CSA to CMS - timing & challenging calculation

[NinjaFeminist]

Hi,

I'm looking for advice on this. Ex has been paying maintenance thru CSA for 5 years, and the case is due to close in November. He 'misled' CSA the last time they assessed his income & claimed to have DD more than 52 nights a year. I argued that wasn't the case but CSA accepted his claim & rejected my argument (I had until that point no reason to gather evidence of overnights so couldn't back up my position - in the 9 years since we split, my ex has come no where near 52 overnights a year - and that pattern has continued).

It's been over a year since this happened & I've been keeping evidence as I knew the same would happen. He's just not capable of maintaining the level of involvement with DD he claims he did, and that drop in maintenance as DD gets older is becoming more of an issue as she gets more expensive to 'maintain'.

I've tried to have the discussion with ex to try and come to a private agreement, to make sure he pays the amount he should. As I expected, I just got a load of abuse & he clearly intends to maintain his claim for overnights he's no intention of keeping to, it's just to minimise what he pays in maintenance.

Because of the timing of the CSA closing & the fact I cannot come to an agreement with ex (as he just becomes abusive), how do I go about getting an assessment done on his earnings/the overnights/the level of maintenance etc.? I'm guessing it's a waste of time approaching the CSA as the case is closing in November. Do I approach the CMS now, or do I have to wait 'til December? I'm taking it as a given he'll challenge the overnights so does anyone know the process they'll go through & how long it'll take to resolve ?

Any insight into this would be appreciated, thanks.

Bump

I've just see your post. I had my CSA case closed in July of this year and when they sent me notification, I contacted CMS straight away. They can enforce payments for your DD in a similar way to the CSA. When you phone them and open up a case, you'll have to pay (I think) £25 to start and then they'll talk through your options. They're really, really helpful and very approachable. I recommend you give them a call. Good luck!

Watching with interest I'm dreading being moved to cms. Ex is very erratic with payments but always plays it he just avoids DOE!

I hope it goes relatively smoothly for you ninja

Thanks for the replies - I'll give CMS a call & start the ball rolling. Just wondering what reaction there will be - when I went to CSA 1st time he stopped seeing DD for nearly a year cos that's what you do when compelled to pay maintenance eh? As much as I don't want to 'upset the apple cart' again I'm loath to make the current amount the agreed sum when I know he'll mess me about when the CSA aren't collecting.

Thanks for the replies. Only 7 more years of this...

I have called CMS this week as case is closing.. They agreed the payment paid direct to them for a variety of reasons however they apparently have to give him the option to pay me directly..He will so he can piss me around..They said then they can force him to pay through them then for 6 months.. presumably then 6 months later shall deal with the same crap..

I felt like giving up half way through the call then resolved myself why should I..He should pay for his own son.. Why should I give him an easy opt out.