CSA debt owed / being paid for period of estrangement

[Jovanna04]

Hello everyone,

 

My father is paying a very large amount of CSA debt, payments which cover my brother and I up until the age of 18.

 

However, I know that for me - this is incorrect. My mother was neglectful/ treated me very badly in my childhood, which resulted in me leaving home to live in a hostel before my 17th birthday. After I left home, she refused to declare details of her income so that I could claim EMA (education maintenance allowance) whilst I was at college- whilst continuing to claim family allowance for me as if I was still at home, resulting in me having no income whatsoever. Then when I started university, she refused to get involved with any of the forms I needed to complete. In both situations, it had to be noted that I was estranged from my mother and father in order to be eligible for support and move forward.

 

I understand that these payments are forwarded from CSA to my mother, but of course I dont agree she should get payment for me from when I was 16 to 18.

 

I am not raising this issue to defend my father, as bottom line is that he did not maintain us. But does anyone have any idea how CSA might deal with the matter regarding myself if I were to inform them?

 

Thank you all, Jo.

[Will Goodfellow]

I understand that these payments are forwarded from CSA to my mother, but of course I dont agree she should get payment for me from when I was 16 to 18.

 

 

That depends on what date the maintenance arrears are from. Pre 2010, if your mother was claiming benefits, any child maintenance she received would have been deducted from her benefits with a small £10-20 disregard. As your father had a liability to pay but was not doing so, the DWP would have topped up your mother's benefits by the amount of missing child maintenance. If that was the case, the money will be going straight to the DWP and not your mum.