[Solved] cms

If you don't deal with CMS and ignore them, you could end up with them collecting the money directly from you which will incur a 20% fee. Best to just speak with them and get it sorted voluntarily.

Good luck

I think the flat rate under CMS is £7 per week, so there will be an increase (and if you don't contact them, as yoda says, that will add 20% so £8.40), and you could also get stung for arrears. Best not to put it off or ignore it.

Hello Colney Tony

If you have received a letter from the Child Maintenance Service informing you that an application has been made, you would need to contact them directly to discuss your concerns regarding the application. You will find their details on any letters they have sent you or on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance.

If an application has not been made via the Child Maintenance Service then you would not need to contact them unless you wish to start an application. The Child Maintenance Service is one way that child maintenance can be arranged.

There are various ways that child maintenance can be arranged, there is a family-based arrangement which is an arrangement agreed between parents without the intervention/ involvement of the Government or legal system and is not legally enforceable. There is the option of the Child Maintenance Service which is the Government’s statutory maintenance service, who can calculate maintenance leaving parents to arrange payment between themselves, or collect payments and pay to the parent/ main carer. There is also a Consent Order/ Minute of Agreement which is an arrangement through the courts.

For more information on all the different ways to set up child maintenance and for a more personalised service, you can visit the Child Maintenance Options website at http://www.cmoptions.org.

The DWP have a sorting out separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.

Regards

William

I have just received my first payment schedule from the CMS, am I the only person that was more than surprised at how much my payments had gone up as they now calculate the payment before tax and considering that I am now doing all the work and it was meant to be more cost effective, why I am paying 17% more each week?

Any ideas?

I have just received my first payment schedule from the CMS, am I the only person that was more than surprised at how much my payments had gone up as they now calculate the payment before tax and considering that I am now doing all the work and it was meant to be more cost effective, why I am paying 17% more each week?

Any ideas?

Hi

For many people moving to the gross income scheme has increased their payments. But at the same time, many provisions that enabled the resident parent to ask for an upward variation to their payments has decreased (from 4 to 2, and those remaining 2 have been weakened).

Also, under the new scheme (depending upon which you moved from) both
a) shared care reduction
and
b) travel costs
can be taken into account *at the same time* to reduce the payment, and some of the rules regarding prior debts have been (marginally) relaxed making it easier for non-resident parents to have these taken into account.

One further change, of note, has been the ability for the resident parent to simply "ask for and get" collect-and-pay which incurs an additional 20% cost for the NRP is no longer available. There now needs to be evidence of non-payment - and quite frankly, I don't understand why this ridiculous rule was included to begin with - as it is a bit of a no brainer for vindictive partners and so often abused.

Overall, there is an increase for lower to middle income earners and, in general, it is now easier for high-to very high income earners to reduce their liability. Targeting those without accountants on their payroll probably makes financial sense for the CMS.