OT Erie County Child Support (my tale)

[afrodziak]

This is long but I just finished another round of dealings with these idiots and I thought I would share my tale(s) of dealing with the incredibly stubborn, uncaring, unfair and unproductive (for the citizens it is supposed to be serving) entity that is the Erie County Child Support Collection Unit.

 

My tale begins with the birth of my second son. When my girlfriend got pregnant and had our son she was working and in school to become a nurse. After our son was born she was unable to work and go to school and care for him so she stopped working to finish school. We both understood that this meant she had to go on public assistance and therefore I had to pay child support (which I had no problems paying – though I preferred to pay directly for our son’s needs rather than to the ECSCU) as I didn’t make enough money to support both our households at the time and we had no plans to begin living together.

 

First they called us in to advise us that I would have to pay and for me to sign paternity papers (even though I was on the birth certificate already and had never denied my fatherhood status). I came in and expected to do all the paperwork and be done.

 

The first step evidently was just the paternity step, they set up another date for me to come and determine the amount of my payments – about a month later! If I recall correctly they had to reschedule this meeting for some reason (not my doing, I showed up every time I was told to and did not miss any appointments whatsoever). At any rate, to shorten the story they took 2 months or more to finally get me back and square things away, then they wouldn’t take into account the fact that I had another son who I had to support – saying unless he was in their system he basically didn’t exist as far as they were concerned. They assigned me payments which I thought were somewhat high for my salary, but I had already resigned myself to paying whatever it was they said I had to pay (looking back, I would have gotten a lawyer for this, but at the time I was only 24 and felt the lawyer fees would not be worth it – what a BIG DUMMY)

 

The real problem with all this was that they also said I owed them 2 or 3 months of back pay which amounted to roughly (as best I can recall, within $100 or so) $1200.00! I couldn’t understand how I owed them back pay when the only reason it hadn’t been paid was their delays in scheduling! Not only that, but they also informed me that if I didn’t pay the arrears within like 30 days, they would report it to the credit agencies!

 

THE SECOND OF THREE issues happened when my ex girlfriend finished school and got a job in her field and got off public assistance. We both went down to remove the order of support. They talked her into removing just the enforcement of it, but leaving the order intact so that if for some reason I stopped paying she could just go down and have them ‘flip a switch’ or whatever to restore the order. That was fine with me as I have always paid my fair share for my sons. So they removed the order and all was good. About a month or two later I get a letter in the mail saying I needed to come down to court because they determined that she had been on Medicaire when she gave birth (wonder how could it have been that they hadn’t figured that out for the 2 years I had been paying and only as soon as the spigot turned off did they magically decide I should pay for this now?) and so I (not WE) owed the state approximately $2000 for the Dr. bill. I asked them to explain why this bill was not something that we shared and they basically just told me that is the way it is. I was livid. The only good part about this is that when I went down (again sans attorney) and saw the DA and he saw that I had paid all my arrears and wasn’t missing any payments for the previous years (he asked how I paid it and I explained that I had to take out a loan and he was just pleased as pie that I was willing to go into further debt to remove a debt that I shouldn’t have even had in the first place if the state’s henchmen would’ve had their crap in order!) he mentioned it to the judge who agreed to only assign me 5.00/week payments for this 2000 debt.

 

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE THIRD time these bastards crossed me

I eventually got a better job and of course, forgot to tell my new employer to make the 5.00 payment (if they hadn’t insisted on garnishing my wages for the 5 bucks, I would not have so easily forgotten to do this, but after a couple of years I had basically forgotten all about it). So I wound up getting a few weeks behind – I think I owed them like 25.00. I got no letters, no phone calls despite living in the same place and having the same number. All I got was a checking account that was frozen! It included my most recent paycheck which was auto deposited and it took like 2 days for me to get the account freed up and caused several bounced checks and fees – my bank even charged me a fee for freezing the account! All for a 25.00 arrears that could have been resolved by a simple phone call!

 

 

 

"Suppose you were an idiot ... And suppose you were a

member of (ECSCU)... But I repeat myself."

--Mark Twain

[SouthernMan]

This is long but I just finished another round of dealings with these idiots and I thought I would share my tale(s) of dealing with the incredibly stubborn, uncaring, unfair and unproductive (for the citizens it is supposed to be serving) entity that is the Erie County Child Support Collection Unit.

