[Solved] My daughter left college

Hi Riddick,

It never ceases to amaze me how far people will go for quite small amounts of money. Your ex-wife is committing fraud for the sake of a hew hundred pounds. I'm wondering whether it would be worth writing to your ex-wife (or getting a solicitor to do it) saying that you have reported her to DWP and that fraud is a criminal offence.

The CSA's rules just state that you have to pay CM whilst your daughter is in full time education, they just tend to use the CB thing because they cannot check themselves, so in effect they get DWP to do it for them. You would be within your rights to stop paying as long as you are sure your daughter is no longer at college.

If it was me I know I'd just stop the DD, get into lots of trouble with CSA and insist on them taking me to court, but that is just my adversarial way and I'm certainly not advising you to do that! It is now 15 months since you reported this issue, write to the CSA case officer with a copy to the Chief Executive with those facts, the agency has taken far to long to sort this out and demand that it does within a reasonable time (say a month) or you believe you would be within your rights to withhold further payment. See what happens (before you cancel the DD).

Good fortune,

O

If you have exhausted all lines of complaints procedures, you can contact your local MP and ask for assistance with referral to the relevant ombudsman to pursue this.

Hi thanks for the advice but one correction on it . I put the year wrong when my daughter left college it was August 2015 not 2014 and I reported it October 2015 .I will seek my local mp and other sources . But I did get told by a friend if I'm still stuck and it comes to the end of my over payments this year (June ) my daughters 18th birthday i can take my ex partner to court to claim all that I've overpaid ?
Is that true ?

Thanks

I see, so this case has been going on for 3 months, not 15 months as it first appeared. Three months is still too long, but you have to be able to prove you have done everything reasonable to sort it out first. Write to the CSA desk officer (copy to the chief executive, and if it makes you feel good your MP, but it is not really at that level yet), explain the facts and require an an answer within a reasonable time (2 weeks would be reasonable, a month would be generous). CSA don't like getting mail because they are a debt collection agency and it is just another overhead to respond. I think it would be reasonable at this stage to give notice that you intend to cease payments on a particular date, this should chivvy CSA along a bit (it will probably respond by telephone, so politely say that you would like a written reply in your letter, it would be better to get the response in writing).

If you do end up over-paying, then your legal case would be against CSA (via the small claims process of the County Court), not against your ex-wife of course. If she has been guilty of fraud that is a criminal matter for DWP and the police to resolve.

It would be better not to delay any further with this issue, otherwise you will end up over-paying and it will be a real problem to recover the money.

Good fortune,

O

Hi thanks for this I called the Csa today and the lady who was handling my case was off so I spoke to some one else and that checked my case and I explained that the lady had sent 3 request including one from yesterday to the child Benifit agency since October for a update . And he told me he only found one that was sent in November ! So I complained .
And I've just finished my email now but having trouble finding the email addresses for the Csa front desk and the chief ?
I tried two but they came back as not known on postmaster
dudley.nichl@cmed.gsi.gov.uk
csa-chief-execs-office@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

personally, I'd mail it recorded delivery rather than use email. That way you have proof it's been received.

I will 1st thing tomorrow
Thanks again

ACTD is certainly right, send it recorded mail:

The CE's contact details seem to be:

Mr Noel Shanahan Director General, Operations

Email Noel.Shanahan8@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone 0207 449 7520
Website http://www.dwp.gov.uk
Social Media T

Postal Address DWP Operations, Po Box 50101, LONDON, SW1P 2WUM

I found this on Mumsnet (so it is probably correct, in an aggressive sort of way), it might be useful:

