THE Child Support Agency has taken the unusual step of paying the legal fees of a father who claimed blundering officials made his life a misery for years.

Henry Roy, of Paisley, was locked in a dispute with the Government agency for more than three years and claims he could have ended up in prison due to a series of mistakes.

After his divorce, the father-of-two claims he had a good relationship with his former wife and children and had been paying regular amounts on an informal basis. It was only when his ex-wife decided to formalise arrangements through the CSA that problems began.

He was taken to court twice as they pursued him for £8000 – an amount he disputed as he was unemployed for a period – before they finally agreed he owed just in excess of £1000.

Officials have now written to him admitting his case was mishandled and have agreed to pay more than £1700 towards the legal fees he incurred disputing the sum.

The CSA letter states: "I have re-examined the details of the case and it is agreed that maladministration has occurred."

Mr Roy, 45, says he is relieved the ordeal appears to be behind him, but has no faith in the "inept" system.

He said: "In principle, the CSA is a great idea, but the reality is the practice is disgraceful. The system is completely inept.

"My life and my family's life over the past few years would have been so much easier if they had done their jobs right."

Mr Roy, a mechanic who now runs his own business, had to instruct lawyer John Fotheringham, of Lindsays solicitors, to help fight his case.

He added: "This has worked for me because I got a lawyer and because I kept every piece of paperwork involved in the case, but there will be people out there who haven't.

"They'll be going through what I did. You actually live your life around what the CSA are doing. They make you feel like a criminal."

Mr Fotheringham – who specialises in family law –claimed he has never experienced the CSA awarding money for legal fees before.

He said: "In this case, they knew they had done badly even by their abysmal standards."

A spokesman for the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission said: "Parents are only at risk of jail if a court believes they have wilfully or culpably failed to pay maintenance.

"They are relieved from the duty to pay for their children if they can prove they have no income and are financially dependent on others. If the CSA has not given them that opportunity, compensation may be pay-able but the reimbursement of legal fees should only be justified in very exceptional, complex cases."