CMS - miscalculation - who has to pay any overpayment by the NRP?

[Throughaletterbox]

Ex is claiming the CMS have miscalculated and when they recalculate he’ll be shown to have overpaid by circa £4000 over 6 years. Who will liable to pay this back? CMS or me?

I don’t think he’d be entitled to anything back. He’s had six years to challenge the decision if he thought it was wrong but he didn’t so any loss is his own fault.

You would probably repay it by deductions from your future payments.

I'm not due any future payments so nothing to balance it off against.

He's constantly challenged and changed his income - always looking for loopholes to reduce his liability.

He would have to take you to small claims court then I guess - unlikely to win if the CMS calculated the figures!

IT depends whose error it is. Did he challenge it at Tribunal?

If you’re not due any more maintenance then he will have to take you to the small claims court to get any over payment back.

This is covered by the Child Support Act 1991, if there has been an overpayment then they will seek to get the excess money back from you.

Will they? If the claim is now closed? Surely it's nothing to do with the CMS now?

Yes, even if the claim is now closed. If too much was paid then NRP can absolutely get this back, obviously only if they can prove there has definitely been an overpayment. It’s a simpler process if the claim is open as rather than a repayment the subsequence payments can just be reduced accordingly but where that isn’t possible a repayment can be sought.

CMS told my ex (when he claimed he'd overpaid) that their rates are the minimum so anything paid over and above that is voluntary and therefore not an "overpayment"
Mind you, if they miscalculated the rate it might be different. It will be interesting to know if they pursue it when they write of the debts of so many NRPs

They usually write off debts and don’t chase the NRP it would be quite shocking if they chased the resident parent for overpayment especially when they only have to pay something like 15% of their salary towards their children

Yeah seems grossly unfair to have to repay money that I didn't calculate the amount of and where the info I had to give was correct. Particularly when I've spent it on looking after the kids.

CMS stopping via child benefit links! But the 18 year old is still in full time education !! Any others?

It’s full time secondary education. If the child isn’t in secondary education post-18 then there’s no CMS involvement.