Reporting Ex to HMRC, DWP and Child Maintenance?

[ChildMaintain]

2 DC. Just got Child Maintenance’s annual assessment - they are saying ex only needs to pay £7 per week as he’s in receipt of benefits.

I have proof that they are self-employed (Personal Trainer) and have been for some time. The proof includes his own website which advertises weekly classes, lists his phone number / email address and even has a photo of him! Approximately half of the classes he does are online and people book through an online system, also paying him online… so it’s not a case of him going completely cash in hand to avoid declaring it or it going into a bank account.

I don’t know how he’s getting away with it, unless he is just blatantly lying to HMRC and Child Maintenance or the money is going into someone else’s account.

WIBU to report him to everyone and everything? I can easily forward his website and other advertisements to them. Has anyone at all had any success in getting someone self-employed to pay a reasonable amount or do we always get screwed over? Every thread I read seems to suggest if they are self-employed you have no chance!

someone close to me has had not dissimilar issues - mostly job hopping being the issue with a period of being self employed. The other party actually loses the jobs through their own stupidity mainly, its not a big industry either so how they are finding new jobs is a mystery as well. Anyway after some 8 years CMS has finally got them into court and swiped their bank account and have them back in court soon to get a further lump sum out of them - they still have a house and car that could be taken - although chances are they have pulled the cash out and hidden it again so its all on debt financing of some sort (seems to be their thing). I don't know how they live with themselves, they owe more than 50k, they are unlikely to reclaim that much but also costs will be taken (not sure why these aren't added on etc). Anyway it has taken much determination by the other party to get to this stage and they had resigned themselves to not getting any of it, it was being sent in in £6 amounts at one point as when you receive "something" it doesn't trigger a CMS review or action so stalls it but the other party kept on pointing this out and I am sure it was pester power in the end. In the very early days one of the coppers dealing with some of the other issues said the party owing would get done for fraud most likely it would just take alot of time to filter through. There was also a small business on the side that wasn't declared either. Timing is really often key - so if you are aware of windfalls, bonuses or inheritance etc that can be useful in encouraging CMS to go for a lump sum if the amounts owed are big. This is what happened with the initial amount - they swiped what remained in a bank account of some inherited monies before it could be moved along.

I would say you have little to lose by reporting him if your kids don't see him - if they do then I would think twice it can be very nasty if you go down this route.

📌 CMS Rates (2025 – basic rate)

If he earns:

🔹 £0–£100 per week

→ £7 per week flat rate (about £28 per month)

🔹 £100–£199 per week

→ 17% of gross weekly income (for 1 child)

🔹 £200–£800 per week

→ 12% of gross weekly income (for 1 child)

(Percentages increase if there are 2+ children.)

💷 Example if he earns £150 a week

17% of £150 = £25.50 per week
That’s about £110 per month

That’s very different to £27.50.

You don't actually know it is universal credit that he receives. It could be something else. Try rerunning the calculator using ESA as the benefit

Again this is based on income, not whether they receive benefits.

Using the calculators for this kind of scenario isn’t worth it because they’re not always accurate.

You should ask CMS to check that it is correct as not all benefits should be an instant £7 award, but the system doesn’t always recognise that.

However, if he is claiming a benefit that triggers a £7 award then there is literally nothing CMS can do about that. I worked on a case where the man was very obviously committing various frauds, but there was nothing I could do about it as he was, ah that time, receiving the benefit so that meant £7.

It’s then well worth reporting him to HMRC and DWP if there’s potential fraud. It’ll be a slow process though.

Fuck him

If he's not screwing the taxpayers, cheating by claiming fraudulently etc then he'll be fine

Yep, absolutely report it...... I didn't, & I struggled & got myself in a world of debt trying to pay for everything by myself - & then years later he waltzed in with half the deposit for my girls mortgages & he was The HERO. I couldn't contribute a penny due to my quagmire of debt but he became their ultra shiny hero. God, I wish I had been brave at the beginning......

Yes. A £7/week calculation is for paying parents who have no income except benefits.

Varies hugely depending on circumstances - rental amount, number of children etc.

If he ends up being prosecuted, that's on him.

If he's trading through a company, he's probably a director and could be found through a Companies House search.

It’s absolutely possible to receive CMS from a self employed person.
It can take absolutely ages….but it gets back dated.
You just have to not give up, request a tribunal and get them in front of a judge, they can explain themselves to them.

It’s sickening how much court time is used for getting these men to accept their responsibilities.

I need to call and ask them directly, there’s a lot of different opinions on this thread

How does that prove he's actually receiving the money though?

The csa ( as they were then) got the grand sum of £35 total from my ex in 16 years. He just ignored fhem

I currently get nothing. self employed exh should be paying £7 a week but apparently “overpaid” last year and so doesn’t need to pay until his liability starts again or something like that. He declared an income of something like £5k a year. He’s also been on and off benefits. The 6 figure divorce settlement that i expected him to use as a deposit to buy a property, he has squandered on living expenses, pricey meals out with gf, a new car and god knows what else. I wish you the best op. I will post some screenshots of my latest review letter tomorrow in case it helps at all.

How does CMS work out income? Do they rely on PAYE records from HMRC? Because if so, then maybe his income is all from dividends which wouldn’t show up in PAYE data.

benifits only or benefits and earns under. £100 a week it’s around £7 a week

I spoke to CMS this morning.

In short, they said:

• UC and earnings less than £100 per week triggers the flat rate of £7.
• UC and earnings greater than £100 per week is the basic rate and they will calculate it as a percentage of earnings.

However, this assumes the self-employed ex is being legitimate with their books and declaring their true earnings. If they are suspected of being dishonest it’s difficult for CMS, however you can dispute it to a tribunal where they will request bank statements (this doesn’t help if they are doing cash in hand).

If they are on disability benefits or have a limited capacity to work, it will also revert to £7, regardless of earnings.

Yep, mine too. Got all the regular letters telling me that they 'could' take away his driving licence, his passport, attach to his earnings etc etc etc - but they just never did.
Leaving me bringing up our five kids solo on very little money. He paid for about a year then disappeared again. They finally got hold of him when he was just about to retire, he paid for another year, retired, and the debt (which was in the tens of thousands) was just wiped out.

But basically it seems despite all the so-called powers the agencies have, men can just turn a blind eye and not pay.

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Why did they wipe the debt? Is it because they moved from the CSA to the CMS? I’ve heard this happening a lot.

Would it be possible to talk to your ex and say £7 just doesn’t cut it? Or failing that, sporadically ask him for half of the money for things your DC’s need like school uniform, etc?

If the CMS dont do anything then you can always complain then go to The Independent Complaints Examiner.

No he is awful.

Understood!

Not sure what debt you mean? There is no debt, there is just what he is currently calculated to pay. If he does put it through in future then payments will them be calculated on his new income, but there is no “debt” there.