CSA & overtime?

A question about : CSA & overtime?

My partner split from his ex 7 years ago and has continuously paid maintainence for his 3 children. When they split they had nearly Ј20,000 worth of debt which had been incurred during the marriage (mainly by his ex) on catalogues, credit cards, loans etc. He has been paying Ј300 pm as calculated by CSA, which although he has never missed payments, they are arresting his wages which we were told by the CSA, his ex requested. During the divorce he was advised by his lawyer to take on the matrimonial debt as it would be favouable to him in court when agreeing access for his kids. This he did, we contacted the CSA 3 years ago regarding a variation allowance for the debt he has to pay off. We are still waiting! We gave up chasing it as every time we were told someone would ring back and they never did. However, we have now received a letter from the CSA stating that the monthly payments are increasing to Ј450 and this is to take place from last October so there is back pay of Ј798 to pay on top of the extra Ј150. We immediatly thought there had been some kind of error and contacted them, they said that they are taking overtime into account. We explained that overtime is not guaranteed (working as a paramedic sometimes overtime is inevitable, late call outs etc).
How can they be allowed to base payments on income that is not consistent?
My partners ex is now remarried, has a further 2 children to her husband, making 5 kids in total, her husband owns his own haulage business, they own their own house and she works part time.
We however, live in rented accomodation with my two children from a previous marriage, I am on incapacity benefit and am unable to work through illness, my partner works full time (shifts) and as a result of the debt incurred during his past marriage he has had to declare himself bankrupt.
Where is the justice in this? He has never refused payment of maintainence but just wants a fair calculation based on GUARANTEED earnings, not overtime.(which is sometimes the only way we can increase our income to pay for unexpected bills etc). Because there is an arrestment of wages in place there is absolutely nothing we can do. Payment of Ј550 will commence on 1st May which includes increase plus arrears. We cannot afford this and will inevitably go further into debt because of it.
HELP!!!
All advice greatly appreciated.

Best answers:

• The CSA will look ideally at two months worth of consecutive pay slips, and compare them with the YTD figure to get a fair idea of what average pay is. If he was doing overtime at this point, but isn't now, ask them to look at it again. They'll then look at the current two months pay, and reassess on that amount - if its a lot lower than the rate used in the last assesment.
• The CSA should have contacted your partner initially for wage details before going directly to his employer, it appears that this has not happenned ~ contact them again and explain the situation ie: had you been aware that last October then you would have subsequently asked for a reassessment due to the fact that your partner was not getting overtime anymore, also ask them if they can complete a revision as although the last assessment included overtime it was by no means regular and send in evidence of this. The revision may get rejected as the Decision Maker may state that the wages used cover the period they were assessing, however I would stress that had your ex been aware and /or the CSA had not taken so long to calculate then you would have reported a change ( ie. no overtime) earlier.
• Thanks for your post N71. Could you please advise me on what YTD figure means.
  We have been told by the CSA that we can provide two recent payslips for reassessment but as my partner works as a Paramedic we have no control over overtime. For instance he works 12hr shifts and if he gets a call out 5mins before he is due to finish his shift he obviously has to go. The nearest hospital for A&E is 25 miles away so you are talking at least 2 hours past the end of his shift. He has no objection to paying for his kids his objection is why they are allowed to take non-guaranteed earnings such as overtime into account. For some people this is the only means of being able to afford things in life that others take for granted, like holidays etc, we have been together for 7 years and have never been on holiday, purely because we cannot afford it! It infuriates me that there are NRP out there who the CSA say they are chasing but aren't paying but my partner has paid from day one and gets penalised for trying to make a better life for us. What is fair about that?!!!
  Sorry but I can feel myself getting more worked up about this as I type.
• YTD ~ Year to Date figure
• I know how annoying it is! My ex is one of the ones getting away with it at the moment!
  They use the year to date figure, when weekly/monthly wages change a lot, to try and calculate an average weekly amount over the year. Sort of how the tax credits use the annual salary figure off the P60, to calculate what you're entitled too, except the tax credits are a year behind - if you know what I mean!!
• It is the only way to get a realistic figure of what has been earned over a year. Many NRPs deliberately get a new assessment after cutting their overtime and then increasing it, thus earning more but paying less in child support. Using the YTD figure is fairer as it ensures that true earnings are used.
• aussiebird I had to take on Ј28k of debt, as I had no proof that it was "shared debt". We men can be so naive at times, but boy what a penalty we pay. Good luck.
• UPDATE
  Had a phone call from CSA yesterday saying that ex requested a review back in June 2005 but CSA did not act upon it so now they are backdating payments to then!!! ( to say the least)
  This is a b****y joke!! Why should we have to pay for their incompetence? Also knowing my partners ex as we do there is no way she wouldn't of chased them up for 2 years, money rules her life and she will do whatever to get it. Definately suspicious over this so have now got local MP involved. Partner got the news and stormed out of the house last night shouting "and they wonder why fathers commit suicide" I am so worried how this is going to pan out. Will keep you informed but anyone meanwhile who is thinking about appealing a decision - YOU GO FOR IT, DON'T GIVE UP and GOOD LUCK!!
• Hi just off on a tangent, does anyone know where I can get details of how much someone should be paying?
  Thanks in Advance
• It is 15% of net income for 1 child, 20% for two and 25% for three or more but there are reductions if the income is less than 200 quid per week and for those on benefits (who pay a flat fiver per week). Also, if the NRP has other children in their household either theirs or their partners, they get a reduction of 15% off their net income for 1 child in their household then they pay either 15, 20 or 25%of what is left as maintenance. If they have 2 children in their house, they get a 20% reduction from their net income and pay the relevant %age as maintenance and then a reduction of 25% if they have 3 or more chidlren in their household.
• You can ask for the arrears element of the DEO to be reduced on the grounds that it will cause hardship for the children in your household. They have a duty of care to all of the children in the assessment, no matter whose household they are in.
  If you are still paying off debt from the previous relationship, and you have evidence that the solicitor advised him to do this then you can ask for a departed assessment which involves more form filling, but would take this into account.
• Well I am still waiting for maintainence for a claim I put in about four or five years ago. They had all the details I,ve just given up now they are just so bloody useless full stop!!!!
• Departure won't allow any debts at all which originated from a credit card though.
• Aussie bird,
  Please give Child support solutions a call.
  You need some professional help...
  They sorted me out.
  Check the website out...
  www.childsupportsolutions.co.uk
  They can give free advice as well
• Sounds familiar?
  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=434191
  Quote:
• Are you and your partner married? Would it make a difference if you were? Also seen as the CSA are so hot on your case at the moment, why not get them to chase your ex to increase his maintenance for your 2 children.