The CSA: Rachel Baul Answers More of Your Questions
Guest Blogger and Solicitor Rachel Baul joined Stowe Family Law in 2004, and is a member of the Law Society’s Family Law Panel. She specialises in all areas of family law and ancillary relief, and has been commended by a number of the firm’s high profile clients.
Rachel Baul
My previous posts about the Child Support Agency and its replacement, C-MEC, drew a number of pointed comments and questions from readers. Thank you to everyone who got in touch.
I would like to emphasise that every case is different and my responses are not intended as substitutes for tailored legal advice. If there are question marks over your case, you should consult a solicitor. However, I very much hope that my answers may be of benefit to questioners and others.
Question: I have recently received the assessment from the CSA. My son’s father has to pay £5 a week – he has lied about his income, and is self employed. He is actually a very successful TV producer who earns at least £50k a year. What can I do to question this? It’s a disgrace and unjust. It reflects a serious loophole in the system and I want to fight it all the way – not just for my son but for other children and their mums. Any advice would be gratefully received.
Rachel says: If you can demonstrate his income, either through paperwork such as proof of contracts or by his standard of living (this may require a private investigator), you can apply to a CSA team that specialises in working out payment calculations for those whose incomes are not easy to ascertain. Unfortunately, when a person’s income is largely cash or fluctuates heavily, it is always difficult to prove that the actual income is greater than the amount disclosed by that person.
I seem to be having a lot of trouble with the CSA the moment. I had my first call from them on September the 20th. They asked me if I would like to complete the application there and then, or have the forms posted out. I explained I was at work so I would like them posted out to me. When my ex partner left the family home months prior to this conversation, she had her mail redirected to her new home. Unfortunately, a lot of my mail was redirected too so I never got the forms.
I had another call from the CSA on the 13th October. I agreed to complete the application on the phone and was informed that payments would be effective from the 13th October. I was advised by the case worker to put some money aside to cover the next two weekly payments of October. I received several letters confirming that the effective date is the 13th but whilst on the telephone with them today, they said it was their mistake and the effective date is 20th September. They have informed me that they will take 40% of my monthly salary until I catch up.
Rachel says: Whenever an assessment is made, it is backdated to the date of the application. Therefore the non-resident parent may end up paying considerably more than 25 per cent of their net salary.
Payment of arrears is compulsory, but there is one course of action available to you. You can ring the CSA and apply to pay the arrears over a longer period of time. Note that this has to be agreed with them direct. Usually, they seek to recoup arrears within 12 months. However, if the arrears stretch across a period of time that is in excess of 12 months, you may wish to arrange to repay over 2 years or more. See below for more details.
I have recently been contacted by the CSA and asked to pay for my two children. I had been offering my partner 20% of my net salary for weeks but she continued to refuse it because she was convinced that she would get 20% of my gross salary. The CSA have now told me how much I have to pay and they are refusing to take my student loan into consideration. I believe this is unfair because I incurred this debt whilst I was with my partner and after my children were born. Before I graduated, I was unemployed and was earning nothing. Had I not taken the student loan, I would not be in a position to pay the amount that I am able to at the current time.
The family home was signed over to me recently and I will struggle to make the payments and pay – what is in effect – more than 20% of my salary. The response from the CSA was “Tell the student loan body that you can no longer pay them”. My student loan is taken directly from my salary.
Could you please tell me if my student loan should be considered?
Rachel says: I’m afraid that your student loan is not considered when calculating CSA payments. However, you may be eligible for a variation of maintenance (as described above).
Eligibility is centred upon factors that you believe should be taken into account. These can include student loans and/or other deductions at source, or if you are self employed and have lost a contract or source of income since the last tax year.
You can apply for a variation of the maintenance through the CSA by applying with evidence of the factors that you would like to be taken into consideration. Since October 2008 you have been able to enter into a private agreement and opt out of the CSA. The CSA is becoming more flexible – but unfortunately, this is at their discretion and they are not compelled to take these factors into consideration.
