Has anyone done the REMO route for child maintenance?

[Legaldispair]

So my ex husband is suppose to pay child maintenance, paid the minimum for a few years and last year I noticed CMS were using old information to work out what he should pay me as his salary had trebled and they have never recalculated, to cut a long story short I have a hearing soon about this as he continued to dispute it and HE took it to tribunal. THEN on top of that he moved to New York… has always threatened it, and has paid nothing for a year as he ‘doesn’t know what he is supposed to pay as there are no rules’ due to the fact him and myself are both UK citizens. Not even paying a contribution amount and not even bothering to look into it so I have had no choice but to go down the REMO route. Those papers have only just gone off to then as it took 6 months just to get these papers (CMS were dicking around in the mean time and not helping with this) so he owes me aLOT of money in under payments which I know America won’t be interested in and he hasn’t paid me for a year… has anyone actually had any success with the Remo route? I’m slowly running out of any positivity. I can’t afford legal help so I’m on my own.

can anyone share this experiences with me please? Anything I need to know that they don’t tell you etc?

I am sure many of us here have the same/similar questions. I don’t know many of these answers yet, but I’ll share my experience here once things are sorted.
But as these things take a long time, it’s not surprising that we end up remarrying, or getting a better job, etc. My guess is that these things should not matter (as they don’t matter for the CMS for instance - all that matters is the paying parent income, and number of children, etc, as you said).

My case is different, as there’s a court order in place, so I’m hoping it will be backdated. But my understanding is that the final result of the REMO process is a court order. And that will determine the payment from then onwards (especially given that the paying parent will appeal, etc).

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve raised a complaint with MEBC, and they were quick to reply. My stuff was sent over in early April last year, and the foreign authority had not even acknowledged it yet… So REMO contacted them, so we’ll see. I think all we need is to be patient, and trust that it will get sorted eventually. But remember to chase it up with REMO every now and then.

@Okapimum thank you for responding. I will chase them. I hope it does not drag on too long. I will also share my experience too, in order to help others.

@Bluefields The REMO process is a bureautcratic one. Your application goes to the MEBC first where they will ensure that you have completed it according to the criteria.

It will then be sent to REMO who then send it to the authority in the country where your ex is living. It does not matter what nationality he is. If the paperwork needs to be translated, it will be done free of charge. By the same token, anything that needs to be translated on the way back will also be done free of charge.

If you have a UK maintenance order from a UK court, then REMO can send this to the country in question, who would generally enforce it as it stands. If you don't have one, then your application gets sent to the country in question and a judge makes a decision as to how much you should be awarded. A legal representative will be appointed on your behalf. It's all free of charge.

A judge will take into consideration both parties finances and the needs of the child.

I disregarded REMO's directive of only going through them. I found my case worker in Sweden and we had an ongoing dialogue and I knew exactly what was going on. Unfortunately, as REMO states, it is only a transmitting agency and isn't proactive. They just sit back and wait for your paperwork to go overseas and then wait for the response. It's an absurd system. And this is where it can all go wrong.

I would be chasing them up regularly and if you get the opportunity to find your case worker, then definitely get in touch with them. Most people who work overseas in this kind of work speak English today.

@Bluefields If you have a UK maintenance order, you can ask for it to be backdated. I did. If you don't, then it will usually only be backdated from the time the agreement is made in court. It is always worth asking, though.

@Sunchi thanks so much for your response. Do you know how it is possible to find your case worker?

@Bluefields You need your case number. I went to the website of the organisation in the country which is responsible for your case. I found their generic email address and sent off an email. They responded with the name and email address of my case worker.

If anyone is looking for the authority dealing with their case in the foreign country where their ex is living, then follow this link. It's to the Hague Convention website which gives you a list of countries. Click on the country in question and you will find the name of the organisation that deals with your case. You will also find names and email addresses.
https://2007.countryprofile.hcch.net/smartlets/sfjsp?interviewID=hcchcp2012&t_lang=en

Does not work

@Serrina I've just clicked on it and it worked for me.

