STOP CSA CHARGES: Don't take away my maintenance

Excerpts from our online forum / facebook page

“My sons dad left me when I was only 3 weeks pregnant, he ignored me throughout the entirety of my pregnancy even though we worked together, he has never had anything to do with his son (he is now nearly 4), if he see's us in the street he ignores us...There is no way we could come to a private agreement, he will not even speak to me.”

“I am a single mum currently having to file a claim through the CSA after being threatened by my son's father, we had an agreement sorted between us but he turned nasty saying he was going to stop payments etc. So I was left with no choice, if this proposal was to go forward
who are the people who will suffer? Our children!”

“We started trying to sort things out between us but after 3 months of paying he stopped saying he couldn't afford to pay anything, then his dad bailed him out for a couple of months but that was it. CSA was the only way I could guarantee anything- now I get maintenance every month...I work full time but wouldn't manage everything without that extra cash.”

“My ex husband refused to pay child support, I have had no choice but to go through the CSA, Im on a very low income and what the government are suggesting will leave me struggling. My ex is completely unreasonable and will not discuss or come to an out of court settlment, he would simply not pay. Why then should I be penalised for this? Surely he should and that is it.”

“My ex left me when i told him i was pregnant, he told me they were better off dead in a bucket. He has ignored me ever since - my children are 5yrs old and have never seen their dad, he just doesnt want to know emotionally or financially. So i need the csa to get the child support from him.”

“Being a single parent is not a life choice its usually a necessity. Single parent are left to pick up the pieces and provide for their children as best they can. I really value the CSA collecting money from my ex-partner and every bit of it is needed to make ends meet. It seems another 'kick in the teeth' for the parent who are taking responsibility and trying to create happy and functional households for their children often in very difficult circumstances. I believe that any charges attached to the collection of payments should be firmly put with the non-resident parent. They need to pay more so that the same money is received by the parent who is caring for the children with attachment of earnings introduced if any one payment is missed.”

“personally, i wouldnt bother collecting if there were such charges. my ex has already tried to bully me into stopping the meagre £5 a week they take from his benefits, he will have won then, come 2012.
so that's a fiver less a week for food for my boy, i suppose.”

“Why does "society" - the tax payer - fund the CSA in the first place? Well, surely because it saves us all money. When children are properly and fairly funded by both parents then children have better health, do better at school, have better educational outcomes, lead more productive lives etc. etc. They are a positive plus in financial terms to society - not a financial drain.”

“If we, as single parents, could make arrangements with the non-resident parent, without getting the CSA, courts etc involved, do the government not think we would be doing that already?...The way they think of it, it's like they're taking money from us - when in fact they're taking it out of the hands of our children.”

“My two three year olds and i are already living well below poverty levels and our only hope of having a tiny bit more money, is if the csa eventually force my ex to pay.”

“Both parents are legally responsible financially for their child(ren). Yet my ex husband would not pay a penny if he wasn't forced to by the CSA and after his abuse there is no way I would want to try to get the money out of him without an intermediary, anyway.”

“When the maintenance comes, first thing is shoes. After that it means a chance to plan, a chance to breathe, a chance to pay some bills...Sometimes the chance for my son to feel part of the world again (Christmas presents for friends, the odd trip or football club).”