CMS- asking for evidence

[QuestionableDanceMoves]

I’ve received a letter from CMS saying my exh has asked them to look again at a decision made in our case and the letter asks me to send them relevant evidence which will impact their decision.
The only problem with this is that the letter does not tell me what he is claiming it just says “the decision they are asking us to look at is refusal to supersede” with a date of the decision being before our annual review.

AIBU to think I cannot provide evidence when I don’t know what he’s claiming? Nothing has changed in our circumstances, he has no contact with the kids and I haven’t heard from him in months. Typically the letter has arrived today and CMS are shut at weekends so I can’t call them to clarify either!

If anyone knows what refusal to supersede in this instance might mean as well that would be great as Google isn’t enlightening me!

Has something changed with him? Has he lost his job or got a new child?
Have you moved in with a new partner or any of your children reached school leaving age?
not 100% sure but is it just asking for them to re look at his liability because of a change in circumstances.
If thats the case then surely all they need is you to confirm that nothing has changed

Nothings changed- kids are still at school, no new partner for me.
I suppose he could’ve lost his job or had a baby
I don’t know how I prove nothings changed from our side of things though

Does it matter if there is a new partner ?

From what i can gather a supersession is a review of the CMS, I'm assuming a refusal to supersede is whatever he asked for was rejected and they are being asked to look again at it.

voiceofthechild.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Supersessions.pdf

@BirdyBirdyTweetTweet

Does it matter if there is a new partner ?

Yes, if he is cohabiting with a partner who has children I think it reduces his payment to his own children? Might be wrong on that though.

@Outfoxedbyrabbits you are correct- it’s a bonkers rule that given it would be likely the new partner would be receiving maintenance from her children’s father.
That isn’t the case here though, he remarried just over a year ago and she didn’t have any kids
Maybe they’ve had a baby and he’s neglected to tell anyone!

The OP was asked if she had a new partner not if ex had one? I'm not sure it matters if she does. Am I wrong ?

@BirdyBirdyTweetTweet

The OP was asked if she had a new partner not if ex had one? I'm not sure it matters if she does. Am I wrong ?

Ah, I see! No, OP having a new partner shouldn't have any effect on her ex's CMS amount as far as I'm aware.

No i don’t think if I had a new partner it would make a difference.

If he’s lost his job or is contesting the amount the CMS have for his wages then that’s nothing to do with me and there’s no evidence I can provide
Likewise if he’s now got another child, I can’t see why they would’ve refused to take that into consideration at the time of our annual review and again, nothing to do with me and no evidence I can provide to contradict it- other than the fact he hasn’t told anyone!

Which leads me to think it may be that he’s claiming he has them overnight but hasn’t provided sufficient evidence to back that up- because he won’t have any. However, they haven’t said that that’s what he’s claiming so it still leaves me baffled as to what it is they want me to do.
I will have to try and ring them from work on Monday but I only get 30 mins for lunch and the CMS phone line shuts at 3:30 so can’t ring them afterwards

Is it possible he's claiming he has them for overnights? Or that he isn't their dad?

Have you got the online portal? Sometimes more is on there ( ie letters pending )

@SunndyD ive looked online and there’s nothing more than the letter I’ve been sent unfortunately. I was hoping there might have
been.

@SlugRose him claiming to not be their dad is actually a possibility I hadn’t considered but definitely something he might try. Last Christmas he claimed his own father was the father to our son and not him. I told him at the time to order a dna test but he didn’t- maybe he’s decided to contest it with the CMS instead.
Again though, you’d have thought they’d tell me that’s what it was and ask me to get a dna test or something

He tried claiming his father was the father to his son? Well he's a charmer isn't he?!

Well based on that nugget of information I guess it's anyones guess what he's claiming!

If you don't know just respond with a letter stating as you don't know what he's contesting you cannot provide evidence to agree or dispute his claim.
However none of the information you personally provided for the claim has changed with regards your claim.

The CMS are shit.

Again though, you’d have thought they’d tell me that’s what it was and ask me to get a dna test or something

Yeah it's not helpful when you're dealing with an ex where it could be anything they've decided to make up now!!

I agree broadly with @itsgettingwierd If you don't know just respond with a letter stating as you don't know what he's contesting you cannot provide evidence to agree or dispute his claim. except I'd change the wording a bit because I'd be wary of saying you can't provide evidence (I know exactly what you mean but you know what they're like!).

From what @reesewithoutaspoon says (and your charming vignette about him claiming his father is the father of his own child ) I'd guess he's chancing something ridiculous (like maybe his goldfish is the father) so I'd just write a more formal version of what you said in your OP regarding Nothing has changed in our circumstances, he has no contact with the kids and I haven’t heard from him in months.

So something like, "I understand from your letter of the that has asked you to look again at a decision made in our case and you have asked me to send you relevant evidence which will impact your decision. However unfortunately the letter does not state which decision this is regarding or what evidence may be relevant so I am unsure of what is required from me. Please could you clarify; in the meantime, without knowing exactly which decision is in question I can confirm that nothing has changed in my circumstances, has had no contact with the kids since and I haven’t heard from him since . I will be very happy to provide any further information that you require but am currently not sure what that may be; please advise."

Or something like that? I haven't had to deal with CMS myself but would try to construct something that covers all bases (i.e. give them the general information upfront but make it clear you are happy to give them whatever they need if only they can tell you what that is!).

Yes I think that’s the route I will go down.
I will still ring them on Monday to try and get some clarification on what is being contested but will send a letter along the lines suggested by @Outfoxedbyrabbits just to cover my backside

Yeah outfoxed letter is written better than mine and gives much more detail to save the back and forth!

Good luck

All CMS would tell me is that he is disputing a decision made about his household so that narrows it down slightly to either income or children.
I can’t see why they’d refuse him adding a child on, unless he’s refused to provide proof of their existence so I’m leaning towards it being income- maybe he’s lost his job or changed jobs or something like that.
They’ve logged that I know of no changes in circumstances so cannot provide any evidence.
Just have to wait for another letter now

Maybe because they are looking at the claim they are just giving both parties the chance to put forward anything relevant?

Seems fishy from his end.
Maybe he is claiming he pays all his household bills, to try for a reduction.
Less is best in your answer.
Along the lines of, your letter dated xxxxx.
Please can you provide more details about what information you require, as it is unclear from your letter. Signed OP.

Found out the answer today! Turns out he has a new child- nice way to find out via the cms, his dad and brother didn’t know either!!
The mind boggles