5 years of hell and still going

[moandcubs]

Hi everyone, I have just joined up to see if anyone has any advice on how to deal with the CSA.

 

Back in 2007 I had just returned from working on cruise ships in America and I received a form from the CSA asking about my salary etc. My ex partner claimed this had been sent due to her newborns dad doing a runner and the CSA wanted contact with both fathers. Up to that point I had been paying for my Daughter for 3 years with no problems.

 

I filled in the form, stating I was currently unemployed, and posted it off to them. I then received a letter a few months later stating that because I had not contacted them I was going to be liable for child support being paid through themselves. I phoned them up and told them I had sent in the form and that I was unemployed, my ex partner also claimed to have phoned them up and said the same. Nothing happened until a sherriff officer turned up about 4-5 months later with an Enforcement Order. I had to sent them receipts that I was paying money over to my ex partner, I was still unemployed but living off inheritance money at the time and still thought I should provide for my daughter.

 

About a year and a half later after moving house sheriff officers again turned up at the door, no letters from CSA or anything, again with Enforcement Order. So again phoned them and had to go through the whole process of sending receipts which they said they didn't get, even though they were sent recorded delivery.

 

I began a new job and was paying my ex partner direct, stupidly there is a period where I didn't record any money being handed over. I continued to receive letters from them, despite telling them we had direct payments going on, I eventually also got a letter signed by myself and my ex partner stating the dates and how much we had agreed on.

 

Everything seemed fine until things went a bit bad with my ex partner last November and the CSA phoned her telling her I owed over £3000 in arrears, at that point she told them to take payment from me and ripped up our mutual agreement for an extra £4 a week!!

 

I have since again sent bank statements, receipts and signed letters to them showing I owe probably only about £800 (the period where I didn't keep any records)

 

They are trying to get arrears of £1500 from the period I was unemployed, plus arrears from the period where we had a signed mutual agreement in place.

 

 

These people have put so much pressure on me and my family, I am married with 3 young children at home aswell, and it seems that nothing I say is believed unless I have proof. Where as my ex partner has nastily told me to my face that she never bothered telling them I was unemployed and didn't tell them I was paying her money direct because back then it would have affected her income support.

 

I finally received a standing order mandate back in March to begin payments through themselves for the weekly payments but they also want £30 a week to clear the arrears. I have now again sent the original letters, statements etc stating I will not pay any arrears until this is solved properly. How can they try and claim a debt from a time there is a signed letter from both of us??

 

Sorry for the long rant but I really have no idea where to go from here.

 

Any help will be GREATLY appreciated

[Old Cogger]

blimey and others who lie and not pay get away with it.! hope some advice on here helps you.

[jdes26]

Firstly

I have u agreed to pay the CSA and have they issued u with a case number?

I would refuse to pay the CSA and make payments to your ex

Your within your rights

If they come down heavy on u just say I'll see u on court!!!

Read up on common law

And your on the Right path!!!

[moandcubs]

Hi jdes

 

I am paying throug the CSA now, but only the proper maintenance money a week, not the arrears. This is because my ex partner saw the £ signs and refused to take any more payments from me direct.

 

I have told them I am not paying arrears until it's worked out to my satisfaction.

 

What gets me is that they phone her up any time they get letters etc off me, and take her word for everything. One payment on one of my bank statements for £20, which was different from all the other monthly payments, they phoned her and asked her what it was for and she said it was for tickets for my daughters dancing show, so they haven't included it in the payments I have made. When in fact the money was for shoes she needed as her school shoes had ripped. But they won't believe me unless she agrees to that??

[jdes26]

There doing the same to me

They say I owe 5 months x £320

But I was off work three months but they still hassle me

[moandcubs]

They tell me that because I never told them I was unemployed they are entitled to try and get the £1500 from back in 2007-2008. Even though I sent the form to them and told them over the phone. Then they are adding another £1000 odd on for when there was a mutual agreement. No one ever seems to be able to help, apart from one woman in their Falkirk office who listened to what I said and told me it was terrbiel how I was being treated and gave me a little bit of advice eg asking for a breakdown of liabilities etc. Never been able to speak to her since, she was probably fired for helping someone!

