CSA variation - anyone know?

Hello, new here!

My ex-husband has applied for a variation. I know this as he threatened me he would! Prior to our divorce, I moved back to my home town to be near family and friends to assist with childcare while I work. He now lives with his partner (post divorce).

He wouldnt pay child maintenance, so I applied through the CSA and there is now a deduction of earnings in place.

He says that he wants a variation on the CSA calculation due to travel costs and a debt that was part of the financial settlement (Consent Order) for the divorce. This debt was against our joint mortgage. He lived in the house when we left and didnt pay the mortgage, it sold in slight negative equity. Hence he had that debt, I had the other loans to pay.

Can anyone answer the following, as the CSA NEVER return my calls, they NEVER let me speak to the case worker (They send her an email for her to get back to me in 24/48 hours - no good when I am at work!!)

1) Can he get a variation due to the debt?
2) What calculation do they use re miles per gallon (as he no longer uses his economical small car but instead uses his girlfriends 2.8 litre sports car for contact) By the way, he works full time and money isn't the issue, it's simply me apparently benefiting from him!

1) the answer is possibly. Is it your debt he is paying or is it a joint debt that was assigned to him to be paid as part of the divorce process. I think the wording in the Consent Order will be crucial but I'm afraid I'm not an expert on these issues so don't take my word for it (clear as mud, sorry!).

2) Not sure of their rates but I do know that of those people who have been through this, the reduction is not as much as they were expecting. It is reasonable, I think, that a reduction is made where considerable travel is necessary.

You can phone the CSA up to about 8pm in the evening. I have found them particularly willing to chat in the evenings and go through things at length but it is always hard to get through to the designated caseworker. Unfortunately, what one CSA employee says can be contradicted the next day by another.

hi mumtoboys,

re 1) We had a joint mortgage for a house we lived in. When I left, he was supposed to pay the mortgage as he wasnt paying maintenance (his suggestion) when it sold a year later, it was then that it was discovered he hadnt been paying the mortgage. He held his hands up to it, and so he accepted, as part of the consent order, he would take on that debt. There was no money (or equity!) divided at the end as there was somply no money. The negative equity was 3 1/2 k and the arrears amounted to £8 k. The debts I took on, that were joint debts, amounted to about the same.

2) I am aware that they will expect him to find the first £15.00 a week (calculated over the year) but what I want to know is how do they work out this £15.00 a week? He lives 40 miles away and sees our child weekends during term time only, friday to sunday.

3) re ringing the CSA, I am dealing with Bolton who shut at 5pm. Getting past their call handlers is tantamount to walking across the English Channel in very heavy shoes!!!

I could argue the debt issue, but I need to establish how they work out their travel costs - as I said, since the 'variation' he has applied for, he is no longer driving his own car.

Thank you for your reply,

Hello again,

right I have the answers as I telephoned my local CSA dept and actually spoke with one of their variation clerks. So, for anyone who wants to know:

1) The travel costs variation has to pass the 'reasonable' test. So, if it transpires that the NRP has travel costs of £25.00 a week, and that that NRP earns over £200. a week, then they are expected to find the first £15.00. After that, the ten pounds over and above those costs is taken off their income, and the calculation is worked out on their new income. It is NOT a £10.00 deduction from the parent with care.

2) In order to prove travel costs, they are asked to submit their receipts, give details of the journey (ie my ex lives say 30 miles away, it will be the cost from his home to ours and back again) details of the car that they drive and details of any other car that they have access to.

3) If the NRP already has a deduction due to shared care, then they CAN NOT get travel costs, too. The only exception to this is travel that isnt covered by that overnight care. So, if they have alternate weekends and one night a week for tea time visit, they can claim against the tea-time visit travel expenses.

4) finally, before the CSA can reduce your CSA payments, they have to notify you and disclose what the NRP has claimed, ie what they have told the CSA. If you are not in agreement, you have 28 days to appeal - so they cant simply just reduce your payments!

I can now breathe a sigh of relief. He wanted to reduce the CSA payments NOT due to having high travel costs and not a lot of income (he does!) it was simply because he thought he could. So variations are needed. But not in my case. Re the CSA in BOLTON, one would question why three months later they still havent notified him or me that this is the case