CMS

[crunchthegears]

Hi ladies, my daughter is six years old and her father went no contact when he met another women. They went on to have two children.
They have set up a limited business in her name so she pays him a wage.
They have done this so my daughter only gets offered £20 a month in child maintenance.
They live a very nice lifestyle with holidays nice cars etc.
Is there anyway I can prove that the lifestyle they live doesn't match up to what my daughter has been offered?
Will citizens advice be able to help? Has anyone been in this situation?
It's so unfair that my daughter is not only missing out on a dad, but is also missing out on the smaller things that I just can't afford.
It breaks my heart and I'm willing to fight this if I can get some advice
Thank you x

I hate hate hate men who do this, and there’s plenty of them. Write to your MP, something needs to be done about the feckless fathers who clearly earn a lot but dodge maintenance like this.

Sure someone will come on here with some helpful advice soon but I really feel for you OP. Sending you strength, hopefully this works out best for your daughter

Is it just in her name? Have you checked companies house? Is he named in any capacity?

if he isn’t it’s illegal to pay him less than minimum wage. If your dd is getting £20 then he is saying he earns £200 per month? How many hours does he work.

it’s actually harder to legally hide money via a ltd company than you think.

There used to be the ability to ask CMS to look at lifestyle vs earnings in cases like these. Probably best to ask them.

Thank you for your replies. They are both down as directors.
He works as a site manager.
My daughter has very complex needs and is in and out of hospital every other week. The travel on public transport alone is crippling me financially

Unfortunately I don't have contact with them as they have blocked any sort of communication. When I spoke to CMS last week, the guy on the phone just kept saying, we need proof. The only proof I have is her linked in page. And I'm not tech savvy.
It's not even about the contact anymore... I'm over the hurt my daughter won't ever have a her father around.
I just want my daughter to have a nicer lifestyle like the siblings she hasn't met

If he is a director, he should be receiving dividends - their dividends should be equal if they are equal shareholders. Have a look at the accounts.

You will need to be persistent. Gather evidence - website, accounts, cost of their home, cars they drive etc. Google phone numbers - this was a revelation to me as it threw up business I knew nothing about.

You will need to take the CMS as far as it goes - all the way to tribunal. They will do everyth8ng to put you off.

many people get what they are due through a tribunal but many others don’t. It can be very difficult. I personally gave up way before that stage and just closed my case. It gave me peace of mind I didn’t have trying to fight it all the time.

If it is a limited company then their accounts are on companies house. That will tell you what dividend he's getting and whether CMS can claim off that.

CMS are bloody awful do good luck. My sons dad owes me thousands by their calculations but I'll never get it.

*so good luck

Thank you so much for the advice. I will fight this and I won't give up x

Can't help with the CMS...they are useless

BUT please investigate claiming back your travel expenses from the hospital...if you claim benefits you can do this...not sure if DLA / Carers allowance applies but lots of parents can claim back their travel expenses.

Ask at the hospital information desk if there is one, or if you have a disability social worker for your child ask them.

f it is a limited company then their accounts are on companies house. That will tell you what dividend he's getting and whether CMS can claim off that

this. Legally they file accounts and dividends will be on there.

if they are both directors then they must recieve exactly the same in dividends.

you can show this, and HMRC will count it as income.

has it been set up less than a year or two? It may be that the accounts aren’t filed yet to show income.

Thank you for the insightful comments. I have taken it all on board and will be using all of your advice as I move forward. Much appreciated x

Could the relationship be healed with them
As it may make him more inclined to pay if he has a relationship with her

My ex did the exact same thing although I had a lot of information like his bank account details etc. I submitted a number of re-calculation requests stating all the information I knew, eventually a member of their financial fraud team contacted me & went through everything.
I managed to get a payment of £5k from a ex as backdated payments that he owed me.
Keep fighting the good fight for your daughter.

@bjjgirl unfortunately they have made it clear that my daughter will never be involved. I have no contact as they have blocked any sort of communication. I have practically begged him in the past to be involved, but to no avail.

@HalloweenHilarity I'm happy to read a good outcome. Well done for not giving up. I am going to take this as far as I can, because my daughter has just been pushed aside like she's not even here. Thank you for your advice x

That’s awful! Really sorry to hear this - what an immoral person your ex must be!!

Absolutely this you can Google people and its public knowledge. This won't be enough though...

Did your DD used to have a relationship with her dad? Could you take him to court to sort access out? Because I suspect you will not get any where with CMS they are not the best OP.