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Frequently Asked Questions

Complaining about our service


Q. What should parents do if they are not happy about the service provided by the Child Support Agency (CSA)?

A. In the first instance they should contact the people dealing with their case, either by phone or in writing. They can find our contact details on our letters. They can also e-mail their complaint to us by using the online complaints forms.

If the people dealing with the case cannot settle the complaint they will send it to the CSA's Complaints Resolution Team.

If a parent is not happy with the response from the Complaints Resolution Team they can ask for their complaint to be considered by the Complaints Review Team.


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Q. Can parents complain about how child maintenance has been worked out, or the ways they are being asked to pay?

A. If either parent has information, which they think would affect the amount of their child maintenance, they can ask us at any time to look at the decision again. It is not possible to appeal against administrative decisions about collecting and enforcing child maintenance payments.


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Q. How many complaints have there been about the CSA in the last year?

A. We are committed to treating all our clients fairly and offering them a service that meets their needs.

In the 2008/2009 financial year we received just below 28,000 complaints. This is an improvement of 26% on the previous year, when we received just below 38,000 complaints.

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Q. Will parents get compensation if the CSA has made a mistake?

A.Your complaint about our service may show that we have treated you particularly badly. For example, we may have caused very long delays, made a serious mistake or given you incorrect information. This is called 'maladministration'. In these situations, an apology may not be enough because you may have lost money through our action. We may be able to pay you compensation to make up for your loss. If appropriate, we'll treat this as part of handling your complaint. However, there is no legal right to compensation. To decide if we should pay you compensation, we use a set of rules that HM Treasury has agreed with the National Audit Office.

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Q. How many people received compensation?

A. In the 2008/09 financial year the CSA paid around £3.9m (£3,876,000) in compensation. This related to 13,086 individual cases.

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Q. If someone is not happy about the way their complaint is being handled what can they do?

A. If, after receiving a response from the Complaints Review Team, a parent still feels that we have not dealt with their complaint properly, they can write to the Independent Case Examiner.

The Independent Case Examiner gives an independent view on complaints from people who aren't happy with how we have handled their case. Their service is free and they are not part of the CSA.

Before the Independent Case Examiner will accept a case, they must be satisfied that we have had the opportunity to deal with the complaint and that it has been through each stage of our complaints process. They will look into the complaint as long they are contacted within six months of our Complaints Review Team's final reply.


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