Child maintenance letters so hard to understand

[chocolatespiders]

DD Dad hasnt paid CSA for months and arrears of £700 has built up. Got a letter for CSA this week and it reads that I may see some money this week. But no what I think it should read is never right. They have spoken to him and he may make a payment this week!!!!!!!

So fed up with this rubbish situation.

I know what you mean. I generally phone them up to get them to explain as the letters don't give all the information correctly. I signed up to the text service which texts you when they have received a payment. Good Luck xx

I have just rang them to try and understand it a bit more. She told me not to expect any money until January... I just cried

Unless he make a good will payment this week (yes the lady on the phone said he may make a good will payment- WHAT he owes £700

I really try hard not to rely on this money but need it for Christmas, its so frustrating..

Thanks for letting me vent

They are useless, we made a mistake when we changed bank accounts and got a digit wrong in the new SO, they didn't tell us and I didn't realise for 6 weeks - I was horrified when I realised we hadn't been paying.

Did it go into someone elses account?

No, it bounced back to ours, but I have 1 account that only runs DDs and SOs so I never check it.

DH rang them and we made a lump sum payment straight away, but I can't believe they didn't notify us, we made a genuine error (ex went without money for the whole time), but I can see how easy it is for people to get away with building up substantial arrears and how unfair it is on the recipient.

(we are actually paying a woman who is in £4.5k arrears to us, but thats a whole other story as it was a "voluntary" arrangement so when the one who was living with us hit post CSA age, she slapped us with a CSA claim for the youngest, who lived with her, despite not having paid up herself for 6 years or more).

Don't even get me started on the Csa!!!

OH I see now..

I have lost the will to live with it all.

I was feeling a bit calmer but every time I think about it I get so upset and angry

you dont want to know how getting an assessment to pay a woman who owes us thousands of pounds made me feel!!!! But they said, because we never enforced collection on her - her arrears were totally irrelevant and it classes as a new claim (there were 2 assessments, 1 on her 1 on DH and the net effect was her paying him iyswim).

As a point of principle though, once they made that decision, we ensure we pay on time, don't want to lower ourselves to her level.

izzy - that sounds like a nightmare good on you for keeping going