*sigh* csa again...

A question about : *sigh* csa again...

Hi all, hope you lovely people can answer a question please!!

bit of background, my husband ceased work in april 2010 to care for our children and was classed as 'nil assessment' due to his having no income.
May 2012 we separated, and he claimed income support for approx 3mths while we were apart. In august 2012 we got back together, and I supported us both again with my wage while he cared for our children.

In oct 2013 we received a maintenance decision from csa,stating he needs to pay Ј5 per wee from May 2012 until aug 2012, and then Ј30 a week default maintenance from aug 2012 onwards/

we were flabbergasted by this, got in touch with csa and argued our case that he had no income etc. all of this from that time is a blur due to various reasons,and the case closed in oct 2013 anyway.

Last week we received a deduction order for his bank account, to take Ј346 in arrears on the 14th (we received this on the 10th-a friday).

I have said that they did not notify him that he was due to pay maintenance from may 2012, he did not realise he was supposed to pay five pounds a week. we were also not notified that a default decision was made from aug 2012 of 30 a week. the majority of his arrears are from this period, by how can they expect him to pay it back if they never told him he was due to pay it in the first place?

The girl I spoke to said I should request all of the data they have on him, which I have printed off the form for. she says it is free- but the form states its 10quid. she says she cannot disregard the default calculation as he didnt notify them at the time- but they didnt tell him!!!!!

any advice appreciated, thanks

Best answers:

• It is free now to get the file.
  Cant comment on how you would go about it but from a moral stand can you not just pay the arrears? They are for his children and why should his children from a previous marriage/relationship not be financially supported by their father. Maybe a private arrangement could have been/could be in place.
• pmsl jumping to conclusions?! maybe you should consider that not all is black and white? thanks re.it being free.
• They should be able to provide you with copies of what letters have been sent. To be honest, if it's got to the Deduction Order stage I'm pretty sure that there are assorted letters and notices that should have already been given.
  I think your husband would have a better argument if he paid the money that he actually owes - this is the Ј5 per week from when he was on income support, Ј60 or so. He's made things harder for himself by presumably not contacting them when he went on income support to let them know that he now had an income.
• Not everyone gets an annual statement, my husband has never received one in the whole time he has been involved with CSA.
  This is just a guess but is it possible that he failed to tell them when he changed address (if he moved out when you split up). He should have told them, NRPs are legally obliged to notify CSA of a change of address. If they got his address because he was claiming benefits they could have been writing to him there after he had moved back to the family home.
  Others seem to have a touching faith in CSA doing everything correctly but that is not always the case. My husband experienced great upset and inconvenience because years before CSA had communicated with him (or to be more accurate failed to communicate with him) at the address of a random stranger, he had never lived there, none of his family or friends had ever lived there, he hadn't ever lived in that town or that county! There is no logical reason why they did that because they had his correct address on file, but it took many months and the help of a very determined MP to unpick the mess it created.
• My husband never had an annual statement either (didn't know you were supposed to receive one) & we've got thecomplete case notes from the CSA.