Separated :Child Tax Credits/Benefit

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My ex and I split when my daughter(now 7) was 10 months old.
We have shared contact/residency 50/50 since then.
I have my daughter for 3 nights during school week(Fri/Sat/Sun) and more over holidays.

I earn approx £ 17.500 p.a ,my ex , who doesn't work, has always taken the whole of the credits/benefit.

We have been in mediation before which really helped with contact issues but for the past year,my ex has not wanted to attend a mediation session to discuss a fairer share of the credits/benefits saying she has no money.

My ex who has been in rented accommodation and receiving housing benefit has always claimed she needed the money due to not working.
Now,however, she has just bought an £180,000 house and is spending another £20,000 (at least) getting it done up. The money was from an inheritance from her Grandfather but had always been kept under an account of her parent's.
In addition,I know my ex has been doing cash in hand jobs and receives a £5000/year "Director's Loan" (from a company her new boyfriend owns).
I spend a lot of money on my daughter: clothes,haircuts,cinema,theatre,days out etc.. none of it begrudged
but her mum spends very little in comparison.

What would people recommend as a next step?
Thanks in advance

Some bitter people on this site

yeah, that's what it is

If it were me I'd move close enough to the school to be able to do school runs and then have actual 50/50 residency of one week at her Mum's and then one week at yours.

Then you'd have a case for sharing the credits/benefit and you'd see more of your daughter and less travelling for her.

If she's officially the RP then I don't think there's a way round it, she will get the benefits. However, she sounds extremely lazy and IMO should get a job.

If a woman had posted this then the non-working parent would have been ripped to shreds.

Yes, VERY bitter!

You've got a point Elizabeth re if the woman posted.

Tbh I can't get my head around the fact that you do have her more than 50% of the time yet you're not classed as RP? As I said earlier, my original response was based on it sounding like you having her less.

I think the original post says he has her 3 days pw during term time and more over holidays, so maybe this wasn't picked up on.

I think your only option OP would be to contact HMRC and make a claim for the CB/CTC and then let them ask the relevant questions to see which of you is entitled. If you have her more than 50% then potentially she should be paying maintenance to you. But that's a whole can of worms you may not wish to open.

And as for the comments about just moving nearer to DD's school...!! Yeah, because moving 25 miles away from where you work is no big deal, right? Just do that. Commute 250 miles per week. Add that additional layer of pressure to the situation and that will make it all better.