@Serrina it takes you to a page with countries. You then choose the country you are looking for and then the language. This will open a document with the info of the organisation dealing with your case.

@Serrina 1. CENTRAL AUTHORITY TO WHICH COMMUNICATION SHOULD BE ADDRESSED (Art. 4 of the
Convention)
a. Name:
Central Authority for Maintenance Recovery from
Abroad
b. Address:
Department of Justice 51 St Stephen's Green Dublin 2
D02 HK52 Ireland
c. Territorial or personal extent of functions, if
applicable:
N/A
d. Telephone:
+353 1 8592232
e. Fax:
n/a
f. E-mail:
[email protected]
g. Website:
http://www.justice.ie
Contact Person 1
First Name
James
Last Name
Whelan
Telephone
+353 1 8592232
E-mail
[email protected]

This is just a snapshot from Ireland, for example.

Yes I did that. But when I clicked on it the document wouldn't open.

Ah, tried again in desktop mode and it worked. Thank you 😊

@Serrina no problem. It does take a while to open.

@Sunchi I’m the original OP, could you explain please what the benefit of this is? I didn’t think we were allowed to make any contact anywhere and it all had to be done through the Remo in the uk

@Legaldispair You're right that REMO does not want anyone contacting the organisation that is dealing with your case abroad. However, some people are waiting years for a response from REMO, which is unacceptable in my opinion.

I'm sorry I don't know what OP means>

@Legaldispair My case would never have gone anywhere if I hadn't had direct contact with the Swedish authority. At one point, due to the delays in receiving my paperwork from REMO, they were going to close my case.

@Sunchi it means original poster, I was just reintroducing my last as I haven’t been on here for ages. I appreciate where you are coming from! Does this actually help or are they just going to ignore me? What did they actually do once you made contact?

@Legaldispair In my case, once I had found my case worker, I contacted her regularly. My family court (now MBECs) had completely cocked up my claim and REMO was unresponsive. So, whenever there were problems or delays, I contacted them for an update. Sometimes they said that I wasn't supposed to contact them, but they always answered my emails - if not that day then the following day. It reassured me, but also alerted me to problems.

Thanks @Sunchi for this, I will definitely be following up once it is with them.

Good evening
I've just had a court order go though remo and been told that my ex must pay but I've been given no details as to how he is to pay and who I contact if he doesn't he is in new zealand anyone have any experience with this its take 3 years to get to this point

Hi @Cazza38, just to clarify, you are in the UK and you have just received a UK court order that says you need to do it via REMO? Is that right?

My process is still ongoing, so I’m not the best person to give advice. But you’ll be able to send a copy of the court order as part of your REMO application. They’ll contact the relevant authorities in New Zealand.
You add your bank details to your application, and I assume the money will go to that account.
You can list their bank account/properties in your application, which makes me think that the justice system in the other country can literally confiscate their salary/belongings, and force them to pay.

Be patient, as this takes a long time. But the sooner you start the process, the sooner you get the ball rolling.

Good morning my order has made it though English and new zealand courts the maintaince order has been granted in new zealand but I don't know if my ex is to pay me directly or do the remo service collect payments it to 3 years to be granted in new zealand

The link below will help you to answer your question. If anyone is looking for the authority dealing with their case in the foreign country where their ex is living, then follow this link. It's to the Hague Convention website which gives you a list of countries. Click on the country in question and you will find the name of the organisation that deals with your case. You will also find names and email addresses as well as information on the process and procedure for each country, including payment collection and how enforcement of non payment is dealt with in each country. You need to use the link on your laptop or computer. It doesn't seem to work on the phone.
https://2007.countryprofile.hcch.net/smartlets/sfjsp?interviewID=hcchcp2012&t_lang=en

Thank u I just feel very left in the dark since the remo order was put in place I received a half baked email which didn't detail how they would pay just that payment was due 20 oct and then monthly on the 20th of each and a lump sum to be paid by the 30th Nov and since then no further replys or details