When my son was born I had no reason to question whether or not I was the father until some time later when an affair was uncovered. My (now) ex-partner never allowed me to be put on the birth certificate, nor does my son have my last name. He was told not to call me “daddy” and I have no parental rights. My ex says I will only ever get them “over her dead body”. Lastly and this may have just been out of spite when the relationship ended, but she once said to me, “How does it feel to pay for another man’s child?”
I reported this to the CSA whose response was to call my ex and ask her if I am the father. She obviously said I was and in the eyes of the CSA my claim was unfounded.
Now the CSA say I need to apply for a section 20 in court to get a DNA test carried out, but that’s all the information they will give me. Do you have any advice for people in my situation who have signed the form saying they where the father but later have had doubts and would like to clarify the situation?
Rachel says: One particularly tragic circumstance, which has cropped up on the comments section more than once, is when a father accepts the CSA calculation and begins paying out, only to discover at a later date that he may not be the biological father of a child.
When first contacted by the CSA, a non-resident father is offered the opportunity to take a paternity test. The non-resident parent pays for the test and if he is shown not to be the father, he is reimbursed. If the test is refused and a person wishes to contest at a later date, there will be no such reimbursement. When a paternity test is taken at a later date, the parent must apply through the magistrates’ courts for a declaration of non-parentage and to obtain a paternity test from a specialist firm. We are able to assist with this somewhat complex procedure and liaise with the CSA to ensure that matters are resolved.
It is important to note that the CSA does not refund child maintenance that has already been paid prior to contesting parentage.
Also, even if a person is not the biological parent of a child, they are able to apply for contact with the child on the basis that they have been a de facto parent. We can assist a step-parent or equivalent in applying for contact with the children of their ex-spouse or ex-partner.
Will I receive more maintenance if my child is disabled?
Rachel says: No. The CSA uses a flat rate calculator and does not factor in special educational or care needs. We have been asked if, in such circumstances, the court can order a top-up of maintenance. Unfortunately, this is not a case unless the non-resident parent has a net income in excess of £2,000 per week.
However, the resident parent can make an application through the courts in respect of provision of accommodation, capital and school fees where appropriate.
Your site contains a wealth of detailed information, especially your reference to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) and I would be grateful to receive clarification of reported implementation dates for revised legislation detailed hereunder:
• CMEC will operate on the percentage based scheme as seen in CS2 rules but income of the NRP will be taken from the latest available tax information.
• Child maintenance will be calculated on the gross income of the NRP.
• Percentage rates will be set at 12% for one child 16% for two children and 19% for three or more children.
• Increase the capping of income from £2000 pw to £3000 pw
• One year fixed term payment schedules will be imposed, with variations to maintenance payable allowed only if a minimum 25% change of income is reported.
Rachel says: There has been a great deal of interest in what the CSA will charge going forward. Unfortunately, at the time of writing we are still awaiting confirmation from CMEC or the CSA as to what percentage of income will be used to calculate maintenance in the future. We will keep you posted…
Finally, a note on appeals:
I have been charged arrears and the CSA cannot provide a breakdown of these arrears. What can I do? I’m still having to pay, although I know for a fact I do not owe them. This is on top of what I already pay – in total, £320 out of £1000 a month
Rachel says: An appeal must be made within 1 month of the CSA’s decision, if it is received outside of the time limit then the appeal may be disregarded. The CSA produce a leaflet detailing how to appeal and this includes an appeal application form. However, when considering an appeal consider whether you are appealing the calculation or the timeframe over which this has to be paid. A risk of appeal is that the calculation may go up as well as down.
Upon receiving a valid appeal the CSA will contact you to try and resolve matters, if it is not resolved a submission is made by the CSA to the appeals tribunal. This includes all of the information that the CSA used to make their decision and all documents and information provided with the appeal application. This can be a long process and you are required to pay the assessed rate of child maintenance throughout.
Note: This blog receives lots of queries related to the Child Support Agency (CSA). Unfortunately, because of the complex and labyrinthine nature of CSA processes and rules, such questions often call for lengthy and long-winded answers. For this reason, it is difficult to answer such queries on an individual basis.
If you are seeking advice about a situation that involves the CSA, perhaps these earlier posts will help. If your CSA-related query is of a pressing nature, I recommend that you contact the National Association for Child Support Action: a hardworking organisation that can provide ongoing assistance, advice and support.