 

My tale begins with the birth of my second son. When my girlfriend got pregnant and had our son she was working and in school to become a nurse. After our son was born she was unable to work and go to school and care for him so she stopped working to finish school. We both understood that this meant she had to go on public assistance and therefore I had to pay child support (which I had no problems paying – though I preferred to pay directly for our son’s needs rather than to the ECSCU) as I didn’t make enough money to support both our households at the time and we had no plans to begin living together.

 

First they called us in to advise us that I would have to pay and for me to sign paternity papers (even though I was on the birth certificate already and had never denied my fatherhood status). I came in and expected to do all the paperwork and be done.

 

The first step evidently was just the paternity step, they set up another date for me to come and determine the amount of my payments – about a month later! If I recall correctly they had to reschedule this meeting for some reason (not my doing, I showed up every time I was told to and did not miss any appointments whatsoever). At any rate, to shorten the story they took 2 months or more to finally get me back and square things away, then they wouldn’t take into account the fact that I had another son who I had to support – saying unless he was in their system he basically didn’t exist as far as they were concerned. They assigned me payments which I thought were somewhat high for my salary, but I had already resigned myself to paying whatever it was they said I had to pay (looking back, I would have gotten a lawyer for this, but at the time I was only 24 and felt the lawyer fees would not be worth it – what a BIG DUMMY)

 

The real problem with all this was that they also said I owed them 2 or 3 months of back pay which amounted to roughly (as best I can recall, within $100 or so) $1200.00! I couldn’t understand how I owed them back pay when the only reason it hadn’t been paid was their delays in scheduling! Not only that, but they also informed me that if I didn’t pay the arrears within like 30 days, they would report it to the credit agencies!

 

THE SECOND OF THREE issues happened when my ex girlfriend finished school and got a job in her field and got off public assistance. We both went down to remove the order of support. They talked her into removing just the enforcement of it, but leaving the order intact so that if for some reason I stopped paying she could just go down and have them ‘flip a switch’ or whatever to restore the order. That was fine with me as I have always paid my fair share for my sons. So they removed the order and all was good. About a month or two later I get a letter in the mail saying I needed to come down to court because they determined that she had been on Medicaire when she gave birth (wonder how could it have been that they hadn’t figured that out for the 2 years I had been paying and only as soon as the spigot turned off did they magically decide I should pay for this now?) and so I (not WE) owed the state approximately $2000 for the Dr. bill. I asked them to explain why this bill was not something that we shared and they basically just told me that is the way it is. I was livid. The only good part about this is that when I went down (again sans attorney) and saw the DA and he saw that I had paid all my arrears and wasn’t missing any payments for the previous years (he asked how I paid it and I explained that I had to take out a loan and he was just pleased as pie that I was willing to go into further debt to remove a debt that I shouldn’t have even had in the first place if the state’s henchmen would’ve had their crap in order!) he mentioned it to the judge who agreed to only assign me 5.00/week payments for this 2000 debt.

 

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE THIRD time these bastards crossed me

I eventually got a better job and of course, forgot to tell my new employer to make the 5.00 payment (if they hadn’t insisted on garnishing my wages for the 5 bucks, I would not have so easily forgotten to do this, but after a couple of years I had basically forgotten all about it). So I wound up getting a few weeks behind – I think I owed them like 25.00. I got no letters, no phone calls despite living in the same place and having the same number. All I got was a checking account that was frozen! It included my most recent paycheck which was auto deposited and it took like 2 days for me to get the account freed up and caused several bounced checks and fees – my bank even charged me a fee for freezing the account! All for a 25.00 arrears that could have been resolved by a simple phone call!

"Suppose you were an idiot ... And suppose you were a

member of (ECSCU)... But I repeat myself."

--Mark Twain

330116[/snapback]

 

 

Just curious....do you believe the taxpayers of Erie County should subsidize your irresponible actions and contribute even a penny towards your child? Sorry, but I get really pissed off when people go off to get laid, have a good time, and can't take care of things without the help of unknown citizens. Was the child planned? Ever consider adoption? Any plans to pay back the county and it's taxpayers?

