Hi there
Just some general advice if possible.
I separated from my wife three years ago. Naively I struck a private arrangement, and paid her £550 a month initially, without researching how much I should be paying for the upkeep of one 3 year old. This was out of a take home salary that only amounted to £1100, so I slid into debt trying to maintain this.
At the start of this year I just became aware how much I had paid in overpayments, and stopped paying. She then pursued me via the CSA, and obviously this is treated as a new case and they can't help with the fact I've done everything I financially can previously.
I've appealed for reasonable behaviour from my ex-wife just because I can barely support my daughter when she is with me, face financial ruin. She's actually a successful teacher and head of department, so does earn well herself, but doesn't care that my daughter's dad is literally sinking.
It's all my own fault at first, as I didn't research what I should be paying, due to being caught up in the emotive aspect, but has anyone encountered the likes of this, and know if there is anything I can do? I can prove all the monthly vast payments made in the private arrangement. I basically make it I have given her £9000 too much based on CSA figures. I'm not looking to retrieve all the money, as I'm glad I did everything I could, but just some happy medium so I can live.
Hi
I'm afraid anything that happened before the CSA got involved won't be taken into account, and ultimately, with a private agreement it's up to you how much you pay. You do need to make sure you are keeping up with the CSA amount now as if you get into arrears, they CSA will come down heavily to recover the arrears.
So have i got this right? If you have a private agreement and it happens to be under the CSA amount, they will hunt you down for that money if they later become involved. But if in that private agreement you over pay the CSA amount then that counts for nothing if they later become involved? Wow is that not more then a little one sided!
Hello Mattjamsk
Thank you for your post. I am William, the Child Maintenance Options consultant. When the Child Support Agency (CSA) becomes involved in arranging child maintenance and they contact you, this is when your responsibility to pay child maintenance starts. Any payments made before this time are part of a family-based arrangement, which is an agreement made between you and your ex-partner and this kind of arrangement is not legally binding.
The CSA works out child maintenance using your income, which includes earnings, money from an occupational or personal pension and tax credits. They use the amount of income left after deductions such as Income Tax, National Insurance and any money paid into a personal pension scheme. There are many other factors that the CSA take into account when making a calculation including the number of nights your daughter stays with you. If you wish to discuss your payments with the CSA, you will need to contact them directly. You can find their contact details online at http://www.gov.uk/childmaintenance.
We have a sorting out separation web-app that you may find useful, it offers help and support to separated families. You can find this at: http://www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.
To find out more about how Child Maintenance Options can help you visit: http://www.cmoptions.org. If you would prefer a friendly and confidential chat, please give the team a call on 0800 988 0988.
So have i got this right? If you have a private agreement and it happens to be under the CSA amount, they will hunt you down for that money if they later become involved. But if in that private agreement you over pay the CSA amount then that counts for nothing if they later become involved? Wow is that not more then a little one sided!
Not quite - the CSA won't come after you if you underpaid either - they are only concerned with the amount paid from the date they open a case, anything before that -either under or over payment - is irrelevant to them.