"Complaints
342
A client who has a complaint about any aspect of the way her/his case has been dealt with should initially write to the customer services manager either at the local Jobcentre Plus office or at the relevant Child Support Agency Centre (CSAC).
343
A complaint should be acknowledged within two working days and the client should receive a full reply to her/his complaint within ten working days. However, in practice, a complaint is likely to take much longer to be dealt with. If the client's MP makes a complaint on her/his behalf, this should, however, be treated as a priority and dealt with within 20 working days.
344
If the client is still not satisfied, s/he should contact the manager of the CSAC or the CSA area manager. S/he may also wish to complain to the CSA's Chief Executive or inform her/his MP. If the client is not satisfied with how both the CSA and the CSA's Chief Executive have dealt with the complaint, s/he can take the complaint to the Independent Case Examiner. If her/his complaint concerns maladministration by the CSA, s/he can also make a complaint, in England, Wales and Scotland, to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, or, in N. Ireland, to the Northern Ireland Ombudsman. However, if the client is complaining to the Independent Case Examiner, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and the Northern Ireland Ombudsman will not be able to take up the complaint until the Examiner has reached a decision.
Independent Case Examiner
345
A client who is not satisfied with the way in which the CSA has dealt with her/his case can make a complaint to the Independent Case Examiner. Before complaining to the Examiner, the client must have given the CSA an opportunity to settle the complaint. Before approaching the Examiner, s/he should have received a written reply to her/his complaint both from the office dealing with her/his case and from the CSA Chief Executive's office.
346
The Independent Case Examiner cannot deal with complaints relating to child support legislation, but only about the way in which the CSA has dealt with the client's case. The client may wish to complain, for example, about excessive delays, mistakes, rudeness by CSA staff or the way in which the CSA has exercised its discretion.
347
The Independent Case Examiner will not normally be able to accept a complaint more than six months after the client has received a reply from the CSA Chief Executive's office.
How to complain to the Independent Case Examiner
348
A client must make her/his complaint in writing and should provide as much information as possible, including:-
• name, address and telephone number
• date of birth
• CSA reference number (if known) and the name of the office or centre dealing with her/his case
• details of replies s/he has already received from the CSA about the complaint
• an explanation of what s/he is dissatisfied about
• what s/he wants the CSA to do to settle the complaint.
349
The contact details for the Independent Case Examiner are:-
The Independent Case Examiner
PO Box 155
Chester
CH99 9SA

Tel: 0845 606 0777 (Mon-Fri 8.00am-5.00pm)
Textphone: 0151 801 8888
Typetalk: 18002 0151 801 8800
Fax: 0151 801 8806
E-mail: ice@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Website: The Independent Case Examiner Website - Home Page
What the Independent Case Examiner will do
350
If the Independent Case Examiner decides not to accept the client's complaint, the client will be told why. If the Examiner does take up the case, s/he may attempt to settle it by agreement between the client and the CSA. If this is not possible (either because the Examiner does not consider it to be appropriate or because agreement cannot be reached), the Examiner will make a formal report to the client and the CSA on how the complaint should be settled. The report may uphold some or all of the client's complaint, or may reject the complaint and say that the CSA acted reasonably.
351
If the client's complaint is upheld, the Examiner will ask the CSA to apologise and may also recommend that the client is paid compensation if s/he has suffered financial loss because, for example, of a delay or mistake.
352
A client whose complaint has been dealt with by the Independent Case Examiner can still make a complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, although not until the Examiner has reached a decision.
Delays in handling cases by the Child Support Agency
353
The CSA has a massive backlog of cases to be dealt with and clients will almost certainly experience delays in the handling of their cases.
354
A client who is anxious to minimise any delay regarding her/his case should ensure that s/he keeps in contact with the relevant CSAC on a regular and frequent basis.
355
A client may wish to complain about the length of time her/his case is taking.
Compensation for delays
356
A client who has suffered financial loss as a result of the CSA's delay in making a maintenance calculation can claim compensation from the CSA. Until 1 April 1996, compensation was only considered where the delay was over three months. For claims received on or after 1 April 1996, the CSA will pay compensation if the delay exceeds one month, unless the CSA needed to make further enquiries before issuing a child maintenance enquiry form, in which case the delay period will be two months.
357
If the CSA has collected maintenance from the NRP but fails to pass it on to the person with care within 28 days, it will automatically pay compensation to the person with care on all payments received since 1 April 1995. The compensation is in the form of an interest payment on the amount the CSA has delayed passing on, subject to a minimum interest payment of £5. The CSA should automatically write to all parents with care affected."

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