[Solved] is there another option

Hi there,

I'm not sure what the £27 per week is about, could you give me a little more information....is this the amount of maintenance you have been asked to pay? Do you pay through the CSA?

yes the £27 per week is the maintenance i have to pay through CSA

Are the CSA aware that you are the parent with care of two children?

The CSA payment covers all expenses for the child so strictly speaking any extra is at your own discretion. I understand that you want to provide for your daughter but because of your financial situation it might be better to stop paying for the extras as it seems your ex and partner can well afford to pick up the shortfall.

There is a very informative sticky at the top of the Child Maintenance section here, it's called " how does the CSA calculate payments". It links to a CSA leaflet that goes into more depth about payments and also any reductions that you may be entitled to. You can also google the CSA calculator, input your details and it will give you an estimated amount you should be paying...it might be worth checking.

Thank you Jane, i have just been looking on the CSA site and calculated the amount myself and the amount is about the same, so i think its back to the unemployment office and my ex can settle for the £5 a week they deduct from my JSA

one more question: if i decide to carry on working and pay the maintenance can i pay it direct to my daughter so my ex dont get her mits on it

Unfortunately no they won't allow that I'm afraid....I'm sorry you feel that you can't continue in your job. What if you were to talk to the mother and ask her to accept a lesser amount. If you could renegotiate the amount so that its a little more than the £5pw she would get if you were on JSA, but not the £27 the CSA want to take, do you think she might agree to that? She would have to contact the CSA and tell them that you have reached a family based agreement and want to cancel the CSA agreement though.

I have left a message for her to call me so we can discuss it, i will let you know the outcome

Thanks flour, I'm interested to know what she will say!

It gets better lol, I just worked out my money again and if i pay this £27 per week i will be working for minus £172 per month thats £172 less than what i would get if i was unemployed :huh:

So even without taking the extra CSA payment into account you would still be £64pw worse off! Oh dear that's not very motivating is it.

£64 per month but still i am working for nothing :sick:

Not good...I feel for you flour.