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23 Comments
pliskin on January 27, 2009 at 4:42 pm
single parent of two girls now 18 and 21 still in education.In the six years l have been the single parent l have never received one penny from the mother nor has she offered as like to keep my distance so girls have stable upbringing (and its worked so far).Is the mother still responsible for maintenance or best let sleeping dogs lie.
Question on February 2, 2009 at 6:20 pm
My husband has an ex-wife. He still has 11% of the former house where she lives with their 3 children (18, 16 and 12). During the divorce she re-mortgaged the house, using an institution that she choose.
Now, 2 years later, she wants to re-mortgage the house again alleging that the new deal will give her best interest. It’s fine. Nothing wrong with this. However, he has to sign a deed of postponement and the new lender sent a letter to him saying that he needs to seek independent legal advice.
He emailed her saying he couldn’t afford, but would collaborate providind that she pays for it.
Thanks in advance!
It’s needless to say that she went mad. Saturday we’ve received a letter from her solicitor saying that if he doens’t sign the document she will take him to the Court, ask the judge to sign on his behalf and ask him to pay all the expenses.
Does it make sense?
Craig on July 13, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I have been unable to pay my full CSA as im unemployed and am now claiming JSA and Housing benefit it is going to tribunial and I have no issue of paying when im hopefully soon back in work but this morning have recieved a request asking for all my bank statements from past year…Ive been unable to pay since Dec 08 as my ex wouldnt agree to me temp lowing the sum from 260 to 100 till I was back on my feet,Do I have a right to appeal against the info being requested why do I have to present this when I was working and paying full amount on time…Im happy to show proof from December to present day
thanks
Tony on July 31, 2009 at 11:53 pm
I appreciate that this is archived content but I was hoping you could clarify an important point in relation to arrears and assessments. I have today a number of communications from the CSA (today being 31 July) under single cover, recorded delivery. One letter demanding payment of arrears. Said letter is dated 28 August (being 1 month hence) and further states that I must reply by 9 September. From what I have read elsewhere I believe that I should actually be responding by 9 August. My question therefore is, what is the legal situation here? That is, if all the dates on these communications from the CSA are wrong – as they appear to be – (the letter date is most certainly wrong as we are still in July) due to a simple error on their part, where does an individual stand if they reply by the date stated and the stated date is in fact incorrect and a month beyond the actual timeframe?
I hope this makes sense!
Mant thanks.
Robert Moor on October 11, 2009 at 5:20 pm
If the CSA illegally obtain documents (my self certified tax return) can they still use the information against me?
danielle graham on November 8, 2009 at 7:53 pm
my mum and dad are seperated and my mum has custody of me and my dad pays csa money and my mum is an alcolholic and the money that my dad gives her she spents it on drink and nerver me
is it possible to get the csa money into my bank card so my mum cant spend it on drink ? please give me advice as im awful depressed at the moment im 14 years old
sarah on December 1, 2009 at 2:08 pm
my partnet has been paying back money for the past year at 40%of his wages. we have recently got back together i have no other income only his wages are coming into the house to pay everything and feed 2 children and ourselves, we get £240 a week to live on and pay everything as the csa take the rest i can hardly afford my morgage never mond anything else. i have rang t see if payments can be reduced in any way csa say no they have to take the 40% is this right how am i supposed to live please give me advise?
Remortgage on December 18, 2009 at 4:55 pm
liked the post and keep up the good work…
Janice on June 19, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Hi,
I wanted to know what the ruling is for claiming CSA support if the absent parent lives in Australia.Basically my ex husband left when my son was five and he is fourteen now.At the time CSA there is now way I can claim support if he has emigrated.It was just today that I was looking at extra benefits for lone parents.I work but am finding it really hard as my son need extra tuition to keep up with school.So I am writing to you today if there is a reciprocal agreement with the Australian CSA to claim maintenance and if there is any way I can claim backdated payments.The CSA were extremely unhelpful when my I first filed my case as they lost my file and lost all my records,luckily I had everything on file and to get a solicitor to fight my case.The CSA paid this for the two years by which time my husband fled the country.So he only paid for about a year.Furthermore,the CSA gave me misinformation and I am horrified to now learn that I could have claimed for this maintenance even though my ex emigrated to evade paying this.
