Child maintenance are reducing his payments for travel even though I travel further

[looellen]

My ex lives 3 hours away. Pays child maintenance. He has contacted them to have his payments reduced because he has to travel to see his child. He travels a 3 hour round trip once a month to his sports training then a 6 hour round trip once a month to where I live. We picked a sports event near his home so he would have to do less travel, and I do a 10 hour round trip to the sports training and pay for a hotel overnight. I am fine with this. So I have a very similar amount of travel to him (actually an hour more of driving) yet child maintenance are still reducing his payments because he still has to travel. Is it just me or does this seem unfair? I pay more in travel costs than he does yet he gets his payments to me reduced?

Just know that you are doing what’s best for your son and your ex is doing what’s best for your ex.

He does attend one close to home. 5x a week!

It's shit.

Cutting his CMS payments because he has travel costs to see his own child that he willingly and happily moved far away from doesn't mean the primary parent's housing/food/clothing/etc costs magically decrease.

Honestly. You couldn't make it up in this country sometimes.

CMS has to be black and white unfortunately.
You could always go back to court to request half of all extra curricular costs?

not sure what you need to fill in as your costs that he pays a percentage of or what so this could be nonsense, but could you list your housing costs to include the hotel
you stay in (receipted so it’s proven) and explain your housing costs have increased purely to take your son to the activity? that way if his dad still pays a percentage of whatever it would be more? could you include petrol and food re said activity? be creative while still staying within the rules?

CMS doesn’t take any costs for the OP into account in any calculation.

He pays a set percentage of his income regardless of what the OP spends on necessities.

For CMS travel to see the child is one of very few reductions they’ll make, and they won’t take any costs for the OP into account as they only calculate based on the payers income.

But what has this got to do with you? Why do you have your attend???

Pisstake they’d reduce CM for this. I can imagine lots of deadbeats deliberately moving miles away in order to reduce their measly payments more.

So why does he need to attend one so far away on top of this?
And why do you need to facilitate it?

If he wants to attend one on his dad’s time, that’s fine but it’s for his dad to facilitate it.
Just like when he attends 5 times a week it is on you to get him there and back.

Although his dad sounds like a massive knob, you have encouraged your son to attend something knowing that it’s going to be a 10 hour round trip and an overnight stay in a hotel - I’m not really sure how that is your ex’s fault.

Your son needs to find a hobby that he can do whilst he’s at his dad’s that doesn’t involve huge round trips or overnight stays.
Or the dad needs to take him to it.

Can your son not get a coach or train after school on a Friday?

@looellen i imagine the reduction is a few pounds?

Is ex paying for the club in addition to cms?

Is he planning on going pro with this hobby??

how old is your son?

I would hazard a guess he pays for the weekend activity on top of cms

Eh? No i pay for it all.

And how much is CMS suggesting it reduce by? Can’t be much if one 90 minute car journey a month

You mentioned that you and ds and dh all agreed together that ds should attend this club. So it does seem rich that your ex is now asking for cms cost reduction
Is your ex broke?

I think you are an amazing mum , to do all this for your child.
You Son will appreciate this when he is older.
CMS rules are ridiculous, & don’t seem to take the child’s needs at any point in the process.