Third Complaint Letter to the CSA – Senior Complaints Manager

This is my third commplaint letter to the CSA, to the CSA senior complaints manager:

Senior Complaints Manager
Complaints Department
CSA Hastings.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Further to my letter of 20th September 2009, and my letter of 27th October 2009, I am incensed that the CSA has not even had the courtesy to acknowledge receipt of my complaints or to actually deal with them in any form at all. My question to all concerned is why?

I have been more than patient in my dealings with the CSA, but my situation has deteriorated massively whilst waiting for someone to actually correspond with me.

In the first instance, I am currently on suspension from my employer, which has affected my ability to earn overtime which was crucial to offsetting monies being taken from me by the CSA. Apart from the obvious stress that this is causing me, the amount that is being recovered by the CSA is still far too high for what I can afford. This has put a massive strain on my relationship and my partner and I are on the verge of splitting up through the stresses that are affecting our relationship. I am on the verge of a breakdown myself and am suffering stress and depression which is worsening week by week. To be honest, I feel suicidal at the moment. Having gone through years of the same grief which almost broke me, I find myself in pretty much the same position and have little stomach for a fight. The option of suicide appears so appealing when my mood is at it’s lowest. I can say with certainty, that if my relationship fails, if my health deteriorates further, then the CSA will have blood on their hands for failing to deal with me on any level.

In respect of arrears outstanding, I have recently received a Data Protection bundle from the CSA and have to question your motives and deceit in trying to obtain arrears to which in law, you have no right to claim.

I refer to the sum of £2743.73, which was for arrears for the period between 12/12/97-12/07/00. As you well know, this debt is a “Statute Debt” and unenforceable in law. In addition, this debt was supposed to have been written off by Miss Baker and the CSA, as part of an agreement for us to make a clean break from the CSA in 2003. I have evidence showing that I was trying to establish what was owed directly to the CSA and what was owed to Miss Baker, in order for the clean break to work, as I did not want to enter an agreement with outstanding arrears. I was informed at the time by phone that the arrears were owed to Miss Baker and had been agreed to be written off. I now find that the recorded notes of that conversation do not accurately reflect what was said and agreed and the arrears were “suspended”. Following on from this, within the DPA bundle, I have emails by Claire Weale from Enforcement enquiring about this amount, which was recorded as a “write off”. Despi!
te this, the CSA have sought to collect this money from me, knowing that in law, this debt is unenforceable. It is currently being collected via a DEO, which I might add whether as a method of collection or enforcement, does not give you the right to plunder my earnings for a debt which I do not acknowledge. The method upon which you have sought to collect this money from my employer and myself is I submit an act of deception. You have tried to inveigle both my employer and I into believing that this debt exists, other than on paper only. I have recently drawn this to the attention of Clare Weale and I make the following statement:

I believe that where this statute debt for outstanding arrears has no basis for collection or payment in law, this does not give the CSA the right to collect that money without my co-operation. I make it known that I do not recognise this debt for the reasons outlined above that:

A. The debt should have been written off as part of a clean break agreement between Miss Baker and I and that CSA notes do not accurately record or reflect what was said and agreed on the telephone.

B. That the debt belonged to an old CSA case and when migrated to the new CSA, it was done so as a “write off”.

C. That the debt is now a “statute debt” and is unenforceable in law. Therefore I am under no obligation to pay this debt and more importantly, you have no right to take this money from me without my co-operation and consent.

I do not give my consent for any money, goods or possessions to be taken from me to pay any or all of this debt. I believe that the CSA have acted improperly and unlawfully by misleading both myself and my employer as to the nature of this debt and my obligation to pay it. Therefore the CSA have committed an act of Obtaining money by Deception under the Theft Act 1968. I am fully committed to paying the arrears outstanding on the liability orders. Should the CSA attempt to take the money for the “Statute Debt” from the wages, I will firstly report the matter (CSA Employee) to the Police as a criminal offence and secondly, I will tender my resignation.

In addition to this, I recently had 2 deductions from my November wage slip one for £594.84 and the other for £280.82. This easily breaches the 40% legal threshold of my earnings and therefore I cannot afford the CSA to prevaricate on issuing a refund of the over paid amounts, especially as I am already under massive financial pressure. This deduction is unlawful and I wish to complain in the strongest terms. Whatever the error between the CSA and my employer, It is my family and I who are the innocent victims of an order which never needed to be put in place in the first instance, as I have never avoided my obligations to pay for my daughter. This is another reason why I need this DEO to be stopped or suspended with immediate effect.

As I have already explained, I have enough issues going on in my life without worrying how the rent, council tax and bills etc are going to be paid and have more than enough reasons to quit my job other than to avoid paying the CSA money for a debt, which I have no legal obligation to do. Obviously, this situation could be completely unavoidable and I could still fulfil my obligations to my daughter and Miss Baker, as well as to my current family, if agreement was made on this issue before the New Year. I have already written to Miss Baker, the PWC to make an offer re the outstanding arrears and maintenance etc. She has until the 14th Dec 2009 to comply or I will tender my resignation in the New Year. This will mean that everyone will lose out, whereas what I have proposed ensures everyone is happy and it is fair.

I would like an immediate response to this letter, as I will no longer be engaging with the CSA for deliberate and wilful failures to communicate with me and reach a sensible solution. I will expect answers to my previous complaints and answers to this. I would be happy for the arrears to be suspended pending the outcome of a Tribunal hearing, which I would like to have, to air some of these genuine grievances and have them look closely at the evidence that has been provided (and edited for Data Protection) and the legality of how the CSA have tried to deceive, inveigle and obfuscate a debt which they know cannot be enforced by law.

If it can’t be enforced by law, then it becomes unlawful!!!!

Yours Sincerely,

Sean Bryant