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can someone give advice please I had an agreement with C S A to pay direct to my ex each month and have in writing as long this was kept arrears will not be collected unless the maintenace was to break down.
Last month I had a letter demanding £2000 in arrears I telephoned the C S A and was told to make immediate payment which I refused as I stated I make payments in cash to my partner each month and she signs a book.which I have done for over three years as per agrrement with C S A and yes still have letter stating this, I was told you can not do that you must set up a bank transfer with your ex and again demanding payment I stated this needs to be investigated further and was told so you refusing to pay I stated clear to the advisor that I wanted to seek help and wanted an answer to why after three years this has cropped without warning. In the meantime I spoke with Debbie my ex and she stated she had letter arrears £250 and was happy with cash payments and she was happy with this, so again telephoned C S A and again was just met with abuse so again stated I wanted justification. Next I received a letter stating my wages was being ceased £500 was being taken no question how I was to make normal living allowances and normal C s A payments so was forced to pay £400 pounds to stop this as it would have put me in severe financial stress.
In the meantime I wrote to the complaints team and also spoke to a team manager whom admitted errors had been made and they would investigate this further in the meantime I wrote to The complaints team and in return got a letter stating again they have suspended the arrears untill regular collections will be made by the C S A but will this happen again in later years . I have been off work for a week as this knocked the stuffing out off me on how harsh and rude and arrogant. they was to me despite me paying on time without fail for over three years and my ex stated she is happy with this and arrears off £250 she would be happy with extra, £10 a month. as a result off this I had to cancell my childrens holiday as we go away every August at least they understand as they just as pleased to be with Their Dad. I was again going to write to the team but found your site and hope you can give me guidance on this matter as I thought this was all solved by Linda at the complaints resolution team back in 2009 when we came to this agreement between the three off us.
Hi and welcome
Can I ask if there is any reason why you are paying in cash, rather than through an account or through the CSA? You have been getting something signed at least, so you do have some evidence, which is good.
As I understand from your posting, because they have taken 400, and you are 250 in arrears, you are now 150 ahead, so hopefully you can sort this out shortly. However, since you and your ex are obviously able to work this out yourselves, I would say that you shouldn't need to involve the CSA at all, and that a private agreement would be far more suitable.
I will ask our expert from CMO to pop on (probably Monday now) and give some advice on how to switch from CSA to a private agreement.
I was behind in C S A payments as did not realise I had to pay child maintenance and a breakdown in communication between me and the C S A led to this problem
It was agreed to suspend all arrears as long as I made regular payments to Debbie and arrears will need to be paid if I did not keep to this agreement.
This is why I was stunned and shocked when I got a letter demanding nearly £2000 pounds and when I telephoned and stated I had this letter confirming this agreement they said I had no right to be paying cash despite this being set up with Linda kirkby at the complaints resolution team in 2009. This is a direct maintenance agreement made by CSA and DEbbie
Debbie had a letter from C S A stating that everything to carry on as normal and arrears was showing £250 she told them she was not worried about this as she was getting paid cash each month and CSA agreed to keep things the way it was so why was she told one thing and me another according too csa I am in arrears off £1600 pounds and have suspended the payments as I can not afford to pay this but what about the future if I get treated so harshley and have my wages suspended again when you get an arrogant advisors that do not listen or take notice of my side off the story
well, I think it's now best to wait for the CMO advice, especially regarding not using the CSA at all in future.
Hi, I'm Sarah, a consultant for Child Maintenance Options.
Unfortunately I can't look into individual cases as Child Maintenance Options is a separate organisation from the CSA. However, it does sound like you and your ex-wife could be able to sort out child maintenance privately between yourselves. This type of arrangement is called a family-based arrangement, and all parents are free to make this type of arrangement if they can both agree.
Many parents find that a family-based arrangement is the quickest and easiest way to arrange child maintenance.
All that needs to happen is, the person who opened the case needs to contact the CSA and ask them to close it (and suspend any arrears).
I would also recommend keeping a record of what you agree in your family-based arrangement, which you can do easily using our family-based arrangement form.
For more information about family-based arrangements and tips and tools to help you (including the family-based arrangement form) , visit Child Maintenance Options at www.cmoptions.org. Or you can speak to someone in confidence by calling 0800 988 0988.
I hope this helps,
Sarah.
Thank you this was the agreement made back in 1989 we set up a maintenance direct with Lynda Kirkby at the complaints team, and in her letter it states all outstanding arrears which are due to the secretary off state have been suspended, although I will remain liable for their collection upon closure off the case or if the maintenance direct agreement breaks down.
This has not happened and yet they suddenly demanded arrears after three years
Hi
Thanks for your further post. I would suggest that you contact the CSA and explain the situation. If you have the letter which you received from the CSA, then they will want to see this for evidence.
If the agreement with your ex-partner has not broken down, nor your child reached the age where child maintenance is no-longer payable, then you should speak to the CSA as soon as possible.
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