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ROW: Postman Stephen Williamson
ROW: Postman Stephen Williamson

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Web fury of man in love-child row


1/ 7/2004

A POSTMAN found himself at the centre of a bogus love child row after using the Friends Reunited website to trace old school pals.

Stephen Williamson described his ordeal after being falsely accused by a woman of fathering a child during a trip to the Canary Islands he never made.

He was only told the woman had realised she made a mistake last night and the Child Support Agency had dropped the case against him.

The 37-year-old from Bolton told how he joined the website to trace old classmates.

But he was stunned to receive an e-mail from the woman who claimed she met him on a holiday to Gran Canaria in 1994. She said that he was the father of her child.

Stephen, of Union Street, Bolton, said he had only been abroad once, to Florida in 2001 with his wife of 17 years, Jane.

Shock

The couple, who were childhood sweethearts, have two daughters, 16-year-old Sam and 11-year-old Kirsty.

Stephen assumed the e-mail was a mistake, until a shock letter from the CSA dropped on his doormat last week.

The CSA told Stephen he would have to take a DNA test if he wanted to contest the allegation and prove he wasn't the father.

But today, Stephen's wife Jane revealed he received a phone call from the CSA late last night telling him to "rip up" all the documents as there had been a mistake.

Jane said: "They have cleared it up. It looks like this woman has got the wrong man, which we knew anyway."

Stephen added his name to the popular website's Castle Hill School page two years ago and received the bombshell e-mail last March.

The woman asked him if he remembered their holiday romance in 1994. Stephen didn't reply, then received the letter from the CSA to say they had launched an investigation.

Rediculous

Stephen, who always denied he had met the woman, said today: "I'm relieved it's all over, but I have been through the wringer because of this.

"I couldn't believe the CSA could act like this without checking the facts first.

"What sort of place are they running when an honest, married bloke, who has never been unfaithful, can suddenly be accused by a person they have never met before and be expected to prove they are not the father? It's ridiculous."

The woman refused to answer the door at her home on the outskirts of Manchester, while a CSA spokesman said: "We can not comment on individual cases.

"However, if a parent is alleging paternity and that is being denied, we would go back to the parent and make sure they are absolutely certain it is the right person."

Steve Pankhurst, co-founder of Friends Reunited, added: "We have measures in place to avoid these situations as best we can. In this case, the lady tracked the man down through the postal service."

Have you been vicitm of a CSA mistake?


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Most recent 2 of 4 user comments

   While I sympaphise greatly with these kinds of stories you must admit the there at least as many unscrupulous fathers out there as there are mothers. By this I mean that the CSA must hear denials of paternity everyday, and if they took each one at their word fathers of these children would get off scot free. I am not defending the CSA, it is obvioulsy an organisation with many problems, but to look at it from their point of view they have a job to do, a woman gives them a name she must have got from somewhere, so it is most likely the father, they track them down and while they deny responsibility they refuse a DNA test - that would look suspicious to me!

If you are sure you are not the father why not take the test?
Kim, Burnage
12/07/2004 at 12:52

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   I am having the same problem. I have been accused of being a father of a child i have never heard of from 4 years ago. The mothers name i do not even know but the CSA has told me i have to take the test i was spoken to in a very rude manner and told dont you want to take responsibility for your own child, they dont seem to understand i don't have a clue what they are talking about. They treat me like a guilty man and this has made difficult my realtionship with my current partner. I feel the CSA are a bunch of bullies they sent the letter via my commanding officer and he read it first as it was address to him to be forwared to me. I also then recived a letter from them saying following a telephone conversation with them i had confirmed i was the father this was complete noncence as i denied this i have now to go for a test or they will dock my wages anyway i find this very upsetting as they are clearly on the mothers side. It is a goverment run bully bussiness who seem to take great pleasure in destroying innocent people lifes. Good luck to this woman but i am very angery she would name someone who happens to be doing well for himself and got himself out of a rubbish part of town full of crazy single mothers like this one desperate to somehow feed a heroin addiction (the last statment is an assumtion and in noway generalises all single mothers some of whome are respectable and is through no circumtance of there own)..
SGD, UK
12/07/2004 at 00:00

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