Bummer.. have cut my nose off to spite my face re Child Support [useless] Agency

[Benji]

I pay $315 per week in child care and got sick of spending more than 50% of my wage on child care fees so I applied to CSA for a change of assessment because my child care fees are more than 5% of my income (that makes me cry a little on the inside lol).

They have decided that XDP should now pay LESS ****ing child support because my income went up since last year.

YES it went up but I'm no better off thanks to child care fees!!! I'm still wearing clothes two sizes too damn small for me argh.

They are honestly the most USELESS agency I have ever heard of in my life. They have based this decision on ONE guy's opinion and the fact that XDP estimated his next financial year's income to be under $30K. His income has never been under $30K in the past :rolleyes:

So.. I earn $37K and spend over $7K pa in daycare. And he pays none of it even though he has 'care' of DS for two of those days he's in child care.

The whole system is stupid. I thought it was supposed to be about the children. Now I know it's just about the payer and not upsetting them :geek:

DS & I go without a lot thanks to all this ****.

[MimiGrace]

:hugs::hugs:

can you tell your X that he has to pay for Daycare on the days that he has your DS? as in, refuse to pay, and he can figure out what to do with B while he's in his custody?

[Benji]

:hugs::hugs:

can you tell your X that he has to pay for Daycare on the days that he has your DS? as in, refuse to pay, and he can figure out what to do with B while he's in his custody?

I tried that in the past but he suddenly "fell sick" or "had to work" at last minute notice - DP, my mum, my dad AND I all had to take several days off work each because he's too slack to be consistent, that's why I have to keep him booked into daycare. I just can't trust him :no:

[StrawberryTheMilkshake]

This is exactly why i wont ask for a reassessment.

Even when i EXPLICITLY PROVED that my ex was not telling the truth about payments, etc.....they still said they couldnt ask him to go into hardship to pay for our DD. Even though i have 100% care of her, and i was able to PROVE that he was lying. I was going to fight it but thought id best not risk loosing the pittance i get now.

Anyway, I get $8 a day (whooppee do) and rather than fight that, because i KNOW he earns more than what he says, i wont risk loosing that.... so i just let it go. It makes me angry, yes, and it makes me so upset.... but bottom line, my DD is SAFER with me and there's no amount of money that can replace that.

I just work hard and i know that im doing right by her.

But i can TOTALLY understand how angry you are. You ask for a reassessment to make your situation better and it ends up biting you in the a$$.

Not fair. :no:

[Benji]

:( I'm sorry you're in the same boat!

The thing that annoys me the most is that it was THEIR IDEA for me to do this. It is honestly so disorganised and just.. ridiculous it's not funny!!

I'm sick of going without when I have a good job because my ex is too slack and stubborn to pay for his own bloody child!!!

[bellarosey]

:hugs:. Child support really are bloody useless. I wish they weren't on just one persons side, they should be on the childrens side, not the parents.

I hope something can be worked out soon for you as I understand exactly what it is like to pay so much for daycare and then rent and whatever else your little one needs and then miss out on things that are actually needed for yourself but its the sacrifice we do isn't it.

[SPC]

Why is your child care so expensive? Don't you get 100% child care benefit? I earn a little more than you and still only pay $24 a day for my child care, (full fee is $68 a day) and then I get half of that back quarterly, so in effect it's $12 a day. That's the only reason it's cost effective for me to work at all.

[murrythecat]

I've just started to learn the CSA are totally useless.. everytime I ring them I get a different anwer.. I've been trying to find out if I get paid on the 17th March but one day I get told I'm only getting half because it hasn't come out of exs pay properly.. next day I get told I'm probably getting the whole amount.. I realise the cold hard reality is I'll be lucky to get anything!

ex left on 22 Jan (well I kicked him out) and still haven't any child support through CSA yet. very frustrating.

just wondering.. is it worth you working at all? can you return to study with JET paying your childcare.. then when you do return to work you could earn much more than $37,000 as that seems like a tiny tiny wage.

[OhGeeMuma]

Murraythecat, my DD was born at the end of Oct and I am still yet to see an approved assessment, let alone a cent. :hair:

Will still be months, if ever before we see anything. But yes they are useless

[anydaysoon]

That sounds horrible, have you got a good family lawyer?