205 comments Add a comment
Yes another gripe to add to the ever continuing list of CSA gripes on this website!
I left my wife in 2003 but before I did I made sure they were well catered for. Well that was a bad move on my part. I paid my ex £16,000 lump sum for Child Maintenance so we could get on with our lives and not involve the CSA ,and then a further £1,880 total of £17,880 all of which could be proved if required at a future date.
The CSA contacted me in September 2004 looked at my income and said I need to pay £73 a week for my two Children. I stated that I had an arrangement with my ex wife, which they checked, came back to me and told me to carry on as we were. All was well and I thought to myself, I'm covered for the next 5 years and have bought my children's clothes, shoes, and all that they need but most of all love and happiness.
How much in arrears? £14,000 they reckon!
But oh no, not quite as sorted as it seems because it's August 2008 and time for an AOE (attachment of earnings) order on my wages. Well naturally I contacted the CSA to find out what was going on and they said "you have not paid your ex wife any maintenance for 3 years and 10 months, so you now owe over £14,000".
I explained the arrangement and the lump sum to them and involved a solicitor to with proof of payments etc., but all they said was that the payments do not count as "your ex wife applied for Income Support in September 2004 and your payments were just before that date." At least they admitted they were to blame for not getting in touch earlier as my file was cast to one side and not correctly looked into until now.
So thanks to the ever wonderful and competent CSA I'm now paying £634 a month £14,400 in arrears, my life has been turned upside down and don't know which way to turn. The CSA seem to me to be there to ruin family life and extract money from fathers no regard for feelings or circumstances. Life is now a living nightmare and I feel like a convicted fool. I just wish someone would shut the CSA down once and for all.
By: Poor Ash!
Leave a comment
Is there no chance you just met someone and have attributed it to a silly idea, rather than some magical email address that changes your World simply because you asked them too.
Be careful the big bad World looks for gullible people.
Enjoy your new partner but don’t fall into the trap that it was all down to some crappy email address.
I've been paying CSA for 8 yrs, Set DD up and tried to get on with my life (tried being the word)
Just for a very quick run down.
She left me and kids, away 2 years, divorced in that time.
I found a lovely new wife, willing to take me and the kids.... Big mistake, that brought her running back..
Didn't like how the kids were now calling my new wife mummy.
After bombarding my oldest with nonsense, she offered the world to a 12yr, she left to stay with her mum, and boom... csa came into my life.
I now have a son at 5 with my new wife, and my youngest has left to do her own thing (18) but im still paying for my 19 year old that left to live with her mother.
Her birthday in January, last year should have been the end of the CSA, But boom... they decide that they are moving it to the age of 20.
Well.... she will soon be twentyïŠ , But the CSA want money for this month and the next????
Oh... they are working a month behind they say???
Even though paperwork they send out states, jan payment £265, all other months £235.
So they take £265 from my account. NOW THAT SHOULD BE THE END... BUT NOOOO.
THEY ARE TELLING ME THAT BASICLY IGNORE THE PAPERWORK???
I still have to pay them another month.wtf.. they are a governing body, and they are ripping me off.
Welcome to Britain. Have a good day.
Ps. I will pay this but these people need to be taken down a peg and this as a governing body should be investigated in its action and brought into the 18th century , at least would be a good start... one day reaching the 21st century.
Roy
Before long the CSA were in touch. I told them we had an arrangement and they backed off. A while later I lost my job abd had no income. I was still having the boys to stay every weekend and we had a great time. When I had money I took them to football, dinner at restaurants, bought clothes and Playstation games etc. I started my own business and for a few years things were ok. She got her payments and I struggled by. But then my business went bust. The bank repossessed my flat and sold it to pay off the mortgage and loans I had taken out for my business. The flat was valued at 85000.00 but the bank accepted an offer of 62000.00 and told me to vacate. The cash covered the mortgage and all my debts and I thought I would get a lump sum which would be left over. I was wrong. I got a letter from my accountant in bankruptcy detailing the outgoings of the flat funds. I was shocked to see that the CSA had taken over 10,000.00 from the sale of the flat to cover "arrears". I phoned them and argued over and over till I was blue in the face but they told me that my ex told them that I wasn't contributing so I owed arrears.
I was then out of work for a while but when I got back into full time employment it wasn't long before the CSA were in touch again. I had various phone calls demanding money, letters telling me that the arrears were building up. I told them that I can't be in arrears as they took over 10,000.00 from me and then I was out of work. But they didn't listen. I'm in full time employment now and for the past couple of years they have been taking 575.00 per month from my wages. I'm still getting letter from them telling me how much my arrears are. My sons are 23 years old and 17 years old. My oldest has been working since he was 18 and my youngest started an apprenticeship in September. I am apparently still i arrears to the tune of nearly 10,000.00 and they have now increased the monthly payments to 653.20 per month.
After I have paid all my bills and put aside the money for travelling to work I am left with virtually nothing to live on. I can't carry on like this. I can't afford to take my boys out anywhere now and I won't be able to treat them at Christmas. Their mother has worked part time in a coffee shop for the past couple of years earning a part time wage and then getting another "wage" from me. It makes me sick that I am basically working for nothing. I have always been involved in my son's lives and find it disgusting that Fathers who take nothing to do with their kids, and I know some, can just get away Scot free.
It appears that I am being punished for trying to do the best by my boys. I would be as well giving up my work and claiming benefits.