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Ex not paying child support and CSA won't help

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My gripe is another CSA related one I'm afraid.  My sister has been split from her ex husband for a number of years and he has always been pretty elusive in making child support payments... for example stopping whenever he felt like it.  Back last year he stopped paying child support for good following an argument with his daughter.  My sister decided to approach the CSA for help.

He has told the CSA he earns £100 a week and they seem to have taken him at his word!

This guy has a limited company (he's a salesman) and is known to have a decent income, in fact he has often boasted about this to his kids and it's also obvious by his lifestyle.  He has told the CSA he earns £100 a week and they seem to have taken him at his word!  Given the turnover of his company is under 3 million, he only has to submit basic accounts to Companies House which don't detail his income.  In actual fact we know he is earning between 35k and 60k per annum.

In my view the CSA should be asking for a copy of his latest accounts, along with his books showing the current period (given that accounts are historic), they should also get hold of his company bank statements etc.

Ex not paying child support I'd appreciate some advice please.  Can anyone suggest what approach my sister can take to get the CSA to actually confirm his income in this case?  I'm sure this must apply to many other lone parents out there and seems an easy way to evade payment.  In effect he is trying to stall his child support payments until his youngest is 16.  I would also like to know if he can be chased retrospectively for payments if we can prove he has lied about his income.

Is the only way to involve a solicitor and then is there a legal right for the wife to get hold of his company accounts?  I could go on as this man is devoid of any responsibility for his own kids.  Even when he did pay limited and sporadic child support he told my sister he was paying her to bring up the kids!!!  Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

By: Kevin


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grumpyoldwoman

grumpyoldwoman

If he's a director he probably won't have all of his income paid as salary. He will probably be paid dividends which the companies who he is director of pay tax on. His actual salary may be quite small. The csa need to dig deeper and find out about his dividends.
05/08/14 grumpyoldwoman
0
Mike

Mike

at Looky

in short - if he is an employee or on a pay roll - he must pay income tax and NI. it follows the CSA who are after all a part of the DWP would be able to check his tax and NI contributions and by simple maths calculate his gross annual income.

the CSA is a complete and utter joke in my opinion. as you have discovered. they are quite incapable of any robust or thought out decisions and do no more than cause upset and distress.

may I wish you all the very best and do keep on at them.
my advise - do everything in writing - that way they cant go back on what they have said / agreed

kind regards
04/08/14 Mike
0
Looky

Looky

My ex has his own business and like the main comment as above, when the CSA contacted him I was given a £0 award???? Very confusing as he is a director of various companies and loves to brag about his multi million pound business etc etc, in all fairness he is full of his own importance but I know he is making a good wage so I don't understand why a £0 award was given, money has been when it suits him and yet again he has threatened to stop payment, where do I turn now as the CSA were absolutely no help.
21/07/14 Looky
0
fedupwiththesystem

fedupwiththesystem

I am a resident parent...following an 8 year on and off custody battle my sons live with me... of course I paid CSA £300 per month (I had a lot of overnight contact-hence it was quite low)...now the boys live with me my ex stopped working more than 16-hours a week...she still takes in lodgers and does cash in hand work...

Boned...
21/04/14 fedupwiththesystem
0
GD

GD

Hello Peter
No - the claim has to come from the child's mother and no one else I am afraid.
As far as the CSA would be concerned - there is a private agreement.
Crazy I know
05/11/13 GD
-2
Peter

Peter

My fiancée won't claim CSA from her ex
And I pay for everything
Can I claim from h ?
08/10/13 Peter
-5
thatmanwoody

thatmanwoody

There always seems to be a constant dig at non resident parents and what they pay. I appreciate that there are some people out there who refuse to contribute, but there are also resident parents who should take a look at themselves.

I am a NRP and have been for 14 years. I have always paid maintenance and have always paid for extra items (school uniforms, clothes etc), regardless of my own situation. I've had to take in lodgers to keep my house, work extra jobs etc etc. I've had solicitor costs just to enable me to see my child every other weekend. I have to pay for petrol to go and see him, and I still have to feed him when he stays.

Throughout that time, his mum opted to work part time hours because "your money and the tax benefits mean I don't have to work full time". She has got re-married, had additional children, and lives in a smart house.

I got made redundant 2 years ago, and couldn't afford the same maintenance payments. I started my own business, and this year I used the CSA online calculator using my tax assessment form which included salary and dividends. I adjusted my payment accordingly, and she hit the roof. She opted to go to the CSA to see "what else she could get".

I sent all the details to the CSA and they've advised that they will not take my dividend payments into account. I argued the toss with them, as their assessment was less than half the amount id already agreed to pay her, but they wouldn't even collect the higher amount as it was not correct.

So she now gets less than half the amount, so I pay the difference into a separate account for him in case there's anything he needs. If not, he gets to have it when he's 18.

Just bear in mind that a lot of NRP's have their own house to keep, bills to pay and children to feed. The majority will work their back ends off to help support their children. They shouldn't be made to feel like scum when they hit hard times. I find it amusing that her stunt backfired, and my son said that it served her right and perhaps she could go to work if she wanted to do more for him too. He also asked if the surplus could go towards an xbox.. that's my boy.
02/10/13 thatmanwoody
-3
GD

GD

Hello

I am a parent (father) and I have paid my CSA on time every month since the case was opened.

I have always sent my salary slips to the CSA if they ask and / or if I had a pay increase so that I was paying the correct amount

I see my children every 2 weeks - would d0 more but they live 70 miles away - and I go for them on the Friday and take them home on the Sunday - so I do almost 300 miles every 2 weeks.

