Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how much child maintenance you receive.

309 replies

Sailingthroughtheweek · 02/07/2021 12:07

I’m wondering where DC and I fit on the spectrum, just out of interest.

I receive £300 per month for one DC.
He lives 100 miles away and does no childcare at all, so that pays for breakfast/ after school clubs, holiday clubs and a bit towards her hobbies.

I’m very, very glad to be in my current position and not still married, so I’m not moaning at all, and also, I earn more than him so I don’t need more, but a £300 contribution to our DC seems low.

OP posts:
Lachimolala · 02/07/2021 13:07

For my two youngest, who don’t stay overnight with my ex because he puts his idiot new girlfriend first and she ‘doesn’t like kids’. I receive £267 for them both monthly, which doesn’t even cover one week of childcare.

For my eldest I get £48 per month because he’s self employed and fiddles his wages.

If I think for too long about what men get away with in this country I’ll start screaming in rage and never stop.

DianeCherry · 02/07/2021 13:07

@Longestfewdaysupcoming

Never got a penny. 3 kids.
Me neither
Bagelsandbrie · 02/07/2021 13:08

£200 a month… (dd is now 17 and we’ve been separated since she was a baby) - so that sounds okay but - he is “retired” at mid 40s, moved to the USA and has married someone very well off. (Think house owned outright worth millions, 5 plus holidays to luxury places a year, second holiday home worth $$$, nannies, gardeners, blah blah- and I know all this because dd does speak to him regularly on FaceTime and I am still very close to his mum and dad). He has never, ever given more than the £200 a month and I cannot claim anything more as when he used to have his company he was paid cash in hand for a lot of it and little went through the books. Can’t stand the fucker.

forinborin · 02/07/2021 13:09

@jimmyjammy001

It all comes down to how much your ex-dp earns, if you've chosen to have children with some dead beat that is work shy and is on minimum wage then you aren't going to get anything, if on the other hand you've chosen to have kids with someone who has got their shit together I.e a good career, house, savings, pension etc then you will get more online with their earnings
Not necessarily how much he earns, but also how he structures his income.
Bigassbeebuzzbuzz · 02/07/2021 13:09

£200 a month for 2 dc but he always pays for school trips, clothes from better places than I could afford etc so it literally goes towards household Bill's for them.
£125 for 1 dc which is forced from his pocket. Rocks up every couple of months and takes ds2 out for the day acts like dad of the year then buggers off again.

hullaballoo19 · 02/07/2021 13:09

I get £50 per month. But that is £20 more than he is legally required to pay, and he buys school stuff at the start of the year. I also think he'd contribute towards a club/music lessons.

hullaballoo19 · 02/07/2021 13:10

Sorry forgot to mention that's for 1 child

inmyslippers · 02/07/2021 13:11

£100 a month. He's self employed. Always brags that he gives more then the child maintenance calculator suggests

Bagelsandbrie · 02/07/2021 13:11

Oh just an example of how tight he is…. When he last came over to visit dd he booked a travel lodge for them to stay in (I mean nothing wrong with that if you’re on a budget but he’s not on a budget and you’d think he’d make an effort considering the week before he’d been at Disneyland with his other children he’s got with his wife- dd knew this too) and then he did absolutely nothing with dd (staying in London) and refused to even pay for WiFi for her so she had something to do….!

Changednameforthis2021 · 02/07/2021 13:11

£29 per month for DC1&2 through CMS
£50 per week for DC3 through mutual agreement

sociallydistained · 02/07/2021 13:12

One of my friends has two children different dads. One pays £300 a month and has lots of contact and involvement with dc. The other has been crap done the bare minimum and pays £25 a week! The difference is a joke.

sotiredofthislonelylife · 02/07/2021 13:15

@Longestfewdaysupcoming

Never got a penny. 3 kids.
Me too - he was supposed to pay £5 pw for each child, but decided to skip abroad so he didn’t have to pay anything. Arsehole.
dalmatianmad · 02/07/2021 13:16

I have 2 children. Their Dad hasn't made contact in 5 years. I don't get a penny. CMS can't track him down apparently.

I know he's alive. He's had another 2 children from what I've heard 🙄

Loodally · 02/07/2021 13:17

About £29 per month for my twins. This is taken directly from his benefits.
He refuses to work because since 2015 he hasn't been allowed to have direct contact ( court ordered) and blames me for this 🙄.
Nothing at all to do with his extremely abusive behaviour.

vampirethriller · 02/07/2021 13:20

Nothing.

igiveup21 · 02/07/2021 13:22

I get £200 a month for 2 he sees them regularly every week but doesn't contribute to anything else they might need. But that's not done on his wages with CMS it's what he can "afford" he used to give 100 but dared to ask for extra one month when I couldn't afford school shoes. After a lot of name calling on his part and the threat of CMS he found the extra 100 but made it clear I was taking food out of his mouth and that his kids would now starve when they visited him. Needless to say they haven't starved at his house and I love hearing about the take always and meals out they have with him when they come home

ElephantMoth · 02/07/2021 13:23

£140 per month deducted directly from his wages for 1 of our children, the others are adults.

Vetyveriohohoh · 02/07/2021 13:24

£30pw he has DC every second weekend and a bit more in school holidays

Piecrust32 · 02/07/2021 13:27

After a 12 year battle, I get £41 a month for my eldest ds
He's not interested In the slightest
My only sliver lining is that he had six (six!!) More children after ds so I know at least everyone is getting their fare share out of him

cadburyegg · 02/07/2021 13:29

£49 a week for 2DC. He sometimes pays extra for big outgoings. He could afford to pay more, but he also isn’t a high earner. He has them 2 nights EOW. It’s not great tbh but some people will tell RPs that they’re lucky to get anything

ohwhattodowithmylife · 02/07/2021 13:30

Nothing since I left over 2 years ago.
He's not allowed unsupervised contact so hasn't bothered.
His salary os being paid by some other means to avoid paying - disgusting behaviour and there are too many men who do this.

MrsKeats · 02/07/2021 13:32

This thread is shocking,
What is the actual point of CMS or whatever it's called this week!
My husband pays 550 per month and has never, ever missed a payment.
Was double that when his son was younger.

ElephantMoth · 02/07/2021 13:33

@GilbertsLuckySocks

Lone parent with two under 2.

Zero. Their birth father earns thousands selling select electrical goods on eBay but claims unemployment benefits, so doesn’t have to pay child support as he doesn’t declare his income.

I’d never asked for it anyway as I knew he wouldn’t want to contribute.

When I read about mums on here complaining their child’s absent father is ‘only’ paying all of their mortgage plus contributing £900 a month for their kid whilst mum doesn’t work, it irks. I’ve brought mine up doing the same hobbies and expenditures as your’s most likely, and didn’t need their father to pay for them.

Why have you not reported him then?
Getawaywithit · 02/07/2021 13:34

None. 14 years and counting.

ShrekandDonkey · 02/07/2021 13:37

£165 a month for 1 child.

He paid £50 a month for years but I often had to beg for it. One month he refused so I went through the CMS and they worked out the amount. Their calculation has actually increased to £200 a month but he hasn't upped the amount and I cba to argue. DD is 16 so only 2 more years of it.