Step families
- Step families
giving up work when paying CSA
9/7/08 10:50
3/7/08 21:05
Tell me about it, this is totally disgusting. They shouldn't be allowed to leave families in this prediciment. Jo x
3/7/08 09:32
That was the other thing i forgot to mention as well . . . .in our letter that we got it says that we only have to be left with £511 wage per month . . . . My rent is £425 . . . . how can any1 (let alone a family of 4!) live on the rest?!!!!
28/6/08 11:41
Hi Mandi,
It drives me mad too, such a sore point. I started a thread about this on debates and had loads of replies about it. Mostly in agreement that this is wrong. Take a look. I'm thinking of starting a petition on this subject and I will be writing to the local mp to see if something can be done. Apparently the gov know that it's wrong and will stop taking the tax credit in calucations for the CSA but this won't happen until 2013. We're stuggling now!!! x Sorry to go on. x
28/6/08 10:34
jO KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN ABOUT TAKING % OF TAX CREDITS AS I GET TAX CREDITS FOR MY CHILDREN YET A PERCENTAGE IS TAKEN OUT OF THIS FOR HIS OTHER CHILDREN SO YOUR TAKING FROM ONE CHILD TO GIVE TO ANOTHER FAIR ENOUGH TAKE HUBBYS WAGE AND THATS IT BUT TAX CREDITS ARE THERE TO HELP YOU AND YOUR FAMILY LIVE NOT FOR ANOTHER AGENCY (CSA) TO TAKE OFF OOOOOHH RAGING NOW CSA IS A GUARANTEED BLOOD BOILER FOR ME!!!
26/6/08 21:12
Katie,
Same here hun, it drives me insane sometimes. I have to try and not get sooooo worked up about it. It's not the children's fault, it's the Gov and the CSA. They rob you blind, well the nrp's they can actually get hold of.
If your DP is on old system, when they work out his paymens they take into account your wages aswell as his, but also give you protected bills such as mortgage, council tax ect. The new system takes % of his income and like I said before same % of tax credits. That's if dp is main earner. Jo x
26/6/08 14:38
Hi jowooster!,
I honestly don't know what system dp is on - but that is scandelous (sp?!) if they are taking into account our tax credits! We wouldn't be entitled to anything if we didn't have children - and we need that money to pay for the children we have together - never mind having to pay for dp's son when he is here including christmas presents and if we take him on holiday with us! It's awful to admit but sometimes I really do feel quite bitter about the whole thing - there is no doubt that dp's son is throughly spoilt and I can't even afford clothes for my two, never mind food some days!! It's so hard.... x x
25/6/08 23:23
Hi katie,
This whole thing makes me mad too. Are you on the new system of the CSA? If you are and if your DP is the main earner on your Tax credit forms, did you know that they include your tax credit payments in the working out for RP's maintenence. This I find discusting and morally wrong. There's 1 thing taking % of his earnings for maintenence but another taking % of tax credits as well. Unbelivable. x
25/6/08 21:35
The whole CSA system makes me sooo mad!! Sorry this probably isn't going to help the original poster but I can feel a rant coming on lol - My partner has a son with his ex and has paid towards his care from the day they split up! I totally agree that dp should pay for his son but as another poster has said why should it be to the detriment of our family?! Dp left his old job a year ago and as he was voluntarily paying through wage arrestment this obviously had to be transferred to his new employer...it took the CSA months to get it set up and ended up dp was in arrears and for the past four months they have taken almost half dp's wage to the extent that they now owe us money! Not that that has been any help to us - basically they took our rent (which is now in arrears!) meanwhile dp's ex bought herself a Wii, a holiday to Florida etc etc - it makes me soooo mad!! How can the CSA justify doing this - my children (we have 2 together) are suffering and it's not their fault! Not that I am saying that it's dp's son's fault but I don't see why the CSA had to take such high amounts - could they not have spread it out more evenly??!! - well it's over now and things will hopefully get better (we have managed to pay rent this month yippee!!)
