My husband has 3 children from 2 previous relationships. He has ALWAYS paid everything penny that the CSA have asked of him. THEY calculated the figures and have given a new schedule every 12 months which we have adhered to without fail. We have now received a letter indicating that the child support is £832 in arrears. He contacted the CSA yesterday to ask where the arrears have come from, and why if it is £832 are they planning on taking £108 for the next 13 months to pay "towards" the arrears as this doesn't add up. They didn't know and called back today saying that the letter we have is wrong, and that the figure is actually £2,000 in arrears!!! The £108 per month will be taken for the 1st year, and they will take whatever is left next year. My husband said that he's not happy with this as any arrears have been created by someone not doing their job, the answer he was given was simply "tough, you are liable to pay it and if you don't it'll go to Court". Where do we stand?
Hi Sorry to hear that. I would advise him to request the CSA for his file under the Data Protection Act. Under the Data Protection Act they have 90 days to comply with the request failing which e can report them to the information commissioner who will look into this for him. Then, try to obtain all back statements showing the payments as this is his proof and also ask them to provide im with breakdown of the amount that is alleged to be owed(giving years, etc). If the figures don't stack up, make an appeal against the arrears to the CSA. Please visit the link below for detailed guidance regarding this: http://www.csa.gov.uk/en/case/when-and-how-to-appeal.asp Hope this helps. Regards.
Thanks, XXXXX XXXXX put the points you have made in writing to the CSA. Is it correct though that this is not our fault at all, somebody is responsible for this mistake at the CSA, however he is now being made to pay back 25% of his salary as there are 3 children (this bit we agree with), then on top of that another £108 per month until they tell him that he has paid off the debt that they created? Are they allowed to get the figures wrong for years, then the only person to get penalised is us when they decide to increase the monthly payment by another 50% to cover their mistake and tell us that this is legally allowed?
Hi I'm afraid the CSA is a huge mess and you are not the only one facing the brunt of their negligence. If the figures are indeed found to be wrong, it would be adjusted against his future payments or refunded back to him. Regards.
If they do send all of the information to us that you suggested to ask for, do they have to send some sort of explanation as to how they calculate the figures as we have no idea how they calculate them on the old system. This has apparently happened as 2 of the children are on the old system and one is on the new system. The new system is simply a percentage of the salary so that is easier to calculate, but the other 2 children are on the old system and are subject to phasing??? If they send us the file with their figures how do we know if they are right or wrong?
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