We Need CSA Arrears Advice

The CSA are claiming my partner owes £5,000 in arrears for one of his children now aged 18 (he pays for 2 children to 2 separate mothers – was 3, but eldest now 22, and always has done even during a spell in prision and whilst unemployed).

They now want to take £700 a month from a £1200 take home wage, i have 2 children that live with us and our baby due 5th jan and this has come out of the blue during a reassessment last month.

It all started when he returned to work in April 2007, it took the CSA until the Sept to assess his payments so we were prepared for some arrears. The bill turned up (a breakdown of monthly payments – no actual bill detailing the exact amount of arrears which claimed the arrears part was £270!! He spoke to them then asking for a breakdown of where these ‘arrears’ came from as he had paid deo whilst working, then £1 a week whilst in prision and £5 a week whilst unemployed so there should be no arrears except the relative small amount that would have worked out over the 5 months it took them to assess. The breakdown was never provided though he pestered them for 3 weeks!!

At the end of the 3 weeks they told him they had made a mistake and the arrears were only to be £52 per month to cover the 5 months between April – sept!

So since oct 07 we have paid by standing order every month a total of £222 inclusive of arrears. October this year they asked for his 3 last payslips for a reassessment. When the end of oct slip came we sent aug, sept, oct off, we expected it to go up as he has done a fair bit of overtime with Xmas coming up and they take that into consideration but knew we would need to be reassessed in the new year anyway when the baby arrives and that should bring the payments back down.

The highest wages slip we sent them was for £1,417 net. So imagine our shock when they send another bill (again a monthly breakdown figure, no total amount!!) saying we have to pay just over £700 a month £480 of which is arrears!!!

When phoned they claim £5000 arrears from a number of years ago (will not say how many years or where the arrears from!!!), again have been asked for a breakdown which they have promised and not delivered! They will not reduce the payments to help us to live as a family either!

Because we are paying by standing order we didn’t pay £700 at the beginning of dec we just paid the usual £222, as we can’t afford to and now this week they claim they can only accept future payments by direct debit and if we refuse that a deo will be put in place!!!

How can we live off the £500 they leaving us with??? I managed to keep hold of my house during my divorce and debts my ex left me with and now we may lose it because of the csa!! I think they are an evil organisation and should be regulated some how not just able to do as they please and I think I am in a good position to judge this as I am on both sides I have 2 children myself and I have never persued my ex through the csa as I know they ruin lives on both sides!!! We have our own agreement. Unluckly my current partner doesn’t have that kind of relationship with his ex’s.

My 5 year old son has special needs and requires a one to one teacher at school which he can only attend for certain hours each day because of his problems, so even after the baby arrives I cannot go back to work to help us as I have 5 school runs a day!!!

My partner is at the end of his rope he found it hard to get back into work after being in prision (even tho it was only a short 6 week stint for a silly offence – he used to collect props and one was a deactivated gun) he has now found a good job works hard and has had a couple of promotions, I am so proud of him and how far he has come and hate seeing this being done to him, he has had depression in the past and I don’t know what this will do, we were suppossed to be making a new start having a baby and were hoping to afford a cheap wedding but now we may not even be able to afford the bills!!! All of us will suffer and my son only just starting to make a slight improvement, how will financial ruin and losing the home he has always known set him back???

Can anyone help us in anyway at all???