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When you can complain to the CSA

You can complain about the service you receive from the Child Support Agency (CSA) at any time. If you disagree with a decision the CSA has made about child maintenance amounts, there is a different way to sort this out.

You can find more information about what to do if you disagree with a decision about child maintenance amounts using the link below.

• If you disagree with a CSA decision

How to make a complaint

If you're not happy with the service you get from the CSA, you should:

• tell it what the problem is
• ask it to sort things out for you

The quickest way to do this is by phone. You will find the contact details you need at the top of any letter the CSA has sent you.

You can also find contact details for your local office using the link below.

• Contact the CSA Opens new window

If you’re still not happy, you can make a complaint.

You can email complaints using the online complaints form.

• CSA online complaints form Opens new window

You can also contact the CSA by phone or in writing. CSA contact details will be on any letter that you have received from the CSA.

Find out more about the complaints process for the CSA by downloading the following leaflet.

• Download 'How do I complain about the service I get from the Child Support Agency' (PDF, 291K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

If you've been through the complaints process and still feel that the problem has not been sorted out, you can contact the Independent Case Examiner.

The Independent Case Examiner (ICE)

ICE looks into complaints about certain government organisations, including the CSA. They will only look into your child maintenance case once you’ve been through the CSA complaints process.

If you want ICE to look at your complaint, you need to contact them within six months of getting a final reply from the CSA.

Find out more information about ICE by using the link below

• The Independent Case Examiner

Parliamentary Ombudsman

You can also ask your MP to get the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to look into your complaint.

The Ombudsman will usually only become involved in a complaint once you’ve:

• been through the CSA’s complaints process
• had the complaint reviewed by ICE

Find out more about the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman by using the link below.

• Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

What happens if the CSA has made a mistake?

Sometimes, the CSA could make a mistake when handling a case. This is called 'maladministration'. Sometimes the CSA may pay compensation to those who have been affected. These are known as 'special payments'.

Find out more about special payments by downloading the 'Special Payments Guide' using the following link.

• Download 'Special Payments Guide' (PDF, 250K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

Advance payments of child maintenance

Sometimes, CSA maladministration leads to child maintenance not being collected from the non-resident parent at the right time. This means there is a delay in the parent with care getting child maintenance.

A non-resident parent is the parent who the child does not normally live with. A parent with care or person with care is the parent or carer who the child normally lives with.

If there is a delay, the CSA may make a payment in advance to the parent with care. This is while it collects payments from the non-resident parent.

Advance payments are paid in a lump sum. They are different from special payments, because the CSA still collects what is owed from the non-resident parent.

When the CSA will make an advance payment

The CSA will only make an advance payment when:

• there is clear evidence that CSA maladministration caused the delay
• there is clear evidence that if maladministration had not happened, the non-resident parent would have paid or been made to pay
• the amount owed because of maladministration is over £100
• it would take more than 26 weeks for the non-resident parent to pay the child maintenance that wasn’t collected because of maladministration
• the delay was longer than the time it normally takes to process payments

The parent with care must:

• have been made to wait longer for their child maintenance than normal
• have shown an interest in progressing their case during the period of the delay, contacting the CSA at least every three months
• agree that the CSA can keep the delayed payments once they have been collected from the non-resident parent
• agree to refund any payments made directly to them by the non-resident parent instead of their delayed payments

The non-resident parent must:

• have been paying up until the point of maladministration
• be making regular child maintenance payments and arrears payments at the point of an application for an advance payment

The CSA decides if advance payments can be paid. All decisions about advance payments will be made on a case by case basis.

More useful links

• Independent Case Examiner website Opens new window

• Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website Opens new window

• Download 'How do I complain about the service I get from the Child Support Agency' (PDF, 291K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files