I would say the CSA have no right to your earnings and if your earning £25K then it's unlikely your dp will be able to get any benefits...if you can I would maybe set up a savings account for the youngest child until he/she leaves school - say a fiver a week and give it to him/her once they are 18 - don't know what else to suggest but I know in the future dp is hoping to return to education once I finish uni and am earning so I will probably be in a similar situation to you! Good Luck x
17/6/08 12:38
Hi,
I think the CSA takes off about 15% for my three children, I now have four but am too scared to rock the boat, so didn't tell them about Grace. I get a little more tax credit now, so what they reduce for her, it will go up as income higher. CSA are totally rubbish.
In my opinion, CSA seem to be on targets or something. As so many people don't pay and manage to avoid by whatever means. CSA then have to meet thier targets by taking more from the ones they can get hold off.
17/6/08 10:28
Hiya!
Me and my DH are going through the CSA at the mo. . .
I have a son whos Dad doesnt work and has never contributed - the CSA wrote me a letter saying that because he isnt working and because he has him more than 52 nights a year (1 night at weekend) he doesnt have to pay. If he didnt have him overnight I'd be entitled to £5 per week. (The dont realise hes claiming incapacity and having his gf living with him who works!)
My DH has 4 kids who live 4 hours away. We got a letter from CSA saying we have to pay £201 per month straight from his wage - my wage isnt taken into consideration. They said once my baby was born, we had to ring them and give them his Cbenefit number and they would reduce this amount. We also are working to reduce it further as there is a form you can fill in about the costs involved in visiting the kids. We dont get to see them often because of the distance and all this can be taken into account. Aswell as the rising cost of fuel (£80 to fill the tank and then some!) plus any accomodation costs . . . it all adds up!
In my opinion, the CSA are a total waste of time and its no wonder ppl give up work - we're just waiting to see now how much our payments will be reduced by . . . .
x
16/6/08 14:19
On the new system the CSA only asks for details on HIS wages and the tax credit paid to our family, and my wages are NOT taken into account at all. The old system did take my wages into account.
Therefore I'm sure that in these circumstances ie the NEW system, she wouldn't be entitled to any of my income. However I'm sure that she may get percentage of tax credit?not sure on that one.
16/6/08 12:47
it definatly depends on if your on the new or old system.
i beleive that your wages would count on the old system but they definatly do not count on the new one x
16/6/08 00:33
Depends what you've all ready told them about your circumstances. The worst thing you can do as a partner to someone who pays csa is declare what you earn. The best thing for you to say is I earn enough to contribute to the bills. If they know what you earn they do take your wages in to consideration even though they say they don't. Basically they put both wages together deduct bills and then take a percentage out of what is left from both wages. If they don't know what you earn all they can do is split bills and take a percentage from what is left for the person who has to pay csa payments. Had a nightmare self for 10 years, even had to get MP involved in our case.
Hubby gave up his job and went self employed as his ex very greedy, got £30 grand off house, moved 200 mile away with kids and what we paid was never enough. So she ended up with £5 per week. But kids never did without, still had clothes, days out, fed when stayed, presents off us etc.
Kids have to stay over night 2 or more nights per week for you to be entitled to a reduction on old scheme. Even though you feed, clothe and use elec etc during the day which costs you more. They use nothing at night. Plus ex was wise never let them stay.
Not sure how new system works though. Good luck
7/6/08 09:36
Forgot to say that this would only work if you are on the new system of the csa, where they take a percentage of partners income. Hope that makes sense.
7/6/08 09:34
Hi, not sure if you are still around but wanted to reply to say that we are going to do the same. DH gets made redundant this year and we are going to change our roles so that DH will stay at home. We just can't afford to live due to CSA payments.
We pay for DH 2 children aged 15 and 16(and have always paid). Love them to bits and have known them since they were 3 and 4 but things have been really difficult since having my own children. a 6yr old boy, twin boys aged 4 and by accident and a 1yr old girl. it's been especially hard since we were changed to the new system of csa where he pays 20 % of his earnings and 20 % our tax credit, which is discusting, 3 years ago. Instead of the old system where mortgage payments and main bills were taken into account. This was a much fairer situation for us.
