Name & Shame CSA ONWWW decided to have a look at how the "Old Anti-CSA Protest" worked.
We contacted a few names from the past and looked at much of what was said and written in the 90's surprisingly most of it still applies. From that we have compiled a list of things you really MUST DO.
1. You must; seek advice before filling in any CSA forms. Because, you need to be aware of your rights and to know what to include on any documents the CSA may ask you to fill in.
2. You must NOT; give the CSA your home, mobile or work telephone number. Because, you may need written evidence of any correspondence between yourself and the CSA. The CSA have a nasty habit of harassing people at work by telephone.
3. You must; make sure your employer knows that the CSA could well telephone him/her asking for your personal details. Ask your employer to notify Personnel and Wage Office that under no circumstances should your details be given out over the telephone, and that a request for information must be put in writing. Your employer should then be told to inform you before any information is given after written request.
4. You must; keep copies of all letters to/from the CSA and always send letters by recorded delivery Because, the CSA has a nasty habit of losing your letters or documents and even deny that you have sent them.
5. You must NEVER; give the CSA your bank details or pay by Standing Order/ Direct Debit. Because, you need to be in control of the money you pay. To be on the safe side always pay the CSA direct not your ex-partner, and do so by a Giro Paying In Slip. You can insist to the CSA that you wish to pay by this method. By doing this you then have a record of all your payments. In some cases people have paid their ex-partner direct in cash and have had difficulty in proving they have paid anything.
6. You must; visit your local M.P in person at their Advice Surgeries if you have problems with your CSA case. Because, your M.P can deal with the CSA much quicker than you can. You have to insist that your M.P telephones CSA Management on The Special Parliamentary Business Unit to get your problems sorted quickly. Don’t try and ring the CSA yourself, you could waste a lot of your time, not to mention money in phone calls and end up getting nowhere quickly.
7. You must; ask your ex-partner to withdraw from the CSA System if she/he is now working and claiming the new Working Families Tax Credit (formerly Family Credit) Because, the new rules state that if you claim W.F.T.Credit you can withdraw from the CSA and have a private agreement with your ex-partner.
8. You should; spend a little time finding out how the CSA System works and help to campaign for a better, fairer system. Because, if you do nothing, the CSA System may get worse and you could end up paying more in years to come.
The above points are good basic self preservation principles and good habits but also consider the advice below too.
Make things hard for the CSA.
Never deal with them on the phone and insist that any meetings are tape recorded, it irritates them no end, tip, inform them beforehand you will be taping any interview, or if you want to use delaying tactics, whip out your tape recorder at the start of your meeting and you have a 99% chance the meeting will not go ahead. It is a lot easier for the CSA to deal with you via the phone, so insist that everything is done by letter. Do not believe you can achieve anything by talking to them by phone. They say anything then totaly deny that you ever spoke to them!
Pay the CSA, not your ex-partner. You can be sure the CSA will delay payments to her (him). If money is a little slow getting to the ex, there is a slight chance she may opt out of the system.
YOU DO have a choice how you pay the CSA, despite what they tell you.
By using Giro Paying In Slips, you are making more work for the CSA and it costs them more to process.
Tip
If your CSA Bill is £100 per month, then don't go paying £100 once every month.
Instead pay four amounts of £25, even though you have to waste 30 minutes each month by visiting the post office. It's four times as much work for the CSA.
Even better - CSA Pay as you go scheme.
Pay in several odd amounts over the month and make sure the total is just over £101, this messes up the CSA Systems no end. This works better if you have arrears, because you have a valid excuse for paying in extra, all because you are a good citizen and like paying off your debts quickly.
Use your M.P
They are the people responsible as they voted for the crazy CSA systems in the first place (but they are so well paid they are never on the recieving end) and they still allow CSA mass abuse. Back in the good old days, every Saturday, M.P's would have several whinging fathers at the M.P's Constituency Surgery, harping on about the CSA and how their CSA Case was wrong and incorrect. We need to keep MP's under constant CSA pressure
If it ain't in the news, then there is no problem is there ? Same with M.P's, if there are no irate parents moaning about the CSA, then the CSA must be working perfectly well.
Don't just take the easy option of sending a letter to your M.P, get up off your arse and get down to his next surgery, so you can tell him/her exactly what you want him to do. M.P's can deal with the CSA on your behalf by using the Special Parliamentary Business Unit, i.e M.P's can deal with more senior morons who have the power to correct things, rather than the less senior idiots on the shop floor, then follow it up with a letter.
Find out how the CSA System works. Use the rules to your advantage.
If you have remarried or have a new partner, then you have choices like becoming a househusband and paying the CSA ABSOLUTELY NOTHING Legally!.
Remember, the people that DO, are most likely to have got out of the CSA, them that DON'T are still in it paying over the odds and whinging, plus there is 60 odd suicides that are neither paying or seeing there kids, except for the bloke from Cheshire that took himself and his 3 kids with him on a quick trip to Heaven. Don't let them get to you. Get at them.
Lastly, it is YOUR CSA Case, its your life. You do what you feel is best for your family. Who the f*&% are CSA or anyone else to judge what you do.
ONWWW had a look at one or two "funnies" from the past.
The CSA Pay as you Go Scheme was mentioned above.
Operation Staple was another funny from years ago.
a couple of staples through the envelope to make sure the envelope seal was firm.
It certainly annoyed the hell out of the CSA post room, as the had to carefully pick open the letter and remove the staple. It of course took time.
Invisible Ink Campaign
CSA Forms
Depending on the colour of the form you fill in, consider using a similar coloured ink.
You can get hold of children's gel pens in a variety of colours.
Reason, yellow ink on yellow paper takes twice as long to read and is very hard to photocopy. The poor sod at CSA HQ will probably need several goes on the photocopier before they get the tone correct.
Act thick Campaign
For the sake of £1 per month
write off a letter each week asking a daft question, such as
I need a new washing machine, can I claim against my CSA Bill ?
My child's bed has collapsed, can I buy a new one and go a week in arrears ?
all of which need an answer, not to mention, they need to be filed on your case history and photocopied.
Back in the good old days a few hundred of these letters soon mounted up and caused some little Hitler time, paper and postage. It was described as therapeutic for the poor dad.
And if you discover some new trick we should all know about don't forget to e-mail us and we can tell everybody about it.
