Sudden arrears means I cannot afford to pay CSA
I have been paying the CSA ever since my wife and i split at the rate agreed by them. Recently i had a payrise and informed the CSA of the changes £80 A week.
As from 2010 (aug) i have been paying £74.50 a week for 1 child, following my contact with them 2012 (aug) they have reassesed me and now say i should pay £123 a week and that i sudenly owe £8,500 in arrears and that i need to pay them near to £1100 a month, i cant afford this.
Also i had a case for my daughter which was calculated to zero in 2010 as she had left home and started a family they also say i owe £668 in arrears for that case.
I have sent an appeal letter through my MP who is filing it on my behalf, but i feel i need to do more i dont think the assesment is fair or correct especially the arrears and the £123 a week.
Can you help?
regards
2 thoughts on “Sudden arrears means I cannot afford to pay CSA”
Leave a Reply
Hi there,
Sorry to hear about yet another CSA screw up that is causing someone stress.
I have been fighting a running battle with the CSA for 8 years or so now, some wins in that time.
I am not sure my help is valid as every situation is different, we would need to know whether are you employed, your wages, and see previous paperwork to give specific help, so no warranties or guarantees implied.
Presuming you are employed what you don’t want them to do is make a DEO (detachment of earnings order) as it can be a pain, so you need to give the impression of cooperating, and in the meantime make an offer to catch up with any arrears owed, a realistic figure you can afford say £2.00 per month. You can couch this in appropriate terms such as “this is not an admission or acceptance of the calculation made on (date)”
There is no law that says you have to pay it back in two years, that is just their targets, if they tell you different they are bulls******g you.
General rules with the CSA: Always speak to them in writing never on the phone, if they call you ask them to put it in writing, don’t confirm their security checks it is just a way for them to get more info, just keep asking them to write to you. Always be polite but firm. Always check anything they tell you and verify it with a third party source.
If your calculation is wrong outline that to them in a letter with some proof. Make a complaint in writing to the person who wrote to you, if that does not work write to their manager, If they still don’t amend the decision ask to have your case reviewed by an independent case examiner. I have never been to one of their tribunals but hear they are pretty unfair and pointless. Going to your MP is a positive step and a good idea. Judicial review is an option where executive government makes irrational decisions but is not for the feint of heart. An organisation called NACSA (google it) offer good advice but charge a fee for the same. An organisation DBDA also has some interesting advice on their website.
Most of all don’t worry, it seems to me these devils at the CSA thrive on making peoples lives a misery, don’t let them, don’t stress, collect information, find out as much as you can about the individuals concerned and keep asking questions.
Hope the above is of some help, best of luck in your fight.
Jonathon
Are you currently paying regular maintenance via the CSA?
Were/are your cases calculated on old or new rules?
Have you had a case migrate to new rules from old rules?
You need to establish when/how the alleged arrears have accrued. It may be a good idea to request your Data Protection File and a complete account breakdown (fee of £10 for such). Once you have received such, you should be able see if errors have been made.
chall ~ afairercsaforall