I feed and cloth them and buy birthday and Christmas presents as well as take them on holiday and ask for no money from their mum

the weekends I don't see them I am working

the csa have just decided to back date their calculations to march 2012 - 1 and a half years ago and now want arrears of over £1000 and a monthly increase on almost £100 despite my constant communication with them re my income.

I already have £200 more going out than coming in

I totally agree with the concept of the csa

but they have never and cannot confirm what the funds I send are being used for

by the way - their mum takes delivery of here 63 reg car this week (my car is 10 years old)

good old csa - getting it wrong consistently for almost 20 years
05/09/13 GD
-3
Francesca

Francesca

Hi I have the same problem. My ex husband moved in with his current girlfriend after we sold the family home (I agreed to this to be fair to him to help him financially). He initially paid me £300/month for 3 children. He then started to call the shots over contact arrangements, picking them up and dropping them to make them fit in with his new family. Then finally he decided he didnt want to see them at all. Then I get a call from the csa saying his circumstances have changed and that i should expect to receive the minimum of £5/week. They wouldnt give me any details and as i have no contact I do not know whether he is unemployed or whether he has gone self employed saying he is only earning £100/week (he works in the computer industry). Does anyone know how I can check this out???? My ex is now living with his girlfriend and her 2 boys (who are financially supported by their own father) in a five bedroomed house and both drive new cars. They go on several holidays a year and oh did i not mention his allowance from his millionaire father!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It makes me sick that these men can just dump their kids and expect the parent with residential custody to provide everything. Its heartbreaking enough to have to explain it to my little girl who is 5 who thinks her father doesnt love her anymore, but now i'm having to say no to the children constantly when they ask for things as I cant even afford the necessities.
01/10/12 Francesca
-5
kazykins

kazykins

Oh by the way the CSA only started collecting payments for my daughter last year and since they have he has missed so many payments and keeps changing payment methods to make things difficult for us. My daughter is at her last year of college and i never asked for CSA to get involved till last year as i tried to cope on my own but it is so hard especially when you have to start all over again. He got the lot and more and has a lovely two bedroom flat which my kids aren't allowed to go and stay in plus two cars a mercedes and a range rover with his new girlfriend who he had an affair with for over 11 years so you know what yeah I am happy for them to get on with their lives. She has a 15 year old son who is well taken care of by her ex and by my soon to be ex husband so why should my daughter suffer she has emotionally for years because of her abusive father it makes me sick. Pay up and then lead your new lifes thats all any mother asks like we have to, you don't see us swanning around in brand new cars several holidays abroad etc etc etc etc ha so wrong the whole system is floored
22/06/12 kazykins
-8
Kazyins

Kazyins

I'm absolutely disgusted in these comments I have two older children now with my ex who not only physically abused me for 16 years, also had several affairs plus to top that off our house had to be sold as he ramped it up in debt threw his gambling habit and we were left with nothing. Apart from the fact it takes two to tango and they equally have a responsibility to their children, have you forgotten the fact that of course not only does the sole carer have to buy everthing and provide a roof over the children in questions head but also with that comes the emotional stability "making things right" for them. While also working full time plus keeping everything running smoothly its not easy so why the hell should the absent father get away with paying for his side, he was quick enough to get into bed so he should also be quick enough to put his hand in his pocket as well tend to there emotional needs instead of his new girlfriends and there children. hmmmmmmm
22/06/12 Kazyins
-8
Fedup

Fedup

All these cOmments seem to refer tO the absent parent being th father. My husbands ex dropped her 12 year old son on our doorstep a year ago and hasn't paid maintenance since. She does he him 2 nights a week but she lives in a 4 bed detached home with the man she left my husband for 12 years ago and has holidays abroad, personalised number plates etc. but she wriggles out of paying maIntenance as she only works 10 hours a week and lives off her partner! When he lived with her though we had to pay £200 a month without fail! Where is the justice there? The csa are no help and give her a nil award.
12/05/12 Fedup
-2
booboo*

booboo*

Hi, bit of advice needed please ;-) My partner works full time on a oil rig. He has a son with a ex partner (who has now remarried). The child is 11. We have been paying CSA since the child was 4 (may of missed a few payments but always caught up). We have 2 children together. We recieved a letter the other day advising he has to pay 398.00 per week to catch up on arrears that the CSA have discovered... (as the ex asked them to re evaluate his income against payments.) No the Mr's not a footballer!!! got knows what they think he earns... We have never ever denied payments to the child as hes his father and agrees completly that he should pay 'some' expence to help raise him.. We cant physically help raise him as the Ex wont let u see him!!! (after 3 attempts at court it was denied) Shes never worked a day in her life and her new husband has his own company so there not skint! Shes just being nasty... If we dont pay the 398.00 per week for the next 16 weeks there threataning to take him to court to take his passport.. but he obviously needs it to go to work!! Were looking at setting up a ltd company in my name so i can employ him and pay him basic wage. Will this help at all?? Any advice will be much appreciated ;-)
09/10/11 booboo*
-6
Moo

Moo

Fact is every case is different, with different peoples situations. There seems to be no fair system, because it's almost impossible to deal with people who are hell bent on 'winning'. As the child of divorced parents, there was never a winner, not financially or emotionally. I know people who have children knowing the relationship has broken down, but are happy to claim benefits to support these children. I know fathers who refuse to pay support because they don't have a relationship with their children so no longer feel responsible. I am not writing to bad mOuth anyone of the situations, I just think each parent needs to put their emotions about the relationship to one side and do everything they can so that there is a winner, and that's the child. To make sure all children are supported financially, but most of all emotionally by both parents.

There are exceptions to this if a parent is such a negative role model
07/06/11 Moo
-11
bex

bex

my sister is having a very simular situation recently except the csa have sed that her ex keeps changing jobs so he cant keep up with him she really dnt no what to do!!
12/05/11 bex
-6

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