[Solved] CMS collect and pay question

Hello wondering03

If an application has been made with Child Maintenance Service, either parent can request to have a Direct Pay arrangement to avoid the collection charges. In this instance, the Child Maintenance Service would make the ultimate decision of how the maintenance payments are made and received.

You may wish to contact the Child Maintenance Service direct to discuss the arrangement or alternatively visit their website https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance.

For information on 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 website that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: https://www.sortingoutseparation.org.uk/.

Regards

William

Hi - not quite understanding something. You say that your CSA case is coming to an end in Jan - this suggests you are already paying her? So how are you doing that?

Other than that - it sounds like you are moving to the CMS scheme. In this scheme - the "collect and pay" is no longer available at the sole request of one parent and "direct pay" is the default for ALL cases except....

...Except for those "paying parents" that 1. have a history of arrears, 2. have been "difficult" about making payments. 3. flat out refused to pay. Even if the CSA were collecting in the old scheme - under the new CMS they are supposed to default to the "direct pay" scheme. If you dip into arrears after this - you will be hit with "collect and pay".

As is always the case when dealing with CMS payments - always make the payments - even if to yourself if you really cannot get hold of bank details. Make an online transfer clearly marked "Child maintenance" of the most recent calculated amount - and phone the CMS (or better still write to them) to say this is what are doing as your ex has not provided bank details. Keep records - or simply use bank statements in the event of a "dispute" with CMS.

I suspect you ex is trying to claim to the CMS "that she does not want to give out her bank details to you" - but this is not reason enough to demand CMS insist on collect and pay. The last thing you want to do is then give CMS a reason to claim you are in "arrears" and to then demand you pay via collect and pay.

If it were me - I would
1. Open a new separate account (easy these days online) with your existing bank.
2. Make CMS payments (of the last known amount/correct amount) to this new account - clearly marking them "child maintenence" (you can do this using the "reference" for most online payments.
3. Write or email or call CMS each time you make a payment to this account to tell them this is what you are doing.
4. Keep records/screenshots/bank statements, etc...

If you are not "online" friendly. Go into your bank, and explain this is what you want to do - and they will help you - even with making the transfer.

If doing all that you are told to use "collect and pay" - appeal it and I would be shocked if you were not wholly successful.

Good luck

HI There,
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As long as you haven't missed any payments through CSA then as already said they don't tend to enforce collect and pay, you can opt for direct pay, CMS will ask your ex for her bank details and pass them on to you so you don't need to make any contact with her, you can decide which date each month you want to pay.
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As already said, if you CSA payments have stopped and the CMS haven't contacted you then put the money to one side in case when it starts up, there are any arrears.
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GTTS

when my ex filed a case with the cms, they wrote to me with the bill etc
when i called them to state i am willing to pay but dont know where she is and dont have any contact info for her, i told the operator to provide me with bank info so i can start paying.
He did try to ignore what i had said and said "il put you on collect and pay for now then" thats when i had to interrupt and told him that the call is recorded by CMS and I have clearly stated i dont want to pay any fees and i want to pay her directly and want to be put on Direct Pay as it was a new case.
In the end after three weeks i had a letter with the bank details
I had missed three payments due to not having the details but just paid one amount to cover the three so i was upto date

They are a bunch of lazy clowns that will say and do anything to get out of having to do their job properly, but be persistent, know your rights, keep dates and times and names off who you spoke to so that if it comes to taking it to independent complaints then hopefully you can get that person on the dole que and see how they like it.

I am shocked that the calls and procedures are not monitored otherwise they would know what the operators are doing and saying to fobb people off every chance they get. Ive spoke to over 20 of them and only 2 or three actually knew what they were talking about and doing.

Next time i get stung i will be writing to BBC watchdog and the press,

when my ex filed a case with the cms, they wrote to me with the bill etc
when i called them to state i am willing to pay but dont know where she is and dont have any contact info for her, i told the operator to provide me with bank info so i can start paying.
He did try to ignore what i had said and said "il put you on collect and pay for now then" thats when i had to interrupt and told him that the call is recorded by CMS and I have clearly stated i dont want to pay any fees and i want to pay her directly and want to be put on Direct Pay as it was a new case.
In the end after three weeks i had a letter with the bank details
I had missed three payments due to not having the details but just paid one amount to cover the three so i was upto date

This is good to know! I had no idea cms could send out data relating to the other party.... but like you said, sometimes their rules seem to change depending upon who you speak with (which it obviously shouldn't).

