Ex and I separated 8 years ago and we have 3 DC aged 11, 11 and 12. When we separated he moved in with someone he had just met within weeks and she has two children so this automatically reduced the amount of CM he paid. DC can’t stay at his house either because they live in a tiny 2 bedroom house with her 2 DC (opposite sexes, now 14 and 9) sharing a small room so there’s no space. Since the pandemic he has also switched from seeing them once a week to once a fortnight so he spends no more than 14 hours a month with them. He actually hasn’t seen them for the past 5 weeks because he started a new job so has been training… This sort of thing isn’t a one off and has happened on a few occasions so it isn’t even always 14 hours a month.
I teach FT (half term if anyone is wondering!) and I’ve recently started private tuition on the side to earn as much as I possibly can but, like most people right now, I’m still struggling to make ends meet. My ex pays £220 a month, a calculation from CMS based on his April ‘20-‘ April ‘21 earnings during which he was furloughed for 6 months… As mentioned earlier though, he has now started a new job and after googling the average salary of said job his income has increased by at least 42% so surely he should now pay more? Not according to CMS, they rejected my income change claim stating that they contacted him and are satisfied the information they currently hold is accurate? All I can surmise is he has lied and said he still has the old job or that he has a new job but his income hasn’t increased much which is untrue.
I have opened a new case but I’m not hopeful, I waited 6 weeks for the last one to be rejected. I contacted them this morning to ask how I can possibly provide evidence when the evidence they require is things such as a payslip or bank statement? I can’t break into his home and steal these things or hack into his online banking… The person I spoke to asked me to contact his new employer and request a payslip? Pretty sure this would be illegal so no, I’m not doing that and I doubt any reputable employer would just hand me a copy of his payslip. He said the only other thing I can do is switch to collect and pay which just seems like a huge money making scheme for CMS who earn 24% extra from this. He said they will automatically recalculate if I request this but I’m unsure whether the new calculation will be based purely on his current wage or on his annual one? I don’t know if it’s worthwhile.
I don’t know what the purpose of my post is really, I’m just ranting because I’m furious that many NRP’s get away with crap like this really. He’s now earning 10k more a year than the current calculation but is still paying £220 and it seems I can’t change this unless I enlist Mr Robot to hack into his online banking? Bonkers.