General Chat

Julie I would challenge that amount then. It simply isnt fair, and isnt the usual amount. In the end, my £100K-earning husband was assessed to pay just £30 per week. No doubt he fiddled the figures in his own favour, but I didnt challenge it, because my daughter was about to leave school and I was just grateful to get ANYTHING. OC

OC I wish they worked it out like that now day, my OH pays more for his 1 child than what we as a family of 4 have to live on

Peter the CSA have a method of calculation which deducts from the man's earnings a set personal allowance, allowance for new family, additional and particular expenses. Then a percentage of what is left goes to the child. If the man is earning below a certain amount or is on certain benefits a 'token' amount (used to be £5) is collected. Rosex

Peter these massive bills which some men get, are a last ditch attempt to make the man either pay up, or at least fight his corner. If the man will not co-operate with the CSA then they use shock tactics. They cannot negotiate with someone who refuses to interact with them. I don't know how it is calculated now, but back then, they threw all the money coming IN, into a pot, and divided it equally between all the people who relied on the pot, if you see what I mean. That was the starting point for negotiations. Most men manage to negotiate it downwards. OC

They scraped all that in 1993 Peter thats when the CSA was formed..

OC, thanks for this. I can see that the csa act as a debt collecting agency, but surely it is the court who should decide in the first place, how much maintenance is appropriate?

Peter If you are on any kind of benefits, then the CSA bypasses the court system. I went to the Court FIVE times, with no result. The Court told me I would have to pay a Bailiff - I didnt have the money for that (£100+, and no guarantee of a result). But the minute I claimed Family Credit, or whatever it is called, the CSA swung into action. The CSA, if you like, is a debt-collecting agency, acting on behalf of the government, and will always act quickly for people on benefits, but hardly at all for those who are not on benefits. I can only speak as I find - they got blood out of a stone, for me. OC

I have read this thread with interest . I can understand your friend being shocked if he was unaware if his childs existence up until now . Otherwise he should have taken responsibilty for his actions 17 years ago, then he wouldn,t be facing a huge bill now . I must add though I know of at least four women who left their Husbands and children and have never paid a penny , even though they kept in contact with the children and the CSA just gave up .Kim xx

OC, I can understand how you feel. I count myself as lucky, I have a good roof over my head bought and paid for before I had my child. But I am still in debt due to house repairs etc. I live on less for the two of us than my elderly neighbour who is by herself. I could not have managed but for the birthday money that comes from a few family members and selling odds and ends to meet the electric bills. I feel guilty and angry that my son has to have the cheapest things, rather than the ones which would be better for him. I am not talking about foreign hols or anything like that,last year we managed a few days away in a youth hostel thanks to my credit card! I would like to think that my ex will be 'clobbered' for back payments one day but somehow I doubt it. Rosex

Hi Susan, The CSA almost destroyed my family, OH ended up losing his job and severly depressed, my ex got away with hardly giving anything for his 3 kids whilst my OH was taken for half his take home pay, An awful organisation, Good luck to your friend, Caz xxx

Peter the CSA sets its ,the courts just collect if they wont pay.. Yes you have it one about ignoring them . Looks like he has made no atemp to pay the childs mother either..

whos been paying all those 17 years yes the likes of you and me wish somebody would have kept my kids for £23 per week

Perhaps someone might answer a question for me. Surely it is the court that sets the level of maintenenance, not the csa. Aren't the csa just there to collect it? Also in this particular case it does sound to me that someone has been ignoring the issue for a long time, and it is only now, it has started to bite them, they are taking notice.

Rambling Rose No, not a fortune at all - but might have made all the difference had it been paid at the time. I still havent forgotten my 14 year old daughter sitting fully clothed in my bed, with her coat on, doing her homework, because we lived in a grotty flat where the heating just ATE money. I didnt know for ages that I could get help from Family Credit. Even so - why should the taxpayer have had to pay me this money, when my husband was spending more than this a week on newspapers? I am sorry for any man who is being genuinely harrassed by the CSA - but 17 years of getting away with it doesnt sound like harrassment to me. OC OC

oops no it doesn't! it's £ 23.75..............

£21,000 back pay for a period of 17 years? That works out at about £27 a week doesn't it? Hardly a fortune to support a child.......... Rosex

I am with OC on this...they must of contacted him to set a start date for maintenace payments. So why hasnt he paid for his child or said he doesnt think the child is his before now. Another they are not getting a penny out of me ?

Sheila This child is now 17 years old and it sounds as if the father hasnt paid a penny. If the child is his, then he damn well ought to pay something. If the child ISN'T his, why hasnt he said so before? OC

That is such a large amount that no-one would be able to pay in the time requested, which is a good job, because if they'd asked for £500 you'd probably have had a whip round to get rid of them! Challenge this decision. Appeal this decision. Use disputed parentage as an argument if necessary. Get advice from a Law Centre or solicitor. A very high percentage of CSA decisions are wrong anyway. The same thing happened to the husband of a friend of mine. He had a demand out of the blue for £35,000! Never paid a penny in the end. Has just had another large demand from CSA. Daughter is 19, left school 3 years ago and left home to live with her boyfriend at the same time. Here we go again! Hold your nerve and don't give 'em a penny until they've got the calculation right and paternity is either accepted or proved. Sheila

i totally agree with pink