We barely have enough to live on and his ex is now doing very well for herself, although I do agree that absent fathers should pay for their children, I don't think it should be to the detriment of the new family. We stuggle to buy things like shoes, holidays ect and they have lovely new things all the time and have a couple of hols a year. I know it's not the kids fault but CSA have cause a lot of hardship and bitterness in our family and its just not fair.
My chidren have to come first now. I have put up with this situation for so long now. Changing roles is our only option and play the system just like she has been doing for many years.
29/5/08 20:30
The easy answer is for your DH to go into her school and ask if she has been attending as she should. He understands she is in her last year of school studying for her A levels but he has seen her in town during school time and wants to check her attendance record.
If she is not in that school they will tell him, they maybe willing to write a letter to that end too depending or furnish the CSA with the info.
I'm not sure him not working will help as it depends if there is just a CSA assesment or also a court order from the marrige break up stating the amount he has to pay her.
I'd say you'd be £700 per month better off on fees to start with but you'd have to earn less to get any thing good from tax credits unless you have a lot of children.
Emma
29/5/08 19:57
hi there, they cant touch your wages, but i do think that if you oh gets benefits they may well take the fiver a week off him... as for telling the csa the kids are not in school you will have to have proof, and from my experience you need to present that proof yourself...
my husband and i, had been paying csa for years for his 15 year old son, and no discount when our dd1 was born, they continued to take a percentage of my hubbys wages andi was not working, yet still we got acused of not providing for him, but she was still recieving money for him when i had him for the six weeks every summer holidays, andany other tme he was off school, because she was working!! etc... and then my step son decided to move in with us so the tables were turned, only she has told the csa she only earns 100 a week... liar... she runs a financial company from home wih her new husband, but because she has put the company in his name she gets away with it, they rent out 2 flats also, but dont know how the money dosnt show up for that either... and we have been told to get the proof ourselves, how we supposed to do that, its not like shes going to discuss her finances with us, is she? so she pays a fiver a week..
she even tried to claim for shared care because stepson stays with her at weekends, hahaha, what about when i looked after him, never saw any money then, not even spending money for hols, but would raise the roof telling people we didnt if they were going away!!
then... the day afer my dd2 was born she started an investigation with the child benefit office into how often he stayed with her... she is such a vicious, bitter person, and she was the one who ruined the marriage, she was sleepin around!
sorry this advice has turned into me ranting, im sooo sorry...
anyway, i think that if she is trying to do one over on you then get hubby to quit, if you can afford it, i know it looks unfair on the kids but you could give them pocket money etc...
obviously my attack is not to all those ex wives, just the nasty one i have to deal with...
hth... xxx
28/5/08 11:44
hi, i dont know if im right but when i was trying to calculate the maintanence that my DP would have to pay it said none, if i had a kid he wouldnt have to pay for his others.
28/5/08 10:15
hhmm in not sure on this one...i know sumone who did the same thing...and the csa took from her....but they were married...so mebbe thats the reason why.
just a thought but when my eldest went into higher education (college) we had to tell them what college she was at...what course she was doing. and they do check up on this before they start paying out. when i rang to let them know my daughter had finished her course and to stop paying me her child benefit i had to give her details again...and they checked with the college for her leaving date...as they still pay you for 6 weeks after they leave.
id give them a ring and tell them your fears about the kid not being in college..and working.
its still benefit fraud eh.
it wud be a shame to deny the others thier csa money.....i dont want to sound a cow but your partner has an obligation to help in thier upbringing. im on the other side of the fence...im the mom with the ex husband who pays the maintenance....we didnt go through csa..we work it out between us as we are lucky enough to have a good relationship. but there was a time when he wasnt so understanding..and he refused to pay any towards thier keep..he quit work so he didnt have to pay. and it just left the children feeling abandoned...and it took them a very long time to forgive him that.
bec x
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Its ridiculous - the prob wi CSA is they chase the ppl who have commitments and could really use their money!! And they dont bother with the ones who dont want to bother with their kids - specifically my oldest sons Dad. Hes taking me to court for a contact order but yet I've never had 1p towards him - school uniforms and dinners arent cheap!!