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I left my ex in October 2013 and gave her £4,000 child maintenance for the next year in advance even though I didn't have a job at the time. In the tax year 2013-2014 I earned £11,000 due to being several months out of work and I have the P60 to prove it. When the maintenance was due again in November I started using the online calculator and paying her what it told me. Then last month she decided to take out a case against me probably to cause as much trouble as possible. Anyway, I filled in all the forms, told them about a small pension I am drawing and sent them my payslips for the last two months. Today I got a letter based on my earnings 2012-2013 - the year I got made redundant and earned £46,000. I earn half that amount now, what the [censored] is going on? I called them but they couldn't transfer me to a case officer. What do I need to do? I can't afford what they say I owe, I have been paying £233 per month and they have awarded double.
You definitely need to keep ringing them until you get to speak to a case officer to find out why they are basing it on a figure that you don't earn, when you have provided evidence of what you do get. It might be worth getting your MP involved as early as possible and raising a complaint as it can take a while for an MP to get around to doing this.