Please could you help.Thx alot
Rachel Baul on June 22, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Hi Janice – thanks for your question. Australia has a reciprocal enforcement agreement with England and Wales: the Australian CSA calculates the amount due using its own formula, which usually works out at slightly less than in the UK. Of course, the amount calculated is also dependant on exchange rates. They Australian CSA will enforce the claim following their assessment.
Visit their website for contact details: http://www.csa.gov.au/.
I hope this helps.
sharon on September 30, 2010 at 11:55 am
I am having trouble with the CSA and being fobbed of quite honestly. 8 years i have been battling with them trying to get maintenance for my daughter. My ex seems to have pulled out all the stops and tried to get out of paying. Even providing false adoption certif to say she had been adopted even with this nothing happened to him about it. I have complained to my local MP again as i just don’t know where to turn and who to complain too about it.
Help!
David Elliott on December 24, 2010 at 9:41 am
Good morning.
I am still paying child maintenance for a child that is not mine and which I have contested from day one (20years ago).
I apply for DNA testing but the mother and child failed to provide a sample and my case was closed. However the CSA are still making me pay an outstanding ammount until I can Provide a declaration of non parentage.
I asked my local family court for help with this application that very few people seem to know about.
I was sent a very vague form to fill out which has no guidance notes.
Please can you give me any information which can aide me in obtaining my declaration of non parentage.
My local MP David Milliband has helped thus far in having the payments suspended until I can provide a declaration of non parentage.
I am unable to afford a solicitor for help and I am a genuine case.
Thank you for your response in advance.
Yours Sincerely
David Elliott
Marilyn Stowe on December 25, 2010 at 10:23 am
Morning David
If you really do have to go the trouble of an application to the court for a declaration of parentage, you should be eligible for legal aid if you satisfy the financial criteria?
Marilyn
jeff ford on January 17, 2011 at 11:18 pm
hi rachel
my partner is being forced to pay csa money to her ex husband still married, but seprated for a year, they have a boy 11 and a girl who he is not the biological father to but was led to believe his for 14 years of her 15. The csa are asking for money from her, but she does not get a thing from him, doesnt seem fair, is there not anything she can do his earnings are massive compared to hers, seems the system sucks!
regards jeff
JamesB on March 31, 2011 at 3:30 pm
Hello, wonder if you can help please? 2 queries.
Firstly, I pay maintenance by attachment to earnings order by County Court enforcement of an ancillary relief child maintenance order. The problem is that this is now over the rate of which my ex wife should receive. This is because I have since had another child and I am not earning more money now then I was when we divorced. Thus, I would like to go to the CSA and have the form completed and ready to go.
Thing is, once I send it, until they presumeably dispose of the court order for me to pay through the CSA, I will be effectively paying twice won’t I? How can I stop this from happening please? What is the process? I have read that CSA maintenance is due from the date of the application and don’t want to pay child maintenance twice for the same period.
Secondly, on the form they ask for full details of my employer. Will they write straight away to my employer? I was under the impression that they wanted salary slips from me, but they have not asked for them. Should I miss off my employers name to get them to write to me and ask me for payslips (as I’d rather not involve my employer for obvious reasons – I don’t want to be seen as a troublemaker)? Or will they write to me first and not the employer. If that is the case, why do they ask for the details?
Would appreciate your help on this please as want to do this properly without causing too much trouble at work or being charged twice. Many thanks in advance. James.
Marilyn Stowe on April 4, 2011 at 5:03 pm
James
Rachel has written you a reply which I think is a post in itself. It will be going up this week.
Regards
Marilyn
Jane on June 15, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Does the law have any teeth?
My consent order was finally signed last September nearly a year after the first financial hearing. He dragged it on and on, stalling for time.
My earns a six figure salary, after a long battle he was was ordered to pay spousal maintenance £1850 and csa £1200 on top. This was because all equity in the house had ” disappeared” and there were no assets to divide.
He refused to pay spousal. In January of this year magistrates placed an Attachment to earnings on him……
Finally, I would have anough money to meet the considerable mortgage on the family home ( now in negative equity) pay all bills and have a little bit of money to save and put towards kids clubs etc……..No way, He immediately cancelled CSA payments…..
