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Hi can anyone please help? My husband and I have always paid our CSA payment on time and have never defaulted on a payment. Since we started paying in 1999 we have paid the same amount by standing order and have never been informed that payments have changed etc.
Recently however we have received a letter stating we are in arrears by £1595. We requested the breakdown as to how this has been calculated and it appears that £755 was from when the case was originally set up prior to the payment amount being calculated and commencing. We have never, in the past 13 years, been informed of this outstanding amount otherwise we would have sorted this a long time ago. Can the CSA suddenly request this payment that is so historic and in my opinion shows incompetence (again) of the CSA?
Also when looking at the breakdown it appears that we have had a few reassessments of our payments but again we were not aware of these at the time and according to their calculations results in the remainder of the debt. Again we have never been asked to change our payment amount. It seems to me that the CSA can do what they like and tell you about it years after. Is this right?
On the same letter with the debt amount it says it has to be paid in full. We can't pay this amount without going into debt ourselves that then our daughter will suffer from. Can they demand it's paid in full? Just need some advice to know some facts before we phone them.
Thanks for reading and any advice
Hi Lisa
I'll ask our experts from CMO if they can comment on this, so keep checking back.
Hi I'm Sarah, a consultant at Child Maintenance Options.
This sounds like a pretty complicated situation, and unfortunately we can't look into individual cases here. All I can suggest is that you contact the CSA again to discuss your case with them. However it may help you to know that in certain circumstances, arrears can be paid in instalments so that they are more manageable.
I hope this helps.
Sarah.
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