[Solved] CSA charges

I left my ex 2 1/2 years ago and we had always paid outside of CSA, I have always over paid and at one point was covering half the mortgage and also paying the normal CSA rate, My ex has decided to now go through CSA and has instructed them that they must collect the money and then pass it on to her.

I have never missed a payment nor have I ever been late in paying so there is no real need for this to happen.

So in that respect I would be really annoyed if they wanted to then charge me for this service.

Darren

Yes I have heard about it.

The Governement are planning to make both parents pay to use the CSA - so charges on top of the maintenance payments.

Gooner

The are of course planning to scrap the CSA and replace it with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

Gooner

A good point Darren - I use the CSA because my ex has done everything possible to get out of paying, including not working for the past few years so she only pays the minimum. I am sure that if we made a separate agreement, she would stop paying as soon as she could get away with it (she's currently about £300 in arrears dating back 5 years - but it's too small amount for CSA to chase up beyond the odd letter).

But the point you have made is more sinister - your ex could go to the CSA simply to be vindictive, it would cost her a bit, but not as much as it would be costing you - I wonder if parents such as yourself will have the right to appeal against such charges. Surely a better system would be to penalise the non-payers rather than those who pay on time and actually require virtually no administration by the CSA.

Gooner, isn't the CMEC designed to encourage agreement between parents? If so, it sounds like it's much the same thing - if there's agreement, then fine, but if not, then it goes to this system of charging.

A good point Darren - I use the CSA because my ex has done everything possible to get out of paying, including not working for the past few years so she only pays the minimum. I am sure that if we made a separate agreement, she would stop paying as soon as she could get away with it (she's currently about £300 in arrears dating back 5 years - but it's too small amount for CSA to chase up beyond the odd letter).

But the point you have made is more sinister - your ex could go to the CSA simply to be vindictive, it would cost her a bit, but not as much as it would be costing you - I wonder if parents such as yourself will have the right to appeal against such charges. Surely a better system would be to penalise the non-payers rather than those who pay on time and actually require virtually no administration by the CSA.

Gooner, isn't the CMEC designed to encourage agreement between parents? If so, it sounds like it's much the same thing - if there's agreement, then fine, but if not, then it goes to this system of charging.

I think vindictive sums my ex up well to be fair.

But it's true that when the CSA are instructed to do something they have to follow it through, My ex has instructed them to collect the money on her behalf and nothing I say will make any difference unless she agrees to going back to me paying her directly. Thankfully her request to collect directly from my employer wasn't met as they will only do that if I fail to pay on a number of occasions.

The irony is that she will actually recieve less money now than she would have had she kept our original agreement in place, and when I return to court next week it's my hope that I my son will get to stay 2 nights every other weekend meaning she will then have the amount reduced further. so in that respect the CSA have saved me some money for the time being.

What is very annoying is that I found this out yesterday - the consultation ended earlier this year but I haven't heard anything about it - considering that it will affect me, shouldn't the CSA have told me?

Well i'm sure everyone will get told when they are ready to put the charges in place and collect the payment!!!

Indeed, but there is currently outrage on numerous sites, including some large ones - which means there may be enough money to put up a fight. My first thought is that since this is probably imposed by CSA/CMEC, it's not legislation, so a Judicial Review would fit pefectly - from Wikipedia:

Constitutional position
The English constitutional theory, as expounded by A.V. Dicey, does not recognise a separate system of administrative courts that would review the decisions of public bodies (as in France, Germany and many other European countries). Instead, it is considered that the government should be subject to the jurisdiction of ordinary Common Law courts.

1.The application must be made promptly and in any event within three months from the date when the grievance arose.[3] Note that legislation can impose shorter time limits while a court may hold that an application made in less than three months may still be not prompt enough.
2.The applicant must have sufficient interest in a matter to which the application relates.[4] This requirement is known as the requirement of locus standi, or standing.
3.The application must be concerned with a public law matter, i.e. the action must be based on some rule of public law, not purely tort or contract.

Hi, I'm Sarah, a consultant at the Child Maintenance Options Service. I thought I would share some information that you might find useful.

Since 2008, it is no longer compulsory for parents to arrange child maintenance through the CSA, even if they are on benefits.

A new child maintenance scheme is being launched later this year. The new scheme is designed to encourage parents to reach their own, family based, arrangements rather than involve the Government at all.

However, if parents do wish to use the statutory service then they will be charged to use of the new scheme - this will include an application charge, ongoing collection charges where the non-resident parent is unwilling to pay direct and maintenance has to taken from them by the Government, and charges for enforcement.

When the scheme is introduced, the CSA will stop taking new applications and it will start to close existing cases. This process is expected to take at least 2-3 years. Parents with CSA cases that are closing will be given information and support to help them decide whether to make a family-based arrangement or apply to the new scheme.

All of these changes are in written in primary legislation in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 although the Government will be consulting on the detail of the charging and case closure regulations later this year.

Thanks for that Info Sarah. 🙂

Hi Sarah, So what happens if the NRP wishes to make a private arrangement and the PWC doesn't. I have tried for the last 4yrs to make a private arrangement without success. The last time l was sent an email from the ex stating
"I don't mind that (our daughter) is losing out on ANY money as we have managed perfectly fine up till now without your help, as long as it gets taken off you then am MORE than happy!! "
Cannot understand when she says "we have managed perfectly fine up to now without your help" I know that as l have been paying her through the CSA.
She is not thinkin of our child just a vendetta against me think she just gets a kick out of it, and it makes her look good to her frinds.
Do not understand her logic as if she had taken the private arrangement our daugher would have got more. Or should l say ex would have got more to drink, spend £100 on shoes ( whilst she goes to premark for the kids clothes) etc. Do not know how when you live on benefits you can afford a bottle of JD and Vodka a weekend, and 07 Ford c-max car, holidays abroad, £100 pr of shoes etc. Whilst l who work have a P reg car and no holidays. Something wrong somewhere.

Hi Johnwych, thanks for your question.

One of the reasons why the Government has proposed charges for the new child maintenance scheme is to encourage parents to make collaborative family-based arrangements.

In the new scheme, your ex-partner would have to pay a application charge, but you would be able to avoid any collection charges by opting to pay her directly (through standing order) once your payments have been calculated. You can do this through the CSA at the moment - it's called Maintenance Direct - but currently the consent of the parent with care is required (for more about this, visit us at www.cmoptions.org). It's still not as flexible as a family-based arrangement obviously, but it's something.

Hopefully, over time your ex partner will realise that there are many advantages to making a family-based arrangement.

Regarding your comments about what your payments are being spent on - the CSA can't check or control what the money is spent on once the parent receives it.

I hope this answer helps you.