Help With The CSA!!!!

[ananya]

My sister has recently been awarded just under £60 a week for maintenance for her 12 year old son, after her useless ex shirked his responsibilities for 7 years and paid her nothing. However, despite them assuring her that the first payment he made of the arrears he owed would be in her bank account by last week, they have now informed her that no such payment has been issued. Her income support reduces right down to £13 a week from this week and she has nothing, other than a pathetic amount of child tax credit, coming in.

 

The CSA are holding on to this money, just under £170 and are taking her benefits away, so what can she do?

 

She has obviously got upset and is worried that she has nothing to live on, the CSA obviously couldn't give a flying you-know-what about it and just give her the stock answer of 'it'll take 7 - 10 working days', no matter what the question is.

 

Is there anything she can do?

 

Help much appreciated as I have no idea!

[jdes26]

pray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ananya]

Thanks, that's really helpful and I'm sure she'll appreciate your advice.

[Rachie1973]

The CSA are a law unto themselves and the very people they are supposed to help ie: the children are the ones that lose out the most.

 

I've been doing battle with them for years over my maintenance. And as other people say amicable agreements direct with the NRP are usually the best option, but as you'd expect for some of us its just NOT an option.

 

The CSA... she has to call them daily, literally. I did. I still do when they're peeing me around. Last month they told me 4-6 weeks to work out a payment they were withholding. I called them daily, and they did it in 7 days.

 

As to the here and now, obviously harass the CSA, but in the meantime approach the Benefits Agency and explain that she's getting NO maintenance currently. Push them to call the CSA, and get them to fax etc proof that she's not receiving it for now. They may adjust her IS or be able to offer a crisis loan to tide her over.

[ananya]

Thanks Rachie, that's much appreciated. I am worried for her, she's had to put up with enough, as so many have, without having to fight for what is hers.

 

I'll pass on your words and hopefully she'll have some luck.

 

Thanks again

[Rachie1973]

The CSA are able to make odd payments to recompense for calls etc btw. Tell her to say she WILL be looking to recover the costs of having to call them so regularly and let them know that she KNOWS they can do this. Its obviously NOT something they voluntarily tell you.

 

Also, she can email a complaint in, worth doing so if the problem is ongoing she can involve ICE and her MP.

[ananya]

I've only just found out about ICE for her, just yesterday as she's tried e-mailing the CSA to complain and got no-where.

 

I'll pass on your second post to her too and thanks again.

[Animal Lover]

If its any comfort from 12th April all Child Maintenance will be disregarded in full by DWP when calculating entitlement to means tested benefits so there will be no deductions made from your sisters Income Support.

[f0xy]

If its any comfort from 12th April all Child Maintenance will be disregarded in full by DWP when calculating entitlement to means tested benefits so there will be no deductions made from your sisters Income Support.

 

 

Am i right in saying, from 27 October 2008, the Section 6 rule kicks in and the parent with care is entitled to her benefit award and her child maintenance payments in full, prior to this if the child maintenance was higher than the benefit award the parent with care was only entitled to £10.00 CMP(Child Maintenance Premium).

[ErikaPNP]

Am i right in saying, from 27 October 2008, the Section 6 rule kicks in and the parent with care is entitled to her benefit award and her child maintenance payments in full, prior to this if the child maintenance was higher than the benefit award the parent with care was only entitled to £10.00 CMP(Child Maintenance Premium).

 

Not quite. From 27th October 2008, a parent with care began to get their child support paid directly to them and got to keep all of their child support if it was £20 or below per week. Anything over this sum would affect their entitlement to Income based benefit fro DWP, and the responsibility became that of the PWC to inform the benefit section if they received more than £20 of maintenence in any benefit week.

 

The disregard of child support you mention from 27th October 2008 only applied to Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit, not to DWP benefits such as Income Support.

 

Prior to that, yes the sum that the PWC on benefit would receive would be £10 maximum child suuport.

 

The full disregard for all DWP benefits such as Income Support did not come into effect until 12th April, where the PWC on benefit can retain all of their benefit plus all of their child support.

[f0xy]

This would make sense, as we are all aware that Child Support payments aren't garantee'd