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Hi,
I paid maintenance via a DEO with the CSA for 6 years which was £468 a month, £120 of this was to cover arrears which built up whilst I stupidly paid her cash amounts and she claimed child benefits without my knowledge, lesson learnt there!
Once the arrears were cleared my DEO reduced, and I continued to pay this way until I was made redundant. For a year I made no payments as I had no income myself, my new wife supported us both financially whilst I retrained.
As soon as I got a new job I started paying the CSA again, no lapse at all. When the CSA was closing they sent a letter saying the £3500 arrears i owe will transfer to my cms account. I called several times to ask how I owe arrears but the CSA couldn’t tell me
The CMS aren’t being helpful, they tell me I must provide proof the arrears were cleared, I thought the reduction in DEO would prove this but apparently not? I did not receive any letters for over 4 years from the CSA
Now I’ve taken a reduction in hours, and increased my pension slightly. I’m getting older and can’t do the 48 hr weeks now, so my income has decreased by over 25%. I wrote to CMS and sent 2 payslips recorded delivery 3 months ago, they claim not to have received it:
I then used the online portal 6 weeks ago to upload my payslips and covering letter. The CMS acknowledged they received this time but I cannot continue to pay the £420 a month I was paying before when I’m now on a reduced wage.? The CMS tell me I must keep paying this until they send my new assessment to me, or my case will revert to DEO and I’ll have to pay the 20% fee.
My next payment is due in a week, I simply can not afford to pay what they’re asking, my wife has worked overtime the last 3 months to support us whilst the higher payments have been paid but I can’t expect her to keep doing this. Any advice on this matter would be gratefully received.
Hi
The problem is that anything you do isn't going to be quick, certainly not in time for your next pay. I would check with them that the calculation will be backdated to when you uploaded the payslips, so that at least it will be correct overall over the year. Otherwise, you could raise a complaint, but that's also a slow process I'm afraid.
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