I’m writing this letter to you as a last desperate attempt to expose a sham that is destroying people’s lives

I’m writing this letter to you as a last desperate attempt to expose a sham that is destroying people’s lives under the guise of eliminating child poverty in the hope that you can stop what’s happening to me happening to others.

Let me try and explain. My Daughter was born in 1984, she was my first born and it was the best day of my life, the joy I felt was immense to say the least. There were problems in that she was premature (just 4lbs.) and didn’t like food, anyway after about a month she had gained enough weight to be allowed home, it was a constant battle to get her to accept food and could take several hours just to get her to take a few ounces of milk, many a nights sleep went out the window, but that was a small price to pay. One night I came home from work to find her crying the house down, which as she was suffering 3 month colic wasn’t that unusual, what was unusual was that I couldn’t get her to stop, I did all the usual things that I found worked but nothing would stop her, so in the end I decided to try a warm bath to try and ease her. Upon removing her baby grow I noticed strange blotches all around her shoulders, so immediately took her to the doctors, he took one look and sent us to hospital with her, almost straight away social services were involved followed by the police, after a while the truth came out, my wife was suffering post natal depression and had tightly gripped and shaken my daughter causing severe bruising and they think she must have dropped her catching her by her arm, resulting in the arm being broken. After several assurances from the social services that they were sure it was a one off and down to the depression we were informed that they were going to foster our daughter out for two years. To cut a long story short I challenged them in court and won custody so long as I gave up work and cared for her full time while my wife worked which of course I did, but the damage was done, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t trust my wife alone with our daughter for more than a few minutes at a time, and we agreed it would be best if she remained an only child. Unknown to me though my wife stopped taking the pill and in 1987 my son was born, again all the old fears arose and the stress along with finding out my wife was having an affair caused us to separate after a couple of years. I was told by a solicitor that I would without doubt get custody of my daughter due to the history, but not my son as nothing had happened to him. I couldn’t do that to them as they doted on each other, so I saw them at weekends and kept an eye on things, but after about 18 months I felt I had to break the contact as I was picking them up on a Friday night and they would be in tears as they wanted to stay with their mum and on the Sunday when I took them back they would cry their eyes out again as they didn’t want to leave me, it was tearing us all up inside.

In time I remarried, the CSA had assessed me at this time but hadn’t chased me for the payments, I made sure the kids were okay, by paying utilities bills and for clothing etc. When in 1994 I intervened in a post office robbery, unfortunately there was three of them, one of which was armed with a pick axe, so while I was able to stop them hurting any of the staff and getting away with a lot more money than they did, I was left with a broken pelvis and severe bruising all over, the one that used the pick axe was caught a couple of days later and charged with attempted murder which was reduced to a section 18 (grievous bodily harm with intent) for which he got 8 years. Unfortunately it turned out he only lived a couple of roads away on the same estate and the harassment began which resulted in the police moving us, but before we could sell the home petrol was poured through the letter box and it burned to the ground. I ended up with post traumatic stress and was unable to work until 1996. During that two years the ptsd made me a very different person I was terrible to live with and twice took an overdose, eventually the marriage broke down, and we separated, we got back together a few times but I wasn’t able to get over it all and in the end moved out of the area altogether. I started seeing someone and after only a couple of weeks she became pregnant, it was all too much, I just couldn’t cope and left, moving back north. Cowardly I know but I still wasn’t thinking or coping properly.

In the end the CSA caught up with me and I was informed that I owed £36000 in arrears after explaining that I hadn’t worked for some of that time they reduced the arrears to £16000 and it was agreed that I would pay £332 a month on the assessment and £110 a month on the arrears, which I have done for quite a few years now without any defaulting.

Last August I received a demand from them for £15000 payable straight away, I phoned them and was told a new law meant I had to pay it within two years inline with the governments plans to reduce child poverty by 2010, to pay in that time would mean £600 a month just on the arrears and then the £332 on top so nearly a £1000. I only take home £950 a month after paying them under the previous agreement. They claim it’s to stop the kids suffering any longer, yet both mothers were on benefits and so have had their money, my arrears will go to the secretary of state. So now I’ve received a court summons for a liability order, which they, by their own guidelines shouldn’t do if there has been no defaulting in the last 6 months. If granted and they assure me it will be, then it means bailiffs, with the best will in the world what I own wont come close to raising the money, so then they assure me it’s having my driving licence taken away and probably prison, either way as a licensed security officer it will mean I will no longer be allowed to work, which means I cannot pay my loans let alone the secretary of state, I’ve applied to several banks for a loan to clear this but as I already have a couple of loans and the credit crunch I’ve been refused, I have offered to pay it at £300 a month but because it would take four years to clear they refused. I have remarried; my wife struggled for years to pay the mortgage on her own as a single parent herself. I cannot have the shame of bringing bailiffs to her door, so if the liability order is granted then I feel I will have no option but to move out, making myself homeless and jobless or taking my own life, I just cannot see any other way out of this mess, as the court date approaches I’m becoming more and more depressed.

 I’m sorry this is so long winded, but felt I had to explain some of the background, I have spoken to the citizens advice and even had my local M.P contact the CSA requesting they give me time to pay, all to no avail, so I don’t expect you to be able to do anything, but please highlight what they are now doing, how many second families are they going to drive under with this approach, the government always tell companies to allow people a realistic time to repay arrears yet one of their agencies can act in this way, I really feel my life is over, please, please help stop it happening to anyone else.

From: hewitt60

Please hang in there mate and if you need to speak to anyone head over to our Forum. There are freindly supportive people there that will help you get through this. Talk to your GP and let your MP know exactly what the CSA are doing to you and your family. You are in our thoughts and we will try to help as much as possible.