Child maintenance 'special expenses'

[Felford]

Question on child maintenance special expenses. I've had a quick search on here and haven't been able to find anything similar.

Does the CMS just take the paying parent's word for these, or does proof have to be provided.

In this example, paying parent is hit and miss with payments, receiving parent has had enough and wants to do collect and pay via CMS.

Paying parent says if this happens they will deduct their travel expenses (train ticket) which would basically halve any maintenance due. Looking at the Govt CMS site it says: paying parent can ask us to take certain expenses into account.

These are called ‘special expenses’ and can reduce the paying parent’s gross income figure at Step 2.

You can apply for a ‘special expenses variation’ for:

the cost of keeping up regular contact with a child or children you are paying child maintenance for – for example, the cost of fuel to travel between your home and the child’s home (must be at least £10 a week)

Paying parent does not actually travel by train for pick up/ drop off, often it is different family members driving without the paying parent present, which is why I am wondering if there are any checks as to what the 'special expenses' are, to avoid a situation where the paying parent is just saving money.

If relevant, paying parent chose to move approx 70 miles away and does not drive.

There are no absolute rules as to what evidence you have to submit for a special expenses variation, but you do typically have to provide some evidence, so you may find that he starts getting the train the next few times so he can submit that.

In my experience, they just took my ExH's word for it. I gave them evidence that he had doubled the expenses he was claiming but they ignored it.

Thank you, that is what I feared. A bit of a no-win situation then. Either accept the current hit and miss situation or receive a lower amount via collect and pay.

It’s only a 4% hit for the receiving parent but a 20% hit for the paying parent for collect and pay.

I sent the CMS three bits of evidence to dispute his expenses and all were ignored.

Personally if the payments are hit and miss, I’d choose collect and pay.

It's not the 4% hit that's the issue, it would be the ~50% hit for the "expenses" that would follow

The child maintenance service seems to side with the wrong side consistently. Like we had to move 70 miles away because he left us homeless and sat in the family home. If i take our child to him i cannot claim expenses from our child. But he can claim his. Also can lie abour doing one overnight a week even though its less and they default agree with him on it. Then when he goes off sick with unproveable ailment they let him off the hook and he can fail to provide entirely and sponge from the tax payer. In his outright owned house (that means he has no housing costs - but that isnt taken into account as extra expenditure that he could support his child with) and a brand new car the tax payer has paid for (including maintenance) - the cms also want him to get free petrol from his own child.... meanwhile I work, provide, drive a 15 year old car (that I am responsible to maintain myself) and basically i have to pay. Id do it all twice for the love of my child who is a huge blessing. But she deserves to have financial support from both of her parents. Service not fit for purpose and consistently screws over the child in favour of absent parents. I have seen cases where absent parents have been treated badly also. They get it wrong conistently because of blanket policy and not enough care taken to look at each case. If you seek justice do not use their service and expect to find any - it will compound the injustice. They will likely pay him to see his own child based on mileage only. No proof required. Not being arsed to look at the devil in the detail.