[jdes26]

Just keep everthing simple

Write to CSA and tell them no arrears will be paid unless full details can be provided

I would send a letter of dispute saying that your account/case is in dispute and no £ will

Be paid until this mess is sorted out!!!

Don't worry bout liabilty order these can be set aside or even overturned now

The CSA are not law

Remember that

[Stressedandfedup]

The CSA acts on behalf of the law so you need to pursue with thought.

The phonecall you made to tell them your were unemployed will be logged onto your case (this is atomatic) so you can ask for a DPA print that'll cost £10 (the same as a SAR) which will include (would be an idea to specify) screenprints of the contact log between you and them. Also request an Account Breakdown. If they decline, then insist as you are entitled to have it.

Look thru the SAR and if you can show that you made a call to them at the time, they will have to act on it. Otherwise they will be 'failing to act' on info you've supplied.

As for the direct payments, as you were told to pay via the CSA, unless your ex agrees on a particular form that you paid money for CS, they can't do anything about it. At a push, if you were to escalate a complaint high up, you may be able to have your proof of direct payments taken into account, however this is quite complicated as not only will you have to show full bank statements (without ommisions-don't worry they won't care how much you spend at tescos) but prove those payments were for CS. If your statements were to show 'Maintenamce for [girl's name]' it would be acceptable. If your bank statements just show 'S/O £xx' then you would have to proove each payment was for the same payee and that the payee was your ex. The crux is, is that the CSA may still need your ex to agree to the payments (regarding the latter). If your ex declared the payments to the JCP then the CSA can access a system to see them. If she didn't declare then maybe an anonymous call to the DWP fraud hotline may be an idea for you?? If the JCP agrees that you did pay them then you can use that decision as evidence to the CSA. However that may take a very long time and unless the JCP has enuf evidence, they may not be able to get that far.

Have you still got a copy of the mutual agreement? Has it been signed and dated by both parties? If so, then the CSA has to take that into account and if the payment amounts match on your statements then logically it should be decided that they were indeed CS payments. It's something you will have to push I'm afraid.

With regards to money your ex declared as for dancing, unless she agrees to the payments as 'in lieu of CS' then you're stuck.

I would start with the SAR and make the CSA re-assess you. (Be prepared to send in all relevant documents to aid-you will only have a short space of time to provide this).

Has the CSA sent you any letters regarding their intention of applying for a LO? (Should have bid red letters on the top saying 'ENFORCEMENT'). If you haven't and the then send your case to that section after you've made the re-assessment request/shown that you did call them so they have to look into it, then they are breaking the rules to refer to the LO team in the first place. If it got to court and you said you have not had an issue investigated, then the court will adjourn the case till it was completed. (PS to attend court yourself, if they go that far, once you get the letter immediately call and request a 'local' hearing. at their block hearings the court doesn't allow the client to talk to the judge)

If it's not that far yet, contact them and agree to pay a smallish amount on top of regular CM, towards the arrears on the proviso that they investigate your contact claim.(i forgot to say u shud ask them to do this first and give them approx date of that call otherwise they won't. if no satisfaction then get the SAR-you can ask for the address from whichever CSA office you deal with). If they say 'there is a call from you logged but there are no notes to say what it was for' then that's all you need. If someone at the time launched any 'Change of Circs' tasks on the computer that'll be evidence enuf for them to act. (But you won't see them on a SAR as it's just techy stuff).

Say to them that you accept you owe some arrears but you are disputing the amount because of x y and z, and that you propose to pay X every month (base you arrears amount on how much you think you owe and divide by 12 monthly payments) towards the arrears' They can't really do much if you are paying towards the arrears when you have quite a low amount they say you have outstanding. If you say you refuse to pay towards the arrears they will deem you non-comliant and DEO you or if that isn't an option/fails, it will then be referred to their LO team. If you play ball then they will not get their pants in a bunch