Child maintenance are reducing his payments for travel even though I travel further

The sports centre thing is mainly irrelevant. It's a hell of a drive but if you're happy to do that and DC enjoys it then good for you.

CMS is a pittance and a NRP who goes out of their way to claw back a couple of quid by reducing the amount they support their child is a shit.

CMS does operate in a very black and white way in many situations.

Its very frustrating when you work there as fairness and what is actually right doesn’t come into it at all.

sometimes logic doesn’t even come into it at all.

It’s a poor system on money fronts, poorly funded and poorly trained staff (I knew about several CMS powers because of my situation with my ex that the people training me had never heard of!).

It needs a total revamp but there is no political will to doing anything about maintenance issues as it doesn’t negatively impact most men.

CMS will calculate the reduction to their agreed collection point.

So he is asking CMS to facilitate a reduction in his costs to cover his agreed decisions.

He’s asking for costs for the travel to DS. As I said having no experience of CMS I can’t comment on that.

Bit the costs to travel to the sports centre was a decision the OP made and isnt court ordered. CMS don’t calculate that.

OP could ask for a variation in the court order to manage this and ask for costs to be paid by NRP. But that’s different to CMS.

With that kind of order they’d likely expect that he could apply for a small reduction, but only when he’s doing all the travel. They could have stipulated that he did all the driving and covered the costs not from maintenance.

Its hard in the middle of that situation though to be aware of everything that you’d be entitled to ask to be included in the order.

But that still doesn’t change my stance on the fact you made your choices and you can’t ask CM to facilitate the costs of that.

Surely it’s the ex who is asking CM to facilitate the costs of that?

He moved. He made the agreement with the OP. He’s now requested a reduction in the CM to pay for his choices…

The OP isn’t asking for more money. Just that there shouldn’t be a reduction based on the exes choices.

Oh ok, so if they’ve agreed the sport centre that’s what this calculation will be based on.

No he has an absent parent who fucked off when he was 2.5 yo.

So Ive always done it alone.

That may skew my opinion but I’ve always believe you make choices and you have to take responsibility for those choices yourself. And if they do t work for you - you have make alternative arrangements.

It’s great DS has a club by his dad’s. However you have made that decision so have to facilitate that decision.

Is CMS fair re your Ex moving away? I have no idea as never got a penny child support myself. But that still doesn’t change my stance on the fact you made your choices and you can’t ask CM to facilitate the costs of that.

If the collections are done under a child arrangements order by court then the court can also put in about the costs.

I dealt with a few very pissed off people when I worked for CMS who couldn’t claim travel expense reductions because their court order detailed the costs and who was responsible for what.

It’s not from home. It’s travel to the agreed pick up point, which is kinda flawed in a lot of cases

If ex is having payments reduced for travel I would expect him to collect from my home and drop back to my home for his contact.

It sounds like that’s how he’s explained it to CMS, otherwise I’m not sure why he would warrant a reduction?

Legally entitled not elegantly entitled

CMS don’t have the authority to get into the ins and outs of fairness.

they have a very blunt policy that they have to work within the confines of.

If the NRP spends over a set amount for travelling for contact then they’re elegantly entitled to apply to CMS to have a reduction in maintenance and if they legally qualify for it then CMS have to apply it.

Even if you’re sat there as a CMS staff member thinking “how on earth can you think that is fair?!” you don’t have a choice, you just have to follow the guidance as it’s set.

You’re choosing to make your own life harder and more expensive to accommodate an ex who does not do the same.

If ex can’t get him there then he can train closer to home, and ex can drive late on the Friday and book a hotel near you instead.

Realistically, what is the actual figure we are talking about here that it’s dropped by? A few pounds at most I suspect

How old is your son?

I’d stop travelling for the sport. Your ex can collect him and take him there on his weekends if they both want that.

Are his salary/bonus details up to date? If not I'd be asking for an income reassessment, if you are certain they have increased.

I'm slightly confused. Why are you driving to the sports complex? Do you have a court order that states you need to drive also? I certainly wouldn't be driving 10hrs plus an overnight stay to facilitate Dads access.

So you’re asking is CMS policy fair

Cant answer because they know much more about yours and your partner’s financial situation than we do

just don’t now spite him by finding a different venue