 

So now you've got, what, two kids out of wedlock? Do you live with either of them? If I sound judgemental, too bad. Have as many kids as you like, but I expect the parents to raise them without assistance from individuals who don't know them and had no part in the decision making.

[CoachChuckDickerson]

This is long but I just finished another round of dealings with these idiots and I thought I would share my tale(s) of dealing with the incredibly stubborn, uncaring, unfair and unproductive (for the citizens it is supposed to be serving) entity that is the Erie County Child Support Collection Unit.

 

 

 

I get the impression you blame a lot of your problems on others don't you. If you ask me it sounds like the county is doing their job because you are irresponsible.

[Yoho]

Just curious....do you believe the taxpayers of Erie County should subsidize your irresponible actions and contribute even a penny towards your child? Sorry, but I get really pissed off when people go off to get laid, have a good time, and can't take care of things without the help of unknown citizens. Was the child planned? Ever consider adoption? Any plans to pay back the county and it's taxpayers?

 

So now you've got, what, two kids out of wedlock? Do you live with either of them? If I sound judgemental, too bad. Have as many kids as you like, but I expect the parents to raise them without assistance from individuals who don't know them and had no part in the decision making.

330135[/snapback]

 

I am with you. Here is an approach you might try.

 

1. Make a committment to the person that you have a child with.

 

2. Don't have children until you make enough money to support them.

 

3. If you are not ready for 1 or 2, use a condom, no use 2 condoms.

[Curse Of Rusty Jones]

I am with you.  Here is an approach you might try.

 

1. Make a committment to the person that you have a child with.

 

2.  Don't have children until you make enough money to support them.

 

3.  If you are not ready for 1 or 2, use a condom, no use 2 condoms.

330144[/snapback]

 

 

You are teaching responsbility and control. something most people do not believe in anymore, Resonsibility is a curse word these days.

[The Poojer]

i don't get the hostility towards this guy. he isn't cheating anyone. maybe it was irresponsible to be so careless with his johnson, but he owned up to it, and rather than making mother or child suffer he went through the channels that are available to ALL of us should we ever need them. His complaint is that the bearucratic BS that he went through caused him to have a couple 'large' lump sums come due rather than having them deducted in smaller, more easily managed monthly payments. I know that it is easier for me to pay 10 bucks a month, than it is for me to come up with 2 grand all at once. God forbid anyone here needs to ever "cheat the taxpayers" and have to get public assistance for anything(be it welfare or hurricaine relief, or daycare grants...whatever). These things are in place to help people that need it. The problem lays when people live the lie off the system, and to me, based on his story, doesn't seem to be the case.

[Stussy109]

Tough luck, it's a shame it can't be corrected...

[afrodziak]

I dont mind the criticism, i dont think it is justified but everyone has their own opinion. I have learned a lot about the corruption of this system since those days (this began 10 years ago) and i have found that one of the reason so many states are so gung ho in chasing down and in some cases even tearing down people's lives is the subsidies they get for every dollar collected from the federal government.

 

In my case - to answer a couple of questions NO, i am not one who blames folks regularly for my problems

 

NO, neither of my sons were planned and yes i am unfortunate enough to have had two girlfriends who were on the pill get pregnant.

 

NO, i do not currently live with either of my sons or their mothers. I am married now for almost three years to my wife, who is not the mother of my children. I live in another state, but am very much involved in both my sons lives, they spend summers and holidays with me - i come home to Buffalo very often for their birthdays and all christmas festivities and more - usually about ever 6 weeks or so. In fact when they get to high school age they will move in with me and visit their mothers in the summer. They are very close to one another and their mothers get along so it isnt one of those things where they are not well taken care of or treated badly - none of us have any problems with one another in this big ol crazy family.

 

Some of you evidently misunderstood my post. I did not ever have a problem taking care of either of my sons, in fact before i got married and moved away 3 years ago, they would stay with me 3 to 4 nights per week and not just weekends either. We were and are still VERY close. I only had a problem with the way the system seemed designed to ruin people. Treat everyone like deadbeats. I was a young person trying to make it in life and they are threatening my credit for no reason other than their own ineptitude. I can say not ONE cent of my children was paid by society at large (i know it was long but if you read the whole post you would see that i paid all my bills relating to my son's birthing and all my other child support obligations) my only issue was i couldnt understand why they didnt hold both myself and my ex responsible for the Dr. bill and why they couldnt e simply sign me up and not set me up with these UNECESSARY past due fees and threaten my credit - thereby possibly preventing me from getting better jobs, making more money and being able to take proper care of myself and my family.

