Child Maintenance Service - hopeless?!

[MissB83]

Has anyone ever had a successful experience with the Child Maintenance Service? They seem to be a complete waste of time 🤷‍♀️ their information on my account online is a work of fiction (I’ve never had any maintenance but it shows payments I’ve never received); I’ve repeatedly asked to be transferred to Collect and Pay and nothing has happened. Any advice???

The system now seems a lot better than the other one, I didn't get a penny for 7years and then and still now I had to agree to what he wanted to pay.
Back then I had to wait over 8 months for them to work out he had to pay £5 a week and that was for 1 dc they hadn't even added his other ds!
And he was making over £500 a week and lived at home!
But back to you, I think you have to show proof they are delaying payments, or not paying. You need to keep calling and Remember to write down the times you contacted them and who you spoke to, that's very important.

They are a shower of shit. I put my claim In At the beginning of October. Apparently the absent parent can just ignore everything. I have been promised my collect and pay will start on 19th March.

Phone and keep phone every week asking for updates. And pray you don't have to go to appeal because that could take up to a year. Good job my kids don't grow. Or need to eat or anything.

My claim has been going since April when my child benefit began. My son is one next month!

How do I prove I'm not getting payments?? Just show bank statements that show that no payment is going in on the nominated date?

I will start making a record of contacts- I did think it was meant to be recorded on the online system but discovered it isn't!

I was told that they have to prove they had paid. As how do we prove they haven't.

I phone every few weeks and just as for an update. Had some useless people on the phone but got a chap called David last time and he talked me through the whole thing. I wanted to ask him for his direct number so I could ring him directly. 😂

Just have to hope it all gets sorted. Then wait for our amazing ex's to change their jobs.

I opened my case in June, schedule started august. Out of 6 payments due, ex failed to pay 4 in line with the schedule and hasn't bothered to pay Januarys payment at all, taking himself and his partner on a holiday instead. I only know this because he rang saying he couldn't have ds on his scheduled night as his flight was too early the next day.

My ex knows how to play the system and put change of circumstances in - he's supporting his partners child who lives there. Child benefit check came back and she doesn't. He has ds more - sent our spreadsheet agreeing contact. He put in a variation wanting to have his payments reduced on the basis that he's paying gas, electricity, water, laundry, food, clothes when ds is there as well as before and after school costs on his days. That was rejected however he's appealing.

I rang weekly. I followed each call with a letter detailing what had been agreed. I request he be moved onto collect and pay in writing. I then started ringing daily. Following up with a letter.

The case was moved to collect and pay a few days ago.

Keep on at them

Bank statement, never agree on cash. It seems better but there's no proof. And expecting the to prove it is another wait.

Absolutely useless. Every time I rang I was told different info. I could only get first names of who I spoke to and every time they never seemed to have a record of the info they had given previously. I gave up trying to get a payment based on his actual income. Sorry not much help but understand the frustration.

They’re shit. 3 years down the line here and zero money. Ex job hops and intermittently signs on the dole. So by the time HMRC know where he is, he’s already left.

Bailiffs couldn’t get anything.

Whenever they start criminal proceedings he signs on the dole as they can’t apply to criminal court when he “doesn’t have the means to pay his debt.”

It’s a shower of shit.

It’s an absolutely ridiculous system that isn’t fit for purpose.
My claim was put in December 2016, my exh never once paid the full amount on the scheduled day, I was repeatedly told that it couldn’t move to collect and pay as money was flowing and nothing could be done until the underpayments hit £1000...finally in September 2018 it moved to collect and pay. I got one full payment in October. November’s payment didn’t come through as his employer queried something. December’s payment wasn’t received from his employer.
I’ve rang weekly and get nowhere. They keep telling me that they take non/payment very seriously but when I ask what steps they’re taking it seems to be just writing to his employer. Shit.
I’ve given up hope of receiving anything.

I was in exactly this position.

Call them; be very matter of fact. Tell them you have had no payments since X date.
Tell them you want to make a complaint. That should get your case manager to call you back with a reasonable solution which will be the below-:
They have to give 14 days to paying parent to make up all missed payments or you go to collect & pay.
Then collect & pay will kick in - providing they are employed.

They told me that the online account isn't up to date - it said my ex had paid me every month - he actually owes me £1800. It has took me since November but finally collect & pay payments start in February.

I had to keep on at them - twice a week since November ...

Yesterday my ex messaged me to say that his employer had contacted him notifying him of the deo they had received. He told me that he was quitting his job. He told them he couldn't afford to work there anymore because of the deo.

Later the cms contacted me. He'd been in touch with them again grovelling. He was very apologetic and wanted to do the right thing. Arrears on the case totalled 1080. Cms agreed that they would move the case back to direct pay only if he paid 1000 into my account that day. If he did that they would issue another direct pay schedule and he was expected to set up a standing order.

Yesterday he transferred me 1000!!

This is a massive step for me. He was controlling during the relationship and tried to maintain this control through child maintenance, only paying when I asked for the money and even then not paying in line with the schedule. I stopped asking. He stopped paying.

@Trixink that is fantastic news. I'm sure you will do this anyway but keep a close eye on what your owed and don't let him slip up.

Great news trixink.

@Trixink congratulations! That's such good news :-)

As others have said keep your bank statements showing if he underpays and if he does notify them ASAP otherwise they don't chase him for underpayments.

Well done for standing up to him! He's seeing he doesn't control you or the situation anymore :-)

It's been a struggle to get here. I've been on cms' case since August.
He underpaid August, September, October, November, paid in full December, didn't pay anything in january.

I think there must be a threshold before they really push things - possible £1000?

Its not helped that he submitted numerous change of circumstances and, most recently, a variation - all rejected, all appealed. Think hed cottoned onto the fact that these caused delay whilst being reviewed.

Fully expecting there to be something else he tries to mess with. We shall see. But for now, this has proven that he is unable to control this area and that I have the strength not to be bullied by him anymore.

I think the fact that you have the strength to not let him bully you and the fact that he has realised he can’t control the maintenance is a bigger win than receiving the money.

I’m going to step up my efforts with the CMS, I’ve been reporting everything to them but I’ve not rang them this week as felt I was getting nowhere.

@Trixink - thanks for this! It's helping me.

My ex is underpaid from January to October. Didn't pay November / December and they've set a DEO up which started in January - yet I haven't seen any money yet. He said he couldn't pay the £1000 up front.
He's currently in £1800 arrears and keeps changing circumstances ... yet they're not pushing him

I'll keep ringing them then see if I can push some more

I followed everything up in writing to ensure there was a paper trail. Anything that they agreed to do I documented. Following each variation/change of circumstances submitted I provided my response to them in writing and stated I believed he was fraudulently providing incorrect information to reduce payments and delay payment of arrears.

They seemed to up their game when changed my approach.

Currently £20k in arrears

I gave up

I've got on absolutely fine with them. But my ex has stayed in employment with the same company and is on the books properly so they have been able to assess his income easily.