to think that the CSA are a bunch of incompetent fools and should be accountable

[Tobermory]

DH pays maintenance, via the CSA.

There have been any number of occasions where the CSA have messed up, requesting additional monies, informing DH in writing that he has been over-paying and promising re-imbursement and then changing their minds.

The latest in the catalogue of errors is a letter informing him that his payments have increased - despite his income not going up. It transpires that someone made an error, they have just noticed this and want it backdating and repaying and quick.

There was no apology, nothing in the way of support, no flexibility in terms of repayments. No-one to complain to. This was completely their mistake but they dont take responsibility for this but just pass the buck, literally.

BTW, before I get jumped on, this AIBU is not about whether his payments should go up. He believes that he should be paying whatever is right and if the new figure if right then thats what he'll pay. However the unapologetic demand for back payments, paid quickly because of their mistake....

How can a customer facing organisation be so lax?
How can a body such as this be unaccountable?

I find it unbelievable.

[Onemorning]

They're appalling. A friend had to flee her husband because he was beating and raping her. The CSA gave him her address, and didn't even apologise.

[LittleOneMum]

They are pretty awful but the old system was way worse. Women had to go to the family courts to get maintenance. This meant that only women with means (or no means at all) could afford to go to court and rich husbands could pay for really good lawyers to fight cases out for years. The CSA at least are trying, I think...

[redexpat]

Well if you and DH are both fed up with them could you not just arrange the payments privately?

[Cocoflower]

YANU!

[Tobermory]

One - God. Really? Thats just awful.

LOM - they are v trying. Was that pun intentional?!

Red - we would like nothing better, sadly DHs Ex is not exactly accomodating

[Thingumy]

They are akin to a sack of shit.

I've had 10 months of payment out of fucking 16 years of non payment.

No whiff of a mention of a court appearance..

ex owes my daughter around £37k in maintenance.

37 fucking grand.

[Tobermory]

OMG! 37K
Theyre like a dog with a bone with my DH so how on earth do they fail your DD, and you, to the tune of 37K!

[Thingumy]

15 years of non payment,15 years of him disappearing off their weak radar and 15 years of him saying he's not earning (bullshit).

He paid £40 a week for 9 months and then declared he was out of work yet again.

What do csa do? Sweet FA.

I can't even be bothered with it now,we have had to manage without his money and dd is now 16.

I will never have anything good to say about the csa I'm afraid.

[catsmother]

They are totally useless Tobermory. Exactly the same thing has happened to us when we have been totally straight with them all along - honest and punctual with any info needed - they then make mistakes (or make it up as they go along, not sure which) and DEMAND payment without any leeway at all re: staggered payments. I agree if THEY make mistakes, they should be paying the difference to the PWC, then the NRP pay it back in affordable stages. They don't give a shit about the impact of these sorts of sudden unexpected increases (unexpected because we'd been assured that everything was in order) on us of course, or upon our children.

Time after time we have been given advice one day which is completely turned on its head the day after. We've had managers "confirm" both rules and figures - in writing - then this is overturned by someone else ..... and no apology at all. We've also had them insist that such and such applies despite information on their own website - which we've had to refer them to - totally contradicting that.

Like you, it would be impossible to agree a voluntary maintenance payment with DP's ex so we have no choice but to use them.

Fully appreciate of course that many many PWC's also have terrible problems with the CSA and their failure to obtain any maintenance at all from genuinely feckless absent parents. It strikes me that whichever side of the fence you're on the CSA always take the path of least resistance. Any scenario where a bit of effort is required on their part to obtain a true assessment of circumstances seems so often to be cast to one side. For example, we have suffered financially because of DP's ex's lies about the amount of overnight contact (again and again, over years), yet the CSA have been very reluctant to take any notice of evidence we've gathered to show the true situation. Similarly, I know that many PWCs whose ex's have a lifestyle at odds with their declared income have come up against a similar reluctance to establish the facts. IME the CSA go after the easy targets - the absent parents who are responsible - to tick all their quotas, but there's no recognition at all of these parents' desire to do the right thing ..... indeed, when, through no fault of their own, they suddenly owe "arrears", any request for a sensible payment plan is treated as if they are trying to wriggle out of their duty. On occasion, DP has been spoken to appallingly as if he's defrauding them. But what can you do ?