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Hi there, i am new to all of this but i recently found out i am not the father to my ex girlfriends child which i new all a long but could never afford to pay for a private DNA text, i paid CSA for roughly 2 and half years but they are now saying i cant get even a penny back after paying more than £2500 to a child that isnt even mine!!!!!!!! they say that it is because i "just paid" the maintenence but they said if i didnt pay it they would take me to court?! i have contacted my local MP as directed by the CSA but they still say theres nothing they can do? how can this be acceptiable i have paid for a child that isnt even mine and yet i cant get a penny back, so where has my money gone if i am not the dad??!! i need advise or help ANYTHING just to keep me sane!
many thanks
Les
Hi Masterace,
I think everyone would agree that this is unfair.
The CSA will probably still class this as a success as the child was provided for.
Just as an alternative, maybe, just maybe, you could try the small claims court. I don't know whether it possible to take the actual father to court as he should have been paying.
Hopefully, someone else with more knowledge could confirm or deny this as an option.
Good luck though.
SB
The CSA will argue that if you were disputing paternity, you should have asked for a DNA prior to paying maintenance. By making the payments and not stating your position you have made yourself liable. The CSA will not refund the money already paid. They will however refund any monies paid after the date you declared your doubt. I would put it in writing to the CSA that you have information that denies your paternity and you request the payments are suspended until you can have a DNA test to prove it. You may have to apply to court to have this done....and you might even have to continue with the payments until its concluded, although I'm not sure about that.
In hindsight you would have been better denying paternity from the beginning and going to court....but hindsight is a wonderful thing!
It is unfair and you should be entitled to some redress for the money that you have been made to pay. I guess as Strokebloke says, you could take it to the small claims court if you have proof that the mother knowingly duped you...sorry to be the bearer of bad news!
There are guys on here that have paid in for 10yrs+ only to discover they arn't the father ...so although you are £2500 poorer, it could have been worse! No consolation I know...I get the impression that you dont have a parental relationship with the child. There are some men that have not only invested their money but their love too, and finding out they are not the father leavers a bigger hole in their heart than their wallet! At least you only have to deal with your anger and not the heartache as well.
Good luck with it all.
Les - I assume you have had a DNA test to prove that you are not the father and that the CSA have stopped taking payments?
My case is similar, unfortunately I paid out close to £36,000 and have managed to have £3000 refunded.
Despite my best efforts including over £1000 in legal fees and a non-helpful local MP I have been told that I will not receive any more money back. In my view it is fraud, yet there is very little that I can now do about it. For more details see my thread My Thread
I'll never give up trying to get this money refunded as I am in severe debt with various credit card companies (I had to use credit cards to survive as I was being crippled under the payments of the CSA 'old' scheme).
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