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OK, so i am self employed. About 2 years ago my ex and i came to an agreement that i would pay £30 per week for the children.
This covers my share of food etc for them as well as activities etc. Clothes and all the rest of it, we have our own at each house, so this is already shared.
I've never had a good relationship with my ex, but have consistently paid her £30 a week EVERY week as agreed.
Out of the blue the other day, i got a letter from the CMS saying she had instructed them to set up maintenance payments and she had selected that she wanted to use the collect and pay service. They seemed quite surprised when i told them we already had an agreement and i have paid every week, always and never defaulted.
Its my understanding that CMS are only supposed to get involved where there is a dispute. I am not aware of any dispute, my ex hasn't contacted me at all about money.
On the basis that there is no dispute, i can prove our agreement in writing and can prove i have never defaulted on a payment. Do i have grounds to refuse the involvement of the CMS?
Hi
No, it's open to either one of you to start a case with CMS, and she has obviously chosen to do this. You have to abide by their calculation (assuming it is correct). She can't insist on collect and pay (this adds 20% to your payments, and she gets 7% taken off at her end), this is only used if there are arrears, so you should go on to direct pay, which means that the CMS do the calculations, and you pay the money directly to your ex.
Actd is right, if she has decided to go through the CMS there’s nothing to stop her. The only thing you can dispute is the collect and pay part.
I’m assuming that she thinks she would get more if she goes via the CMS, have you done a calculation using the CMS calculator? If not, it might be helpful to do so
www.gov.uk/calculate-your-child-maintenance
All the best
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