confused!!! don't understand new rules

Hi All,

This is my first post, so hopefully someone may be able to help.

In short, I have paid a ridulous amount of CSA over the last 5 years to my ex via a Deductions of earnings order. I was paying £96.56 per week when I only earned £246.00 per week. I did appeal but to no avail (claim was under old rules). A year ago I got married and have 3 step children, we put in for a change of circumstance, from this point on wards my ex stopped all contact and I haven't seen my daughter for a year (now 15 years old)and am currently seeking legal advice and court action for contact. The CSA said I had nil to pay, so instead of paying nothing as they said I paid a small amount every month, as I felt that I should pay something. Now the case is closed and a new case opened under the new Rules and I have been told I have to pay 15% regardless, I am totally confused and we are generally broke, we have nothing spare and are in debt quite badly, we have one car to share now instead of two as we were trying to make cut backs where ever we can, but I am only earning £16.500 per year gross and my wife studies but now has to leave as we cannot afford to fund it. How much am I expected to pay and will my stepchildren, rent be taken into account? we are very worried as before the CSA took a huge ammount and left me with hardly anything. Can anyone help? THANKS IN ADVANCE

As you say, they would take 15% of net. The step children in your household would count as your dependants, meaning that a proportion of your income would be protected. I have guessed your monthly pay at £1100, the CSA calculator works this out as you paying them £28pw. I don't know if that's good or bad news. If you have been paying CM through the CSA whilst having a zero liability you could argue this should be dealt with as an overpayment which should be used to reduce your current payments until the credit is cleared.

If your struggling with debt a good idea would be to Google Consumer Credit Counselling Service. They can contact creditors on your behalf, negotiate reduced payments, help you put together a debt management plan. They have a helpline and website. They are entirely kosher and will take no payment from you for their services.

Finally, good luck with your dtr. You can represent yourself at court to keep costs down and if you want advice on this would be happy to help.

The start point is 15% of your net income, which = gross income less tax, NI and pension contributions.

Other debts or outgoings are not taken into account.

Your step-children re taken into account and will slightly reduce your liability.

On your income of £16,500 per year, you have net income of about £255 per week and would pay around £31 per week in maintenance.

The fact that you do not see your daughter does not change your responsibility to finacially support her. If she were to start spending time with you on a regular basis this would reduice the maintenance you pay, provided she was spending more than 52 nights per year in your care.

You can work out the amount you'd pay more exactly here secureonline.dwp.gov.uk/csa/v2/en/calculate-maintenance.asp

Hi there, thanks very much for the reply, in all fairness the CSA do owe me for overpayments but they said it goes into a fund and used for other children and have refused to amend their forthcoming amounts of CM. Can I still appeal againts the old claim and dispute the amounts they have previously taken? I did try but have gotten no where. Spoken to my solicitor and he said ther is no point in pursing a contact order due to my daugthers age (unless she is willing to say she wants to see me), even though she hasn't refused to see me, her mother won't allow it.On the contrary I try and ring her and 9 x out of 10, she doesn't answer or reply, but she is fine when I have seen her out in the past. Guess I will make an application for contact and go from there.

In respect to the previous overpayments, I think you have been told nonsense.

I think you should Google 'They Work For You' and send your MP an email. Keep it short and to the point; you overpaid your CM, you want to know by how much and have this credited back to you. Your email will be passed from the MP to the CSA who will prioritise a response. Much easier than arguing your points over the phone.

I think that even a failed contact order application has value. To be brutally frank; I think its better for a child to reject a parent than believe that parent has rejected or abandoned them. So even if you fail, and you may well not, at least your dtr knows where you stand and that may well be very important to her.