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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To resent ExH?

15 replies

TheMagneticFox · 01/11/2020 09:45

Split due to his violence in 2017. Share a 6 year old DD.

He dragged me through court for custody, then 50/50 then when they wouldn’t give it him he settled on 2 nights for tea and EOW it was supposed to build up to the weeknights being overnights when DD was older.

Then he moved 2 hours’ drive away. DD has a problem with her hips that means she can’t be in the carseat for more than an hour on a regular basis so I told him because his parents are still in the area (where he’s always had contact) he was to come back to the area to have her EOW – I drop off and pick up DD from his. He only has her EOW now – I’ve always offered extra in school holidays if he wants to take her back to his house but he claims he’s not got a room for her there.*

In March he completely stopped contact until a week before the school summer holidays started, saw her for a few weeks and then disappeared off the face of the earth again for a few weeks. When he came back he blamed work.

He’s seen her consistently since the beginning of September (so only a few times). He’s now saying because of the lockdown he won’t be seeing her again until the lockdown lifts apart from Christmas, he will be having her as normal from Christmas Day if the lockdown hasn’t lifted (our agreement is that he has half of Christmas Day 1 year he has her 2pm CD to 4pm Boxing Day then next year he has her 2pm Christmas Eve until 2pm CD, it’s his year to have her Boxing Day he claims he’ll have her half of CD do dinner as normal and return her to me on Boxing Day “slightly early”)

I hate him so much. He put me through hell, dragged me to court, and then left the area so I do all the worst bits. And I have all the expense, he’s supposed to pay maintenance but knocks money off for his fuel back to the area and knocks the money he has to pay in meals for the two of them off two so it works out that he pays me less than 50p per day. I also have to provide clothes and pyjamas for at his. And yet can swoop in, do the fun bits and leave again. And there’s nothing I can do because the courts aren’t doing variations of the orders at the moment as everyones contact is affected by CV-19 (that’s what they told when I tried to apply for variation).

I hate him, it’s not fair. My DD adores him, he is all she talks about, although school have said it’s the opposite there and she never mentions him. I resent him, because I know its his way of getting back at me for leaving him.

I know I am UR.

*Before anyone comments on this being unfair I spoke to my solicitor and DDs paediatrician and Physios and I could get medical evidence to suggest she can’t do 4 hours travelling in a weekend regularly, they put regularly as more often than once every 3 months or so. So it still allows us both to do holidays if we want to just need to be organised so she’s not doing too many 2 hour plus journeys in a short time frame.

OP posts:
bibliomania · 01/11/2020 09:58

You have my sympathies. He's not allowed to knock his travelling and food expenses off maintenance though - he's supposed to give you the actual another. Do you go through CMS?

TheMagneticFox · 01/11/2020 10:00

@bibliomania

You have my sympathies. He's not allowed to knock his travelling and food expenses off maintenance though - he's supposed to give you the actual another. Do you go through CMS?
Yes I did and they told me I should be glad I get anything from him. I've complained but I'm fighting to get DD the support she needs in school via EHCP so haven't got it in me to fight CMS as well.
OP posts:
Peace43 · 01/11/2020 10:04

Just say no to Xmas. Keep records of when he has and hasn’t seen her and copies of your offers of contact time. He can take you back to court if he wants and you can demonstrate that he hasn’t kept up his side of the bargain.

Go through CMS for the money and get it taken directly from his wages based on the actual amount of contact he has had (on average over the last 12 months).

Igotmyholiday · 01/11/2020 10:05

Don't blame you for resenting him. My ex was an abusive arse but ds loved him so contact happened ( it chopped and changed and I had to pay for childcare to cover it as he was so unreliable) I am glad that I bent over backwards to facilitate it for ds ( ex died when ds was 10).

TheMagneticFox · 01/11/2020 10:06

@Peace43

Just say no to Xmas. Keep records of when he has and hasn’t seen her and copies of your offers of contact time. He can take you back to court if he wants and you can demonstrate that he hasn’t kept up his side of the bargain.

Go through CMS for the money and get it taken directly from his wages based on the actual amount of contact he has had (on average over the last 12 months).

I've gone through CMS and they won't escalate because he's paying me something, I haven't got the fight in me right now with EHCP applications and fights to get the money I'm owed.
OP posts:
Bambooble · 01/11/2020 10:08

Sorry OP, no wonder you feel resentful, he sounds like a shit father. Hopefully you can say no to Christmas if your DD also doesn't want to go, and no, it doesn't sound like excuses, it sounds like you have facilitated wherever you can ie pick up from his parents etc, so you've done more than enough.

Bambooble · 01/11/2020 10:08

Also CMS are a joke and it is ridiculously unfair.

Halliehallie9828 · 01/11/2020 10:09

Tell him if he has no contact between now and xmas that he’s not having her over Xmas.

bibliomania · 01/11/2020 10:11

That's bloody awful of CMS, but I get what you mean about not having the fight in you. I think CMS quietly dropped a lot of the arrears I was owed, against my express instructions, but I don't have the energy either - I have low expectations of getting anything out of it. I think they rely on the fact that single parents are already dealing with so much that they won't kick up a sink about being treated unfairly. We've learned to expect it.

TheMagneticFox · 01/11/2020 13:47

I won't say no to Christmas as much as I want to because DD likes going, plus it'd give him even more of an excuse to try and punish me. The whole thing just sucks.

OP posts:
NetflixWatcher · 01/11/2020 14:04

That's so shit OP. YANBU. She will remember who was there when she grows up. CMS are shit I'm owed over £10,000 in backdated maintenance and they do nothing. The ex does not pay so it just keeps building up, then he will apparently quit his job and claim benefits, then he will start working and they take ages to do an attachment of earnings so by the time a payments due he has apparently quit and is on benefits again or not claiming any benefits atall (god knows how he survives). Don't rely on them to help OP you will be disappointed.

Willyoujustbequiet · 01/11/2020 14:12

Say no to Christmas unless he has her in a proper schedule in the run up.

Document it. She needs reliability and consistency. He will threaten court but he'll not get a hearing in time if you time it right.

TheMagneticFox · 01/11/2020 14:37

@Willyoujustbequiet

Say no to Christmas unless he has her in a proper schedule in the run up.

Document it. She needs reliability and consistency. He will threaten court but he'll not get a hearing in time if you time it right.

I wouldn't do that to my DD, she absolutely loves her dad it wouldn't be fair to say no to that when she already compares herself to her school friends who have involved dads. He will use it as a stick to beat me with and I don't trust the courts to not use it against me either, it's sh*t but that's life, I have to be the bigger person for the sake of my child.
OP posts:
TheMagneticFox · 01/11/2020 22:30

@NetflixWatcher

That's so shit OP. YANBU. She will remember who was there when she grows up. CMS are shit I'm owed over £10,000 in backdated maintenance and they do nothing. The ex does not pay so it just keeps building up, then he will apparently quit his job and claim benefits, then he will start working and they take ages to do an attachment of earnings so by the time a payments due he has apparently quit and is on benefits again or not claiming any benefits atall (god knows how he survives). Don't rely on them to help OP you will be disappointed.
I've learnt to not rely upon it, the system is awful. I'm at the point where I'd accept no maintenance if he f**ked off for good but he won't his mother won't let him.
OP posts:
GhostCurry · 01/11/2020 22:34

YANBU OP. That is utterly unfair.

Why do I keep hearing about how shit CMS is? It’s fucking outrageous. Have mumsnet ever launched any sort of petition or protest against their ineptitude?

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