CSA overcharges mother by £60,000 (From The Argus)

CSA overcharges mother by £60,000

2:39pm Sunday 9th December 2007 in Search By Naomi Loomes

A single mother claims she reached breaking point after the Child Support Agency overcharged her by nearly £60,000.

Mother-of-three, Christine Borthwick, 44, from Watling Road, Southwick, had her world turned upside down when she received a bill for £73,000.

Miss Borthwick split from her husband Ali Assefi 11 years ago but she continued to care for her eldest son Sam, then 14. Her husband cared for their other two children, five-year-old Joseph and 12-year-old Amir. On weekends they took turns in having all three.

But on July 17 the CSA sent Ms Borthwick a bill for £73,000 claiming this is what she owed her ex-husband in child support for the last 11 years.

Overwhelmed by the jargon and bureaucracy Miss Borthwick, a prison custody officer, began to suffer from depression and took four weeks unpaid leave in August.

She contacted her MP, Tim Loughton, and the CSA agreed to investigate.

But in September Miss Borthwick was astonished to realise the money had been automatically deducted from her wages at a rate of around £800 per month.

She phoned them that day and according to Miss Borthwick they agreed to repay the £800 but would not say whether or not she still owed £73,000.

It was only after persistent phone calls and pressure that the CSA wrote to Miss Borthwick on November 27, five months after the original bill, admitting they had made a mistake to the tune of £59,000.

Miss Borthwick said: "It took months of paper work and the stress of waiting before they agreed that I actually owed them £14,387 and I'm not sure where that figure comes from either."

A spokesperson from the Department for Works and Pensions, which overlooks the Child Support Agency, said: "A maintenance enquiry form is sent to a non resident parent to ensure details of their earnings and other factors are taken into account when calculating child maintenance payments.

"In cases where this is not returned, we make repeated attempts to contact the non resident parent by telephone and letter, and at their home address and workplace.

"If a parent continues to evade their financial responsibilities, we impose an interim maintenance assessment to calculate what they owe.

"We make no apology for collecting child maintenance arrears. We cannot comment on individual cases."

But Miss Borthwick claims she was not contacted for 11 years.

"I have worked all my life, kept the same national insurance number and stayed on the electoral role. Why couldn't they find me?" said Miss Borthwick.

"I walked away from my marriage not my kids. It's devastating to receive a bill suggesting you had no role in their upbringing.

"I wake up every day thinking about the debt.

"I feel helpless and sad and know it must be happening to other people."