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Hello. My situation is a little different to the norm….
My son has been living with me full time since November 2021. I applied for child maintenance in April 2022 from mother as she refused to pay any contribution towards our sons upbringing.
I have had numerous endless conversations with CM {child maintenance} with no result.
Apparently, mother froze the account so I could not claim from her and CM have done nothing about it until April 2023. It has been a tiring and frustrating journey getting to this point with no help from CM. I have even had letters from CM stating I should continue to pay her even when my son has been living with me full time for the past 18 months.
They're refusal to acknowledge my claim has been disappointing to say the least as I feel that they only side with mothers!
My last conversation with CM {last week} was that I was told that I would have to make a fresh claim and that my first claim {a year ago} would not be honoured due to mother freezing the account.
Surely this is not legal? I have disputed with them on the phone but they refuse to help or listen.
i have also explained to them that I have been receiving Child benefits since April 2022 as mother refused to give that up too!
Can anyone advise me on my next step please?
Hi,
Next step I suggest is you write to your MP and ask can they raise a complaint with CMS, and email these at same time:
correspondence@dwp.gov.uk
internal.cmg@dwp.gov.uk
complaint.reviewteam@dwp.gov.uk minister.welfaredelivery@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
ministers@dwp.gov.uk
mp.inbox.cmg@dwp.gov.uk
secretaryofstate@dwp.gov.uk
minister.welfaredelivery@dwp.gov.uk
Hi @football101. Definitely heed @bill337's advice, contact your local MP.
If you partner is a UK tax payer, the CMS can deduct the amount owed at source. https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance-for-employers/deduction-from-earnings-orders-deos
The CMS will base their calculation on the 2022-23 tax year. While it's always beneficial to take a measured and conciliatory approach, if your ex is unwilling to play ball and you know your ex is be earning and not paying any tax, you can report them here. https://www.gov.uk/report-tax-fraud
It's always good to give others the chance to come clean and to do the right thing. However, there's always those that are uncooperative and unreasonable; those are the ones that need to face the music per se.
Be very careful with Child maintenance service. I am paying parent for already 12 years and my ex have informed CM that I am not visiting our child properly and asked for review of my tax year. This has caused such nightmare for me. Child maintenance have taken off shared care from my file, CM payments have increased from £130 a month to £330, with Direct pay and order for deduction of CM payments directly from my wages. I am left to live of £100 a month for the food and no chance to see child who is living in Felixstowe and I am living in London.
To speak to Child maintenance service you will be on hold for 2 hours now a days.
My defence for not seeing child properly is that I was working as paramedic and at time of Covid I was transporting Covid patients in 2020/21 and court order about shared care from 2017 that I have, does not have any value to CM service. They believe to letter from mother.
I am still trying to sort this out...
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