holidays and extra days at Easter, October holidays and Xmas. Through the CSA she learned that it was the ‘overnight’ visits that were considered in the calculation so… she reduced the amount of overnight stays to less than 52 per year so that she would get more money!!! The kids and my partner were (and still are) upset that they don’t see each other as much but…… the mother has told the kids it’s because he doesn’t love them any more!!! What kind of mother would say that to her own children???? So instead of providing positive child welfare, this greedy mother (by playing the CSA ‘system’) has two confused and insecure children who don’t understand what’s going on!!!

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