Great advice about know your rights and be persistent.

cheers

I am always lost for words and shocked on how the CMS handle these cases and at how little help there is for the hard working honest dads out there. Read my topic on CMS failing the hard and honest working fathers. It may Shed some form of light on what I have had to do although my case is unique as is everyone's who deal with the CMS, it still presents one common problem that it truly is failing and the easy target is the dad that goes to work and they can take what ever money they want via a court order and justify there own little way ( absolutely insane the staff at CMS on how they operate there calculation system) .

What makes me so frustrated and angry is how people yes but its arrears, STOP right there, your records at the CMS are not up to date and the calculations you have based my payments on is completely breaching the data protection act 1998 as they use data supplied to them by the HMRC. They are still accessing my payment plan on what I earned in 2014 - £39500 so we are now entering 2017 so why is this happening here is a factual finding of what i earned in 2015 as per HMRC records. I have had every excuse under the sun why there doing this.... bottom line is never quit putting your case forward as an innocent dad will always fight his corner.

Logic dictates this as per the following on my tax year 2015 :-

As per official HMRC documentation I earnt in 2015 £8,845 not £39500 let me repeat this again I earnt £8,845
So as per the CMS calculation of 20 per cent of gross income that year here is what I should have paid.

20 per cent of £8'845 is £1,769.00 plus there pay and collection service charges

It's not my fault the HMRC have up to date records and CMS do not as the last call handler told me that no information found was on her computer screen for 2015 and 2016 and when I asked them what principle 4 is of the data protection act 1998 they just do not want to know. Someone is breaking the law here as one has the information and the other says they do not (CMS)

After 14 months of unfair payments and arrears that are ludicrous and got a job earlier this year and they took £832.00 a month from my wages leaving me with £746.00 to live on, since may 2014 when my case started I have paid in total to date £9,451 to the CMS this has crippled me as the money they just took like [censored] Turpin has left me jobless and Very soon homeless, I cry myself to sleep almost every other nite, of course I'm gona have arrears while ever they think I'm earning 40k a year, as the payment plan is massively different, the moral of the CMS story is keep fiighting your corner my friend and it breaks my heart hearing how the honest and hard working dads get used like cannon fodder, MY EXWIFE HAS MADE A CAREER OUT OF THE CMS, yet they turn a blind eye to this as I have always said this about my child and supporting her, how can I support my child when I can't even support myself ?

See your MP, keep all records, research all avenues, I have spent 10 hours a day for weeks collecting information on the CMS and what boundary s of the law there are allowed to work within and believe me it's truly amazing how many flaws and breaches of their own rule book is out there, I live day by day and my mental state of mind is like a washing machine on most days, it's very hard to stay focused and to keep positive, today is good day thank god for me and my rope of injustice is redundant for another day.

I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE AND RESPECT FOR ALL YOU DADS OUT THERE GOING THROUGH THESE DRAMTIC AND LIFE CHANGING TIMES, IT BREAKS MY HEART WHEN I READ STORIES OF HOW MUCH SUFFERING THESE DADS ARE GOING THROUGH AFTER ALL THIS IS ABOUT SUPPORTING YOU CHILD / CHILDREN BUT DOING SO IN A CORRECT AND PROFESSIONAL MANNER WHERE THE DAD CAN SUPPORT HIMSELF TO SUPPORT HIS CHILD / CHILDREN .

TAKE CARE AND KEEP SWIMMING THROUGH THE CMS SEA OF FAILING DADS .... SEAN

just reading your post mate, they take out 12% of your gross wage(not 20%) and then reduce it by 1/7th for every night your child is with you (the days according to these clowns dont matter ) yet a child costs money during the day feed/take out etc, at night they sleep , no lights, no telly, just heating.