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Hello
Me and my partner split up in 2006 and i've been paying her £30.00 a week directly in cash ever since for our one son. This was agreed with the CSA at the time.
However I've now received a letter saying that out case has changed and I have to arrange new a new agreement.
So I phoned them up and they said that they have no knowledge what so ever of a direct payment plan being set up and I owe my ex partner in excess of £12000. I can't find the original letters from the CSA because it was so long ago.
My ex partner has never made a complaint or claim to the CSA because I've never missed a payment.
However I've told the CSA this and they say I still owe them the money. I'm absolutely terrified by this as I don't have £12000. In fact due to the cost of living i'm constantly living out of my overdraft.
If anyone can help me with any advice at all I'd be extremely grateful
Regards
GavinB
Good morning GavinB,
This sounds like a system error that will be resolved, but you will need to be proactive in sorting it out.
Your ex-partner must have initiated a claim in 2006. I'm guessing you are still in regular contact and on fairly good terms with her in order to hand over £30 in cash weekly, or otherwise you have some sort of standing order arrangement for weekly payments. Either way, it should be a fairly straightforward matter to either get your partner to confirm you have paid her £30 in cash over the past 520 (or thereabouts) weeks, or show bank statements proving the payments took place. When you see her to hand over this week's £30 ask her for a letter to confirm you have had a private arrangement and that you have paid on time.
I think it would be better to confirm the above to CSA in writing, and ask for a written reply as well (send it recorded mail). CSA must have the original correspondence, so ask for a copy of that for your records when you write (and keep it in a safe place this time). A verbal contract with your ex-wife 10 years ago is legally binding (although a bit more difficult to prove if challenged, but as you say she does not disagree with the arrangement), so as long as you have indeed met your liability for the past decade that would be sufficient for a court (if CSA decided to pursue a court order against you, which would seem unlikely in the light of the above).
Best wishes,
O
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