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Hi All
Can anyone give any advice on the following:-
I was advised that I was being changed over to the Child Maintenance Service in July, I had been paying for my 10 year old for the last 8 years via the CSA (never missed a payment). I called up the Options service and was advised that Direct Pay was the best method for me, I do not speak to my ex and I have not seen my child for two years (another story for another day). Anyway, I paid my £20 application fee and was advised that they would write to my ex for her bank details and then contact me back. We are now 4 months down the line and we are no further forward, I have been chasing Child Maintenance Service fortnightly for the past 4 months and they keep advising me that they are getting no response back from her. I keep putting the money to one side each month but they can't tell me how long this can go on for. I have a feeling that she will not want the money as she had remarried and is desperate for her husband to adopt my son. The Maintenance Service have no idea how to proceed this with as they say they haven't had this scenario so I guess I'll be putting the money to one side for the next 7-8 years in case she decides to make a claim one day. Has anyone else experienced any thing similar and can advise?
Many thanks
Hi There,
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I think that you are doing the right thing just putting the money to one side, I would possibly ask them if there is a point that they would close the case and if they do, then you would be ok to stop putting the money to one side as if your ex contacted them again, they would then only start the payments from the point that she contacted them.
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Just be careful if they say that they have closed the case as I have heard thet they are able to suspend the case but leave it open in which case the back payments would be due, so if they say they would close the case as they haven't heard from your ex, ask for it in writting that it is closed and not suspended and that you are clear from payments unless she contacts them again.
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If they don't close the case it could be worth asking for an annual review so that you can ensure that you are putting enough money away in case in the future you need to pay.
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GTTS
I'm in a similar situation myself and have started to put aside the maintenance that I was supposed to pay. Still no bank details and no clear answer as to how long this can go on for. It's clearly an issue that needs to be addressed.
Well, the resident parent is the one who loses out potentially - as long as you put the money aside, then the worst that can happen is that they come after you for arrears which you already have saved. And as I suggested previously, if you put the money into premium bonds, you might just win a prize in which case that's your money as a bonnus.
It took me 2 month to get the mams bank details for direct pay. Not cms fault as they did not recieve the details either. Think the mother was just been auckward. If the mam does not do the right thing and contact cms to get case closed they should automatically close it after a year so the non resident parent know where they stand. Hope you get it sorted. Know what its like
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