[Solved] Child maintenance - It seems so unfair

Not to sure about this one but i am in the same situation, my solicitor has advised me to go for shared custody, as 3 days in my care 3 days in mums care 1 day in his grans. We both earn the same but my transportation costs for school plus school fees dinners clubs etc. Currently paying 38.00 a week as cut my hours at work. With this judgement it would be 0.0. Even might get granted payments to myself if they take all my travel costs into consideration as 80 miles a day picking up my child then dropping off as mum cannot drive.

I'm currently battling with the CMS.
The rules and guidelines are so inconsistent and backwards. I have had numerous arguments over the phone with the (in my opinion)
Unprofessional staff. I really think the guidelines should change or be looked at. I'm not going to go into detail about everything on here as I would end up boring you all but really considering getting a petition started to get the government to look into this. I believe many honest paying parents who don't have a good understanding of this system are overpaying due to the complicated system which is set to confuse the paying parent .

It can join all of the other petitions that have been set up.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/201559
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/201622
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/200778
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/200030
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/202925
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/200868
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/200643

There was a Select Committee inquiry which you can also read and look through: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/work-and-pensions-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/child-maintenance-16-17/

At the end of the day in the system overall there are currently:
- NRP not paying anything at all and escaping enforcement for years/ever
- NRP paying to much
- NRP paying to little due to avoidance/hiding tactics
- NRP paying the right and a fair amount
- NRP not in contact with children because they don't want to be
- NRP not in contact with children because the PWC blocks/prevents it
- NRP not in contact with children because the child does not want it
- PWC getting no money
- PWC getting to little money
- PWC getting to much money
- PWC getting a fair and right amount of money
- PWC supporting NRP access to children
- PWC blocking NRP access to children

In each individual case it will virtually always only be the PWC OR the NRP OR the CMS that is "morally in the wrong"- however in the system as a whole every type of situation exists and has people suffering as a result.
However everyone who "goes to war" with the CMS does so in their own situation - and will generally find that the specific thing/problem they are having in another situation is valid and sensible and has worked.

If you think child maintenance and CMS is fair, take my story.
I divorced in 2009 and agreed by the courts to pay 70:30 to do three right thing.
I paid £146,000 as a child agreement and then £200 per month for my daughter... I had my daughter every other weekend too at that time.
My wife used the money for plastic surgery, she had breast implants and stated a cafe, business, that failed.
She and my daughter then moved from Banbury where we all lived to Pembrokeshire taking away the ability for me to see my daughter.
Whilst they lived there, I had a heart attack and my ex had a go at my partner who rang my daughter to tell her what had happened and at no time did the ex being my daughter to see me whilst in hospital or whilst convalescing.
I recovered only then to be told by the CMS that the £200 wasn't enough as my ex had spent the £146,000 and had no money, so the amount I now have to pay is nearly £500/month as I don't have my daughter to stay.
This leaves me with £94/month to live on once my bills are paid and if I get a raise, that goes to the ex too...

Can somebody tell me if I have any kind off case.
The settlement was for my daughter and signed as a full and final settlement in the Oxfordshire courts.
In my opinion, you get nothing for trying to do the right thing...
I feel like quitting my job and emigrating...

That was David Channon's point - the CMS is there to apply a standard set of rules as they simply cannot rule on a case-by-case situation. It sounds like, in your case, that the issue was that you signed a full and final settlement and weren't advised that if a case is opened with the CSA/CMS, then a final settlement doesn't actually count for anything after 12 months.

I am pleased to see their is a list of petitions put forward regarding the CMS calculations, just a shame that the petition isnt written clearly enough to be considered.

I say I am pleased, because I speak to so many men who are in a position where they are paying a ridiculous amount of money in a shared care situation.

My main emphasis here would be on grounds of discrimination in that the time of shared care by the NRP is given no consideration in terms of payment from the PWC. This is highlighted by the example of the original poster who had a 3:4 nights split. The PWC here is looking after the child for one more day, so if 7 days care is 12% of Gross salary, then the NRP should be only paying 1/7th of their 12% Gross salary, however with the current system he only receives a 3/7th reduction so is paying 4 times as much.

I would like initial thoughts on this and if people agree then would be happy to table a petition.

You seem to be talking logic but the problem is your dealing with a corrupt regime. Which is biest against the non resident parent. What a shame. After paying for 19 years i have a valid point. This regime does not deal with logic. I would write to your local MP instead.
All i can say is good luck

It's a complete shambles. The less time you spend with your child as a NRP the more you pay the RP, so in our case, my son's EX wants ZERO Contact to be ordered by the courts, so that my son pays her more money. When he was having his son every other weekend and 1 overnight stay during each week, we contacted the CMS and reduced the payment, the EX went mental and stopped contact until he called the CMS and said he was not having his son and her payments went back to regular amount.

Just one of the games she has played over the past 4 years.

I entirely agree the comments on this thread and empathise with the situations highlighted. Unfortunately though, I think that no one of any importance or power actually cares (aside from Phillip Davis MP who is the only person who appears to fight for Mens rights) as the media only seem to highlight cases of 'errant fathers' which only serves to brand the rest of us as second rate, child abandoning, irresponsible parents, which I am more than sure the majority of us are not. We all love our children equally as much as their Mothers but are confronted by blatant sexism and discrimination against us when we try to speak out.

The system is entirely one sided and makes no adjustment for real-life, on-the-ground situations and try appealing to the CMS or MPs with any form of rationale and they will roll their eyes at you . Until someone actually does something of any notice this situation will sadly remain unchanged and I personally don't think that signing petitions will force any change though, as sad as that may seem.

Bit late to this thread but I'm finding myself in an incredibly frustrating situation so thought I'd share. I've been divorced for 6years now and in those 6years I've never missed a payment to my ex for our 2 children. The amount I pay was set out in a private agreement which also included a 50/50 split on private childcare, children's clubs, and school uniform. I also do all the travelling which equates to an 80m round trip every Friday and Sunday. Recently I asked my ex for more time with the children, especially at Xmas time which in the past she has always refused. Again she refused so I suggested mediation and as a punishment was told she told me she would now take me through CMA/CMS. Low and behold letter arrived last week which increases the amount I now need to pay by roughly 2/3. I found speaking to these people absolutely demoralising - being reminded of my responsibilities as a parent (responsibilities I've always taken incredibly seriously). My daughter now tells me that my ex and her partner are now shopping for new cars and setting up a new business. CMA should absolutely look in to private arrangements to prevent the agency from being used as a threat or punishment for stepping out of line.

hi,

i assume you have a permanent job. you should consider going self-employed. that way its less pressure on you. message me if you need advice.

The CMS does have a calculation for maintenance, so you do seem to have paid less than this. However, the maintenance is for everything, so if you are paying for anything else, then you can stop that, as this CMS supercedes that agreement, and doesn't require you to pay anything extra at all.