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Hi,
I am 23 and have a 4 year old son. My ex has been threatening with CSA this week and this is a route i really do not want to go down if i can help it.
I currently pay £150 a month maintenance and have done for the last year, prior to this it was £100 p/m. My current salary is 25500 and therefore according to the online calculators i should be paying more. However, i work away from home and am only on this salary because i work away. Rent away costs me £300 pcm and i travel home weekends every weekend to see my son, a further cost of £100.
My son stays 1-2 nights a week and i also spend the usual amount on weekend activities clothes presents etc.. which i do not begrudge at all and of course enjoy! It seems unfair to me they only look at my gross monthly salary, not taking into account the fact i am sacrificing £400 a month to effectively be on this salary and would not achieve anywhere near this working locally.
This could be a common problem and any help / links advice would be truly appreciated! This is really stressing me out so thanks in advance!
Hey bpomery
Just to say I have been there with the ex threatening CMS, its a power thing so I opened up a case myself and took the power away, anyway back to your issue, unfortunately CMS work it out based on just your annual gross salary so it is 12% for one child, they don't take any living costs etc into consideration at all, they do allow for things such as paying into a Pension and also travelling but as far as I am aware that would only be the distance between your home address to your exes address to where you pick your son up and not the location where you are working from.
You having your son 1-2 nights a week would reduce the payment also and using the online calculator will give you an estimate, anything you spend over the agreed Maintenance whether its a Private Arrangement or through CMS is voluntary on your behalf.
If you would like to them Private Message me then I can tell you what I pay a month based on my salary etc to give you a rough idea, I hope this has helped in some way though
Can you declare that your rented accommodation is your home address - that way your travelling costs may be taken into account by the CMS.
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