Is it worth involving CSM?

[BelleBoyd]

My kids father hasn’t worked for 3 yrs. As far as I know he’s on CSA benefits. He owes me £30 a month for our two kids. He’s paid lump sums a couple of times of £60. But nothing regular. He pays for absolutely nothing for them. His mum has occasionally bought them clothes etc. If he visits them I have to provide them with food/water to take with them as he won’t buy them food. He lives with his mum and has them to stay a couple of days of each school holiday and she pays for all his/their food. His mum lets him use her car and pays for petrol. He’s basically looked after.
Anyway I’m wondering whether it’s worth the hassle of involving CSM for not a great deal of money although £30 a month would be helpful. He’s very manipulative and abusive so not sure it’s worth trying to convince him to just pay as he hasn’t before and he’d enjoy me asking him for the money every month to not give it to me probably.

If I were you I’d go through CSA. If he’s on benefits I doubt you’d get much but at least it would be recorded what you hadn’t received.

If he won’t even buy them food\ drink when he’s with is he safe to parent them. Feeding children seems to be the very basic of parenting.

Yes it is worth it. However small this money is its rightfully your childs and he shouldnt get to just walk away. My exh has never been off benefits and refused to pay however the cms now take it directly from his benefits before he gets them. I just get a text saying a payment has been received. It wasnt difficult and now I dont have to even think about it. Definitely do it

Do it. Whatever the small amount you’ll get may be, it’s better in your account where it’ll get spent on your children, than in his. Don’t waste your time and energy discussing it with him at all. If he contacts you when he gets the letter from them, direct any comments he has back to them. And do not discuss it with his mother or let her guilt trip you into not claiming even if she says she’ll give you it. Get a formal claim via cms put in place to prevent any nonsense in the future.