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Hi all, I am Scott and am 26 years old. At a young age I had a child with a woman and have paid child support ever since as I haven't been allowed to see the child at all. I have tried to take the mother to court to gain access but couldn't afford the fees. I am not on the birth certificate but had a DNA test confirm I am the biological father. When child maintence was with CSA I was paying roughly 135 pounds a month. Since CSA no longer exists and it's now with CSM I have received paperwork stating I now must pay 180 pounds a month. I cannot afford this!! The payment has jumped up 50 pound a month despite my earnings not changing! I have a 7 month old son and my wife is on maternity leave so we are barely scraping by as it is. When I spoke to CSM about the amount and discussed me not being able to afford these payments, I was told to discuss with the mother (my ex) who absolutely hates me and isn't a reasonable woman at all hence me not being able to see my daughter in the first place. CSM have said there is nothing I can do, it's like a council tax payment it HAS to be paid. I explained I will end up losing my house and it fell on unsympethetic ears. I don't mind paying for my daughter at all but is there anything I can do?!? I am really worrying here
Many thanks
Scott
Hi
Unfortunately, you don't have any option other than to pay what is due, the CMS don't take into account whether you can afford to pay, though they should reduce the payment as you have another child to support.
However, I'm puzzled as to why the payment has gone up - the CSA calculate on 15% of your net income, and working the figure backwards, I reckon that means your gross annual income is around £11,250. Assuming that is somewhere near correct, then the CMS work on 9% of your gross, which I reckon should be around £85 per month before any reduction for your new baby, so I'd certainly look at getting the calculation checked.
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