to believe there has to be a better way?? (wrt CSA)

[littlemisssarcastic]

I am having no joy with the CSA, XP is a 'job hopper'.
By the time the CSA have his income details (from HMRC which takes approx 12 weeks) XP has moved on again to yet another job.
XP begrudges DD a single penny and has in fact stolen every penny she has ever been given as a gift. He is the definition of 'non compliant parent imo.

After yet another futile conversation with CSA today, where they now want me to try direct payments from XP instead of going through the CSA, I am wondering whether there is a better way of getting money from unco operative NRP's to RP's which may be more successful than the CSA. I am not aware of any such system apart from CSA now, but is there for instance any reason why CSA can't be used to ascertain who the NRP is (if they deny they are the parent) and once it is established who the NRP is, the whole issue of collecting child maintenance is passed onto HMRC who then collect maintenance payments alongside income tax and distribute to RP's?

Is this a possibility?

It seems to me that the CSA is a failure for many RP's and a huge amount of money is pumped into it with very few satisfactory results, or is that just me?

Besides which, if I took over the CSA, I would do a consultation with ALL the service users - RP's, RP's new partners, NRP's AND NRP's new partners. And try to balance the issues from both sides as best as I can.

Problem is, the system can NEVER be fair to every person who uses it - there will ALWAYS be complex cases, and people who see the system as unfair, whichever side of the fence they are on. So, like now, all the system can do, is hope to work for the majority of it's users. The problem with the CSA is that I have yet to meet ONE person who thinks that the CSA is fair, OR working properly, OR fit for purpose!

I appreciate that maintenance is based on income, but in some cases, this is a rubbish rule....there are NRP's who are self employed and manipulate their income (on paper) so as to pay very little, and there are men who job hop and the CSA are always waiting for details from the HMRC.

Is it possible that instead of the complicated task of working out what the NRP's partner/wife's income is, that it could be assumed that the very least the NRP can expect to contribute is whatever the current percentage is right now for CM purposes (15% for one child??) based on a minimum wage full time job??

That way, if the NRP and their new partner decide NRP will be a SAHP, CM will be calculated as X% of full time minimum wage, and they between them need to work out how they are going to pay that amount if NRP doesn't work.

Is this even workable?

Obviously if NRP works and earns more than minimum wage, then he should pay based on his income. My point was for NRP's who either don't work, nor claim any means tested benefits, maybe because they are being supported by a new partner.....or for NRP's who for one reason or another are claiming to be on such low incomes without claiming means tested benefits as to make them ineligible to pay maintenance.

There has to be a minimum level of maintenance, and I'm sorry, but £0 or £5 a week just doesn't cut it imo.

But what about if the NRP doesn't work and can't find a job and doesn't have an earning partner. Where are you actually suggesting that this money would come from?

I have to say I know the CSA are a complete waste of space. I first claimed in 1994 and have recieved not one penny in maintainence. In 2003 I got a patymnet of £200 as recompence for them messing up my claim so badly, but then they totally failed to correct any of their errors. LAST WEEK I was told that I should have been told to reclaim in 2003 under the new system, and that because I wasn't my claim is null and void. Despite this they continued to send me a statement every year saying I should get £95.45 per week. And no one told me to recaim in any of my twice yearly phone calls to them. My son is now 20 so I no can't claim again and my ex has got away with it. All in all I should have had £85k in child support over 17 years, but due to their incompetance I got nothing. Except a wonderful son who I was able to bring up exactly as I wanted, obviously.

Do you know - that is a tip-top, bloody excellent idea. .

15% (for one dc) of a Full time Minimum wage would be ... does sums...min wage jobs FT are for 37.5 hrs not 40...Min wage now £6.08 an hr...£6.08 x 37.5 = £228.00 before tax. 15% of that is...£34.20.

Sooooo, not one NRP can pay less maintenance that £34.20 a week for ONE child. Pretty much around the £30-ish figure I toted upthread. For taking out of the JSA of deadbeat dads who won't work - they'd go back out to work pretty sharpish then, wouldn't they!!

Ah, Rushelle - the vagaries of CSA1. Most people on MN that complain are on CSA2. they haven't encountered the seventh circle of hell that is/was CSA1 unless their dc are 12yo or over.

If any of you think the current system of CSA2 is bad - try being on CSA1. Not one person in the CSA gave you the advice you needed - yet if you didn't ACT on the advice you DIDN'T FUCKING RECEIVE then you're more than totally screwed...

I imagine they would Hunty yes.
I am looking forward to you running the CSA.

allnew As hunty has already suggested, out of their JSA??

Allnewtaketwo - Their UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. The NRP would take ajob, any bloody job, quick enough then. Whether the NRP has a new family or not. If he is a responsiblke parent to ALL his dc (not just those from his NEW relationship), he will not want his dc from his NEW relationship to be in hardship - NOR will he want his dc from his OLD relationship to be in hardship. The only option would be to take whatever shitty job was going - even the knife-throwers job that was advertised in the Brighton Jobcentre Plus and had over 100 applicants...(Tongue-in-cheek, that one, but it shows that people who WANT a job will take ANY job). Cleaning loos, shelf stacking, ANYTHING that supports BOTH sets of the NRP's dc.

That means that the couple would be entitled to (at current rates) £105.95 a week. And they would HAVE to pay £34.20 a week OUT OF THAT for one dc from a previous relationship. It would be MORE if there were two or 3 dc that the NRP has from their previous relationship. though the £105.95 payment would not be increased - so the more dc from the previous relationship - the skinter the NRP and his new partner would be. Pretty good incentive for the NRP to take whatever shitty job he is offered, no?

For 2 dc, the minimum CSA payment would be £45.60 a week (20% of NRP's income).

For 3 dc (or more) the minimum CSA payment would be £57.00 a week (25% of NRP's income).

Sooooo, if both an NRP and his partner were unemployed - they would get £71.75 a week JSA as a couple if the NRP had ONE dc from his previous relationship. They would get £60.35 a week JSA as a couple if the NRP had TWO dc from his previous relationship. They would get £48.95 a week JSA as a couple if the NRP had THREE OR MORE dc from his previous relationship.

I would hazard a guess that either the NRP or the NRP's new partner would be taking any job pretty fucking quickly...