CSA wont collect maintenance direct arrears

[piplilly]

Hi
I am exasperated with the CSA.
4 years ago Exh changed jobs. The CSA at the time were collecting payments from him by attachment to earnings order due to him being a poor payer. I advised the CSA of a change of circumstances (COC) due to the NRP new job. The CSA advised that as they could no longer collect payments from his employer, I should have his payments paid direct into me account. The CSA contacted the NRP and told him to pay me by sending his payments to my bank account. Even though the NRP knew he should increase his payments due to his new better paid job he carried on paying the old amount. When I informed the CSA of this they said no action could be taken until the COC was completed. This took 5 months instead of 3. After the NRP was informed of the new amount he still paid the old amount. I kept informing the CSA he wasn't paying the right amount. Then he stopped paying all together. The CSA then told him he had to return to paying the CSA instead of me.
After years of other events that the NRP has orchestrated to stop arrears being assessed I finally received an new payment assessment to include the arrears from 4 years ago. The CSA are refusing to include the time from when he changed jobs up until when they made him change his payments to them. They have called this period 'Maintenance Direct'.

They say the 'Maintenance Direct' period was a private arrangement between me and the NRP which they cannot recover. I disagree. I definitely was not told this and why would i due to his history!! I was advised by the CSA to have the NRP payments paid into my bank account - even though he had an attachment to earnings order. I asked what would happen if he didn't pay and I was told the CSA could still recover money that wasn't paid. I was never informed I could not recover payments he never made.
The CSA are adamant they cannot recover these arrears because it was maintenance direct!!!!

I have been mislead and misinformed by the CSA. What can I do?

1. Make a formal complaint to the CSA. Your complaint will be dealt with by another team who should be more responsive.

1. Write to your MP and ask them to make representations on your behalf to the CSA. Try to keep the letter to the MP as concise as possible, they probably get hundreds of these a year.

Thank you.

The decision for not collecting the arrears because they class it as 'Maintenance Direct' is after I made a formal complaint.
This will be the 3rd time I have written to my MP about the CSA - not about this point though.

Thanks again.

Regardless if he was paying MD or direct to them, they should investigate if he didn't actually pay his obligations.

Ok - Ill ask them about that. Thanks. Do you know what they say about 'Maintenance Direct' is correct - its not collectable?

Of course it is. All money is collectible once you start a claim/case and while that case is open. What they should have told him when he changed jobs was to pay them. However I suspect they were trying to avoid onboarding another payment schedule via them while they transition to the new system.

Thats utter crap. DP paid his ex 'maintenance direct' into the account of her choice (in DSD's name). several years later she went to csa stating he'd not been paying. All the money he had paid has been disregarded and is now 'arrears' because the account wasn't in exws name and he was just contributing to hos DDs savings account! ! thoroughly screwed over!!

A savings account the ex had access control over?

Did you take it to a tribunal, etc?