[Solved] Child Maintenance

hello mate

been there done that got the battle scars and feel for you

unfortunately the mothers maintenance service are a nightmare to deal with, they jump to help mothers and do their best to ignore fathers or make it difficult for us.

they have bands that specify how much maintenance is paid

52-103 nights a year equates to 1 night a week so 1/7th off total bill
104-155 2 nights a week 2/7th
156-174 3 nights a week 3/7th

175+ 50%

you would need to prove that you have kids 4 nights a week or equivalent if averaged out over year

this is usually difficult, i sent in a court order proving how many nights a year i had (130) but it still fell in band 2
if you have any extra then you would need to prove it and they would only take them into account if they make the average number of nights fall into another band

you could possible try to get her to confirm in text any extra nights you have although the wording would have to be right for it to work.

she obviously wont confirm it so its a very difficult one
and if she gets the child benefit then it means you are liable to pay as the non resident parent

Thanks for taking time to respond, greatly appreciated
I'm paying out lawyers fees and money to her household and yes the CMS dont seem to want to help in any way possible.

I have the chance to appeal but don't know if it's worth it.

if you believe the decision is wrong then you can appeal in writing to the CMS and provide all the relevant information/evidence

if you are still not happy then you can still get your case looked at by independent tribunal

here is a leaflet on complaints/appeals procedures
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/.../what-to-do-if-youre-unhappy-with-the-cms.pdf

if you believe that you have a case then i would appeal it.

I am currently looking to appeal which i know will fail as i have no additional evidence to submit, the only way round this is going to court and explain everything to a judge, also that the child maintenance have done nothing but cause problems between us, its a joke, i am paying 120 per month at the minute which is not a lot but its the principle of the matter that i work hard to fund some of her house yet i have the kids 3-5 nights per week, weekends out, holidays etc, in the past 18 months i have asked her for nothing

I share your pain and I have an on going problem with them, so sorry about the detail but I'm at a loss to know what to do.

My ex wife made an application to the CMS, in the past we have been dealt with by the CSA.

CMS tell me that no information has been passed on from the CSA to the CMS due to data protection, this means that the history of my case has been lost, so we are starting again.
i lost my job in Decmember, the CSA were informed about this and I in fact got a refund in January.

I registered as self employed because I couldn't claim benefits due to us being in a universal credit area and as the job centre said I was working enough (I was not working).
The CMS get information from HMRC to calculate your gross earnings, so HMRC gave them a figure for the tax year 16/17 in July, They sent me a letter saying my contribution to my ex wife would be £11,900 a year!! Under the CSA I was paying £400 a month but nothing since I lost my job.
I had the unfortunate experience of speaking to the CMS, they were aggressive, unprofessional and that I was a liar. They were confident I was still earning the same salary as I had been.
I have now had several conversations with them about my circumstances, they are so unprofessional and make you feel like you are in the wrong. I'm self employed as I try to set up my sole trader business, they want me to get an accountant to predict how much money i will make, but I don't know this as I don't have contracts in place, they say I then need to provide a copy of my business plan I gave to the bank, but as I'm not borrowing money I can't do this.
Its gone to appeal now.
Since the start, only in July, they said I was liable to pay £11,900, this was in the first letter that had no information on how care was shared so not even any information on the reduction I would get. The information on how often I have son given by my ex wife was incorrect, they contacted her and she agreed that the information I had given was correct!! I don't see my daughter and haven't for 3 years as my ex wife made an application to court to stop me seeing my children, I was found not guilty of being a problem to my children by a judge and social services, I could not claim the costs but to cap it all my daughter at 15 years old could chose, she decided her family was with her mum and for that I pay more towards to her. My son is pretty much 50/50
I phoned the tax office because I disagreed with the gross earnings figure, HMRC agreed with my figure and not the CMS, the CMS thought i had a car allowance so they added that on, whereas I was actually paying tax on my company car so it was part of my benefits in kind and part of my tax code, but they won't admit there mistake. However its irrelevant as I'm not working for the same company or earning the same as before. My ex wife knows this but won't tell them, my son is stuck in the middle!
The CMS have lied in their letters but say its a standard letter, they say they contacted my ex employer to verify my income but they couldn't verify my current circumstances, when i quizzed them on it they admitted they hadn't contacted and that they put that in their standard letter. It is unbelieveable that this is a government department [censored] bent on getting money out of the paying parent, often the father. My case person was a female, her supervisor was a female both were aggressive to me and one even accused me of having no intention of sending the information back, a phrase which was said to be "unfortunate" by a team leader I spoke to when i complained. When asked if a male could handle my case i was accused of being sexist!!

I don't know what I can do? The CMS say contact my MP, ha ha ha, Sir Alan Duncan won't give a flying fig about this.
Why do they use Gross income? I was taxed heavily for having a company car and private medical insurance, so 2 people can have the same gross income but take home different amounts, this doesn't seem correct.

My ex wife owns her own business, has a range rover plus a second car, mini convertible, bought my daughter a brand new car when she passed her test, lives in a large house and has all the trappings of a successful life, she doesn't need my money and nor should she get anymore than what it costs for my sons school dinners, football fees and school uniform. They won't means test her but say she is the one claiming the child benefit, I haven't seen once £ of child benefit in the 10 years since we divorced. It is my daughters choice not to see m, not mine, she has been encouraged by her mum, yet i pay more for not seeing her!

The system is rotten, its against the paying parent and is run by people who are not accountable to anyone. there is nothing on the website saying how to complain, is there an ombusman, surely there must be as its a government department. Also non will give their last names.

Right now I cannot afford the £713 they say I need to give my ex wife a month as that is from my earnings last year. HMRC can tell them I'm self employed and when i became self employed but the CMS won't ask and can't ask them.

The only light at the end of the tunnel is that my daughter is going to university in september so my ex wife cannot claim child benefit, so I won't have to pay and as my son is pretty much 50/50 my contribution goes right down, but as she has a residency order i still have to pay her money. She is trying to get more whilst she can,

If you though the CSA were bad the CMS are a million times worse.

Any advice would be great, sorry about the tale of woe!!

@3297dazs - a court won't override a CMS ruling in a maintenance calculation, so I wouldn't waste money trying to get the ruling overturned in court, you would need to go through the CMS complaints procedure, and it is worth contacting your MP.

@prostron - whoever your MP is, it is still their job to represent their constituents, and will hold regular surgeries - it may not be him dealing with it personally, but he will delegate it to his assistants to get the job done.