Brando7164 said:
What is the name of your state? Texas
Ok, so basically the Attorney General in Texas in screwing me over in the matter of child support...i was told that i was $2000 ahead of the game at one point and then i was told that I owed $500...they dont have any record of me being ahead and so i decided to pay the $500 so that they wouldnt take any extra from my paycheck. This was during tax time and i then received a letter from the IRS saying they took the $500...which i had also sent...and now there is $10 extra being taken out of my check each pay period...and they refuse to talk to me now!!! what can I do? I have heard about a case in which a plantiff sued the attorney general and won...does anyone know what case this is?
Thanks.
Unless you have alot of extra time and money on your hands, suing the OAG is NOT a viable option. Make your requests for a review in writting and via email so that you will have documented proof if they refuse to address the issue. Politely, but firmly, explain the problem at hand and WHY you feel justified in asking for the child support order to be reviewed. If the deny your request, you can file for a modification directly with the court that has jurisdiction. It's best if you attempt to deal with the OAG directly if at all possible. The more attempts YOU make to work out the problem w/o involving the court, the better you will look IF you do have to go this route. After the first denial, make another request and clearly state that if they do NOT take action to resolve the matter in a reasonable amount of time you will have no other choice but to go through the court. (If there is no response to this, send ONE more letter or email after 30 days giving them 14 days to address the problem. Then file with the court after day 14.)
You need to get a copy of your payment record. Go to your nearest OAG office and request this IN PERSON. There may be a small charge, but they will HAVE to give you the information right then and there. Every OAG office has access to EVERY CS case in their system, so there is NO EXCUSE for them not to give it to you. If they try to make excuses, politely explain that you will just wait while they deal with whatever problem they are having that is preventing them from accessing the records at this time, and WAIT. When you get the payment record, make sure that the payments they have received match up with your records of how much has been paid. If there is a decrepency, you will need proof of payment for the money that is not accounted for on the OAG record, but it you normally have the CS garnished and paid by check or MO for the rest, it should be easy to prove.
Next, get your court order and figure up how much child support SHOULD have been paid. Take the amount of CS ordered (which is usually a set amount PER MONTH), multiply by 12 months and divide by 52 weeks. Write down that amount. Get out a calendar and count the # of weeks that have past between the day the order went into effect and the day you got the payment record. Multiply this # by the first one you wrote down. This is the amount of child support that SHOULD have been paid. If it doesn't match the amount that HAS been paid, your right, there's a problem and you need to take the matter to court if the OAG won't take action.
I know it sounds like alot of BS to go through, but other then paying a lawyer to do the same thing for $150 an hour, it's got to be done if you want to dispute the amount being garnished. Most of the time, once you run the numbers and can clearly show the mistake to the OAG, they will fix the problem w/o going to court. I know, the OAG should be the one's doing this, but the fact is, you don't WANT the OAG to do the math. Most of the people working there don't even have a good grasp of the LAW, let alone any math skills. Last time I dealt with a caseworker, they were trying to set the CS based on a 6 YEAR OLD chart. I pulled out the current chart and noticed there was a substancial difference in the figures, so I gave them my chart, which I got off the OAG website!
If the caseworker will still not take action after seeing PROOF that they are wrong, make a copy of all of the documents and submit them to the OAG office in Austin and DEMAND a review of the evidence by an actual ATTORNEY. If all else fails, go with plan B and file through the court. The OAG will look very stupid if a judge actually has to fix their mistake and they will usually be much more receptive if you have any issues in the future.
No matter how you actually get the problem solved DO NOT allow them to just "give you credit" for the overpayment. DEMAND a refund of the over garnished amount within 30 days. The OAG will try to tell you they don't refund any overpayments until after the child support obligation ends, but that's just an excuse they use to make things easier on them an to improve their bottom line. It is perfectly legal for them to refund the overpayment to you and continue the garnishment at the CORRECT amount. What they will have to do is keep the furture payments that you make until the overpaid amount is paid back by the CP, since she has already gotten all of the money. Then it becomes her problem, not yours!
If this isn't enough information or doesn't give you enough options to try and fix the problem, I can send you an entire BOOK of info on how to deal with the OAG.