 

They were not successful in doing much more than being a major annoyance as both of my sons mothers are RN's, i am a Director of Technology for a software company and both my sons are honor students in Buffalo.

 

I just think the system is VERY corrupt and actually was curious if anyone else has had dealings with them and feel the same way or feel differently...

[gantrules]

So, the system followed the rules set by the system and you have a problem with it?

 

Why did you move away?

[duey]

I'm not going to pass judgement or anything, but WTF with both of your sons mothers being RN's, and both of them got pregnent by you while on the pill.

[afrodziak]

I'm not going to pass judgement or anything, but WTF with both of your sons mothers being RN's, and both of them got pregnent by you while on the pill.

330299[/snapback]

 

LOL

Yeah, aint it the truth. Of course at the time neither of them were RN's, they were both in school when we were dating.

 

In answer to another person's post. YES, the system followed it's rules and YES i do have a problem with it - you must be one of those people who think that just because someone creates a rule it must be good? LOL there are a lot of rules in place that suck!

[Kevbeau]

Hmmm...I've got two buddies with pregnant wives who were supposedly on the pill. WTF is up with the pill?

 

 

Afro, just remember bureaucracy justifies itself. It's maddening, but that's the system.

[Alaska Darin]

NO, neither of my sons were planned and yes i am unfortunate enough to have had two girlfriends who were on the pill get pregnant.

330234[/snapback]

Uh, ever heard of condoms?

 

I can't disagree with the overall premise of your post that the government will royally screw you if you end up somehow involved with them. Hence the reason each person should limit their personal exposure as much as possible.

[Test]

Um? wtf?

[BillsFaninNC]

I will give you credit for going through with the pregancy, but geez man two kids with two mothers?

[Crap Throwing Monkey]

Uhhh, people...I don't think his point was "Look at me, I'm irresponsible with my Johnson!" I think his point was that the Erie County government is seriously screwed up.

 

Though that so many people are more concerned with his penile responsibility than the bloated inefficiency and stupidity of Erie County is pretty funny. And explains to some degree how Erie County got itself into the mess its in...

[ROSCOE P. COE TRAIN]

dont take the law into your own hands, you call a lawyer!

[Tux of Borg]

I won't pass judgement... life sucks and then you die.

 

The current system in place sucks. My brother has 100% custody of my niece, and the biological mother has to pay $8 a month in child support. My brother hasn't seem a dime in two years.

[KD in CA]

Uhhh, people...I don't think his point was "Look at me, I'm irresponsible with my Johnson!"  I think his point was that the Erie County government is seriously screwed up. 

 

Though that so many people are more concerned with his penile responsibility than the bloated inefficiency and stupidity of Erie County is pretty funny.    And explains to some degree how Erie County got itself into the mess its in...

330385[/snapback]

 

 

I'm sure that was his point, but a big reason for why the system is screwed up is because it is overloaded with irresponsible people who can't seem to manage their own lives. Anyone who has created multiple illegitimate children by the time they are in their mid 20s is part of the reason that the system sucks and IMO doesn’t have much right to B word about it.

 

He's complaining about a bureaucratic system that is shutting off his account for missing some $5 payments. Well big surprise, that process (either human or computer) isn't designed to care if the payment is $5 or $5000, which is probably because the applicable law isn't written with any materiality threshold.

 

Government bureaucracy sucks, but I’m sure not going to have a lot of sympathy for someone who 1) put himself in the situation he is in by being irresponsible and 2) is apparently suggesting this his situation would be made easier if there were even more taxpayer funded resources in the system.

[PastaJoe]

Hmmm...I've got two buddies with pregnant wives who were supposedly on the pill. WTF is up with the pill?

330352[/snapback]

 

If you notice your pharmacist quoting Scripture, go to another store. They might be slipping sugar pills in place of the real pills because they want to save your soul.