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It’s a bit complicated my ex and I have a terrible relationship and we’ve just finished up in the courts sorting out the house (I gave everything to her I just wanted my name off the mortgage) and she dragged it on for a very long time- eventually she was ordered to pay £900 court costs.
Two days after everything was finally sorted she sends me a letter saying I owe her £1000 in Child Maintenance Payments because I had a pay rise and I didn’t increase my payments to her straight away. I called CMS and they said there were no arrears on the account as far as they were concerned because she only asked them to look into it officially a few months ago and before that we had made an arrangement between ourselves based on my previous wage, but my ex said that she is going to take me to small claims if I don’t pay it.
I am reluctant to pay it because while she may be correct in that I under paid for a few months, I was paying out hundreds each month in solicitor fees and so I had no money to spare at that point. (I paid for the entire divorce- I agreed to let her have the house and everything in it because I just wanted this whole thing to be over and that seemed like the quickest way)
My question is can she take this to small claims even if CMS say I don’t owe anything ? Is she likely to win on a moral basis that I should have declared my increased wage ? Thanks for any opinions
This is my opinion only, but I would say that the small claims court won't touch it if CMS are handling the maintenance now, and to be honest, if she does take you to the court, if she wins, you will have to pay the £1000 (if the court decides that much) plus her application fee, which is pretty minimal, there are no bog legal fees in the small claims court, and if she does take you there, you have the option to pay a lesser sum into court, if I recall correctly, and if the court orders that amount or less, I don't think you even pay the application fee.
hi,
in my humble opinion you should tell her to get lost. my ex cut contact with me for months on end. then her family were begging me for back-dated payments as if i look like the benefits office. i signed up with CMS and they said they dont do back-dated payments. payments start from the date you register with CMS.
small claims court are pretty weak. i went through it once after someone wouldn't pay back the money they owed me. i was able to recover half the money. person decided to vanish and court could not locate them. case closed. imagine having to pay a fee to make a claim, to claim money back lol.
Another one telling her to get lost.
Unless you are suddenly a very high earning she is wasting her time going to small claims court as you would simply be able to show it is being dealt with by the CMS. If you were a high earner then it would be in the wrong court anyway and she would need to pay lawyers.
Cheers everyone, I’ll just see what happens I don’t have the money spare now anyway.
Just when I thought everything was sorted she starts again with courts and accusations. Never thought divorce could be such a complicated mess, and I’ve given everything to her when she was the one that ended it in the first place! Must have muppet written across my forehead.
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