Should I go via child maintenance

[Dsdad21]

A few months back my ex told me that the company he works for has had to cut his hours in half. So he's cut the money he gives me for our 2 children in half. I have now found out he's been lying. If I go via child maintenence will they look into his true earnings.

I don't know why he has done it he's paid for them for 9 years without any bother and suddenly he's decided to do this.

Do an online calc first to make sure it won’t end up being a payment of less than you get already.
also, have you confronted him about it?

Yes I have done the calculator its definitely more than he's giving now. I have not confronted him.

Maybe tell him your intentions to go via child support and show him the calculations, give him chance to put it right. I imagine, not not sure, that CSA would make him pay back payments. I don’t know your relationship with him so whatever feels best for you and causes the least drama but of course gets you paid what’s fair

Don't give him a chance to put it right. That's poor advice

Get it sorted via child maintenance service. Asap. That way it becomes the norm, you've shown him you're not some sort of idiot who will accept what he wants you to accept and it's above board and not something you have to then keep speaking to him about.

You use the service and that's that.

True, I guess the fact he lied in the first place says enough.

I will do that . I'm so Angry. He's on either 42k or 50k a year . I have got mixed up. He lives with his mum and pays her 300 a month. When he told me about this so called cut back in work hours he kept going on about owing alot of money on his catalogue. And teen dd ( not his child) told me that she heard him speaking to his adult daughter saying I get 2k a month via benefits. I don't get that at all . And the suddenly this story about his hours /earnings comes up.

CMS contacted the ex. He messaged me and said they had. He said to me his money is going back to normal next month . And he would never ever liar to me. The boys mean the world to him. I find it difficult to believe he was going to start paying for the children fully again . I don't think he would have mentioned it had I not contacted CMS. Hopefully it's sorted now

Ex used to pay child maintenance around the 20th of each month . He's said he will start paying the proper amount again and pay it on the 1st of each month starting March 1st when I said I thought you got paid around the 20th . He said he does but he thought it would just be easier to do it on the 1st of each month . To be fair he did say its up to me I can have it in the 20th if I want .

But if I agree to have it on the 1st of March onwards when he would normally pay it on the 20th . Does that mean I'm missing out financially

You shouldn't have caved tbh. Have it set up to collect via CMS and then you never need to have these conversations with him. All you've done here is backed down and he WILL mess you around again with it

Whatever date he pays in a calendar month is probably fine. The 'missing out financially' comes from you showing him you'll retreat when he says ' oh please don't go via CMS! I'll pay it I promise!'

Unless I've misunderstood and he is paying via CMS now? In which case, just channel everything through them

He was paying solidly for 9+ years without any bother.

Recently he decided to be a prick . I don't believe he's hours were cut . I gave it the benefit of the doubt . Then little things were not adding up so I thought sod if I'm going CMS .

He then tells me he's heard from them and to me his money gos back to normal so he can start paying the full amount again . So I think basically he's shit himself over CMS.

Apart from recently he doesn't have a history of not paying and my understanding is you have to fit a criteria for payments to go through CMS. I'm not sure he would fit that since he's paid for 9 years .