CSA payments and a lying EX wife

Hi folks.... I'm new to this so please be gentle with me.

My partner has been paying CM to his ex since they split/divorced. CSA were never involved he paid her directly into her bank account.

Last August he returned from Afghanistan and was not able to go back due to his bad health and was therefore unemployed. He applied for JSA but was told that because he was non tax status he hadn't paid enough NI. so for 2 months was unable to pay CM.

His ex then approach the csa and demanded they looked into this... by the November he was working again. So he made Nov, Dec and Jan payments and the csa then told him to stop as they would assess the case and send him a schedule. He happily paid what they asked and then in June his ex wife wanted him to pay her direct which the idiot that he is paid her.

so June and July were paid directly to her this included the arrears built up due to the csa assess the case for 3 months.

Last week the CSA called him and said that he hadn't made any payments to her... he told them that she wanted the payments direct, which they said was untrue. They wrote to his ex and asked her if he had indeed made payments and she said " yes, but these were nothing to do with child maintenance" !!!!!!

As you can imagine he is livid and the csa has stated they have to take her word for it, what a joke.

He has Bank statements to prove he paid her direct and on the last day of the month, which follows all the previous payments.

He is now looking at contacting a solicitor and getting some advice....

CAN ANYONE PLEASE ADVISE AS TO WHAT HE CAN DO.... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

Think the moral of this story in this particular case is he is best to go through the CSA going forward. Id show those bank statements to the CSA as evidence and perhaps it wouldnt hurt to see a solicitor. Most offer a free 50mins session prior to being appointed

Hope he sorts this out

Regards
DA

I can understand why your partner is angry.
Firstly, the CSA is a huge organisation and what one person will tell you is not necessarily what another will tell you. I would suggest asking to speak to another advisor or a supervisor about your case.
Secondly, the CSA does not have to take a parent's word for it, they can launch an investigation which may take several months but hopefully would have an appropriate outcome.
Make sure that any further communications are put into writing. Send copies of bank statements to the CSA explaining that there is no other valid reason your partner would be giving her money. Any further monies that are transferred to her, put a reference on it of 'children's maintenance' that will show up on both your statements.
Stand firm on this and you will get the CSA to back down and take you seriously.

Thanks DA...... the frustrating thing about it is, the csa always pick on the good guys, the easy targets, the ones that pay each month without fail.

I just hope that a threatening solicitors letter will sort this out, but to be honest im happy to pay for him to take her to court, just to wipe the smug, ugly smile off the bitches face.

Happyagain.. thanks for your comment... The bank statement shows CHILD MAINTENANCE on it, and the payments are in line with the last day of the month, which he's always paid her...

The reason she did this was because he couldnt pay her the 2 months he was unemployed and this was the only devious was she could get her hands on those 2 months...

The csa have been so rude and threathening towards him, threatening court action if he doesnt pay... they are sick individuals and i know first hand what a bunch of losers the csa are... My ex didnt pay me for 6 months and the csa did nothing and my ex worked for the local government and should have been easy to deduct it from his wages.

I appreciate how frustrating this is but being angry, making threats and calling people names won't help matters!

You need to see this from another perspective. A CSA case has been opened - so your partner needs to educate himself as to their (not so) wonderful ways and keep one step ahead. Consider this a lesson - it could have gone on for far longer.

The ex is lying. That's on her conscience and she'll have to live with.

Now, from the CSA perspective, it is not uncommon for ex partners to have financial obligations to each other which are not related to maintenance - mortgage payments, paying off debts etc. Your partner's ex cannot control how he labels a payment made on a bank transfer - so he can label it 'child maintenance' but it could actually be for a debt payment. If this was the case, your partner could be being 'let off'an awful lot of money each month whilst his children receive no maintenance. The flipside is, of course, that the ex lies and your partner pays twice. Who do you believe?

You will struggle to find a solicitor who will take on the CSA so don't waste your time. However wrong this situation may be, there is nothing to be done. Use the CSA for payments in future so it's all above board. Or, ensure that things are switched to 'maintenance direct' and get this in writing from the CSA, start a file and keep all paperwork for at least 10 years after the child stops receiving maintenance!

I am sorry it's not the answer you're looking for. It's a hard lesson to learn but it could have been far worse.

FYI......... the divorce was well and truly sorted years ago... so there are no mortgage payments, no debts, NO NOTHING.... accept CM.

SO as for a solicitor, I have just spoken to him and as far as he's concerned there is a case to answer for... no other payments have ever been made to her other than CM and the amounts coincide with the 15% plus the £50 extra to clear the arrears created by the CSA and also the dates match from all previous payments. The solicitor stated unless she can come up with WHY those payments were made ( other than CM)the csa will then have to deduct those amounts from the arrears.

Ive had many dealing with the csa and they are the most usless department ive ever had to deal with, the only people that need educating is the CSA, BIG TIME EDUCATING.

I just hope that this new government targets the deadwood departments like the CSA, that cause more problems than their worth and get rid of them completely and set up a new department that actually works.