Child support office in Flagstaff, AZ refuses to explain charges

In the past, I have had issues with mistakes on my account, and it continues up to this day.

A modification of child support made retroactive by the child support office in Flagstaff, AZ. This was done in spite of the fact that the court order stated it was not to be retroactive. The charge placed as arrears on my account was nearly $2,500. It took 2 1/2 years of phone calls and letters to get them to admit their mistake and remove the charge.

In 1997, I was purchasing a house. I was approved for the loan, except for a $900 arrears showing on my credit report, owed to child support. I immediately called and faxed over requests to get this matter resolved. It came within 2 days of losing the mortgage loan, but they finally mailed a document to me, indicating that my account was current (although they mispelled my name on the letter).

As of December 2008, I owed $1,407 in arrears due to losing my job earlier that year. I expected to have this amount (minus the extra paid each month) taken from my tax returns and the rest of my returns sent to me. All of my returns were taken, and when I called for an explanation, I was informed that I still owed nearly $6,000.

I was astounded, and started a 5-month series of faxes and phone calls (to date, 4 faxes and MANY phone calls) seeking an explanation for this charge. To date, I have receive no return phone calls, no return faxes, and one package. I was told twice that a recalculation had been mailed to me, but both times this turned out to be untrue. After nearly 5 months, I finally received a "recalculation", which consisted of my entire payment history and a paper showing I still owed $3,407. There was no explanation for the charge, or even any record of the charge, that was placed on my account. There was only a statement stating that I owed this money.

I have spent more time on the phone trying to get my explanation, and the last time I spoke to a customer service representative, I was told that my case worker tried to call me the previous Friday, and would try again on the following Monday. I have no record of a call, no do I have any messages on my voice mail. Either my phone selectively malfunctioned only for child support's incoming calls, or there was a mistake in noting that a contact attempt had been made.

Now I've made an appointment to see an attorney, not seeing any other options.