By March the CSA put on a DEO…..The FTSE 150 company he works for contacted the CSA and told them by law they could not pay out the CSA payments because the poor ex would be left with less than 60 % of his earnings, which the CSA were not allowed to do.( Who cares about the consent order) Apparently the HMCS atttachment order takes precedence.over the DEO…..The ex has wriggled out of CSA payments…. all completely legal!
Tell me …… why spend thousands going to court ( legal aid in my case because the ex paid nothing for months) to get a consent order that is unenforceable? I am a mother of two children struggling to pay my mortgage. I put my career on hold whilst his flourished. I will never catch up the time.
We really are a throw away society now, when a man earning so much can just refuse to pay for his children. Our legal system is woefully inadequate. No one should be in my situation and the law just shrugs it’s shoulders and says…..there’s nothing we can do.
I am lucky I have a strong Father behind me and I will never be left homeless because I cannot pay my mortgage, but there are many women who do not have the protection I have. They give up fighting exhausted and often bitter.
It isn’t just the spouses who stand accused of derliction of care in these cases.. it is also the law…. why can vulnerable people be left in this unprotected situation? Legal aid? I will have a bill of £5,500 to repay one day. Legal Aid was to help secure my family’s future! It has failed! The rich company director sits on the lion’s share of his salary, the law shrugs, it has no power to enforce the consent order that the County Court deliberated on. The solicitor says there is nothing she can do.
Is that it? Am I meant to slope away beaten by loopholes? Say, thank you for your bill but I am still stuffed.
Forgive me for feeling bitter but I feel incredibly let down by the law and am left wondering when The Minister for Justice will get a grip of this ludicrous system.
Someone has got to start to care and do something. Maybe it can be your firm that takes up this cause. I believe you have the clout and the audience to do so. I hope you do because there are many broken women ( and some men) who have been severly let down.
Kind regards
Jane
Name witheld on September 24, 2011 at 3:03 pm
hi i have a case with the csa where i am having to pay arrears for a period of time that i had no idea a case was open had no idea that i had a child and know knoledge that i had to pay any amout of money to them. i have spoken to them and told them that the first time i knew about the case was when i was issued with a warren to appear in court which i want to and was told to pay £600 or i would go to prison (told by csa not court) so i did pay then they have made me pay till today. i have asked them to prove the child is mine as i had no idea if the child was mine or not as she was a one night stand but they told me that its is up to me to sort out as at the begining they sent a letter to me. i did not recieve this as it was sent to an old address that i only was at for 3 months and was not there when the letter was sent. i am living with my partener and have been for 7 years have brought up her 3 kids for this time and there dad dont pay anything towards them and now have 2 kids with her which they have said that they had no idea that i had kids indoors but i gave them this information now i have to get a declaration of non parentage and a dna test which i have to pay for but as i didn`t recieve any letters so how do i contest all this as i had no idea of any of this and now have all this to pay including £4200 in arrears for a period of time i had no idea of a case and child mantance for a child i don`t even know that is mine and have payed for 3 kids that are not mine with no help for there dad and have told them his address and his second address when he moved.
Graham on September 25, 2011 at 12:30 am
Spousal maintenance of £1850 per month and you are stilling complaining, blimey.
Graham on September 25, 2011 at 12:32 am
Plus arrears accruing nicely on the CM. I think you need to get a grip. You have proved the point though about cm and sm never being enough.
Bart on January 9, 2012 at 11:56 am
My Brother-in-Law has been paying his payments regualry in line witrh his original calcuation. Recently his ex has applied for a variation based upon a miscalculation by the CSA. The CSA have admitted it was a mistake on their behalf. She is asking the calculation to be adjusted and backdated several years. Can the CSA demend these arrears from the NRP going back several years if it was their mistake?
Thanks
carl on January 29, 2012 at 9:53 am
i am not a happy person,i opened my wageslip last week to find i had been stopped £200 csa,i have had no letters,no phone calls informing me this was going to happen i have never seen these kids and didnt know i even had any children. can the csa do this to me please help. many thanks