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I think I might need to explain the rest of the problem in another post and seek advice there too, but in regards to CMS I have 2 children who live with their mother.
I was having them stay with me enough to be under shared care and recieve a 2/7th reduction. Recently me ex partner has refused to let the children stay with me. The police and social workers have been involved and neither have found any problems with the children staying with me. She is making this choice on her own accord. I have also applied to court but I am waiting for this.
Today I got a letter saying I no longer have the children stay with me and must pay an extra £140 a month. I cannot afford this in the slightest as I already pay a lot of money. I feel like she is not letting the children stay with me to try and get more money as that is what she is like as a person.
I am waiting for a CMS case worker to call me back. My argument is I WANT to have my children stay with me but she will not allow and is trying to get more money. What can I do regarding the payments?
Also, CMS are telling me I am in debt. But clearly the debt is just where they have sent a letter at the end of a month and that months CMS hasn't been paid yet. Despite this they are spreading that "arrears" amount across all payments up until the end of the payment plan. What can I do about this?
Hi there
Unfortunately, without a court order, your ex can do more or less what she likes as far as reducing contact. If she has stopped the overnights the CMS won’t consider the fact that she may have done that to increase the amount she receives... harsh I know.
If you have confirmed that overnights have stopped, the increase will stand I’m afraid. If you can get a court order for child arrangements that stipulate overnight stays, the CMS will accept that as proof.
Best of luck
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