What is the point of the Child Maintenance Service?

[Lollylucyclark101]

My son is 17, he will be 18 in about 5/6 months.

I left his bio-dad in 2009 - when my son was 18 months old. He has seen my son twice in his lifetime. We were married. Divorced in 2010. Anyway, he never really worked after we got married, always in/out of jobs and never really paid anything towards the bills etc. I worked FT until my maternity leave and paid for everything.
I went back to work when my son was 2 and have worked all of my life FT.
bio-dad didn't work. He then became a security guard and was working for about 15 months. I therefore applied for CSA and was awarded £60 a month (he has 8 other kids after my son). Anyway he didn't pay it and wracked up a £600 + bill before being sacked and going back on the dole. Payments then went down to £2.28 - YES TWO POUNDS TWENTY EIGHT PENCE A WEEK!.

So I stopped the claim - like, what was the point? It didn't even cover his monthly pocket money of £10! - I did say I wanted the pack pay recovered.

I haven't heard anything off the CMS for years, and suddenly I get a text message today asking me to log in to my online account as there was an update. This update basically said that they are aware I'm owed money and they are "going about" recovering it. So I have called them..... and they have basically said that because he has other debts to pay and is still on the dole, they cannot recoup any monies owed. When I asked what debts, they couldn't give specifics, but added "they are more important than your debt".

It really infuriates me because not only did he get a FAT pay-out from the NHS for medical negligence, but he's also been going on expensive abroad holidays - but cant afford to pay the £600 he owns for 16 years worth of financial contributions (realistically its more than that, but I didn't claim) for my son?

I don't actually "need the money" - however for me, its the damn principle! This person has done NOTHING for my son at all, all of his life and it would be nice to put that £600 in my sons ISA for when he turns 18, so he has slightly more money than what's in there now (his child benefit has been going in there since he was born, and I've put in money here and there when I have been able to, so he has a nice wedge!) and I can feel like I haven't been "done over" by this bloke!
Yes- I married him and had a baby with him - that didn't mean I knew about his abusive behaviour and the alcoholism that happened during the relationship!

What is the point of this service? They don't have the child at the heart of what they do. They either absolutely decimate a GOOD FATHERS finances by awarding silly amounts of money to the other parent, or they do sweet FA for parents that actually really need it!

It so infuriating!

The CMS has come after me thanks to my ex husband being a twat and they haven't given one single shit what debts I have, they just take the money off my wage. I would try to ring back and speak to someone else because they all say and do different things. Might be different with him on the dole tho.

Why have they come after you? Totally agree op.

Long, complicated story involving parental alienation.

If he's had a large compensation pay out then speak to your MP and get them to chase CMS. They can go after small (in CMS terms - I'm not calling £600 small!) debts from savings or money in the bank.

They're hopeless. The training the staff receive is woeful. I worked there briefly and I asked the person training me about a couple of powers I knew they had from dealing with my ex and he - the trainer - didn't know about them!

I'm not 100% certain on this, but I don't think that the CMS take compensation payouts into account.

You stopped the claim. You could have had a regular amount taken from his benefit. The blokes a waste of space, ever heard the saying you can't get blood from a stone?

I’ve literally never read a good experience or review on the CMS. It’s surely a scandal in the making? All these women who go it alone in the hardest of circumstances and the children who are abandoned by one of their parents in every way and all the anger and betrayal and abandonment is just amplified by the CMS. just dont get why there is no motivation at a political level for big reform. You have all my sympathies op, I hope one day the service will be something very different.

This year CMS sent me a letter saying HMRC have told them ex is earning 46k a year and therefore will need to pay £x a week.

Four weeks later they sent a letter saying ex has 'submitted evidence' that he is not earning or claiming benefits so his payments are £0.

So they believe my ex over HMRC?

Completely ridiculous

They are useless.
They sent me a letter, 5 years ago, telling me they they were writing off the arrears owed to me. I felt they it wasn't their place; that only I could make that decision. So, I challenged it.
I am now receiving £100 p/m. The 'child' is 31.
The parents will both be dead, long before the 44,000 is paid.

As of 5 seconds ago (I just checked) I’m owed a whopping £7522. That is just from the times they know he’s been working and hasn’t paid - it excludes all the years he’s worked and declared £0.

Ive been on collect and pay (ie they garnish his wages) for years. I think the total collected is around £80. I took DD out for dinner with it 🤣

They’re toothless. There’s no real consequences for people who don’t pay for their children. The CMS prioritises the welfare of absent parents over their children’s welfare.

I claimed from day one when my ex and I separated because I knew he’d try to get out of paying towards his children, and he’s still managed to use legal loopholes to avoid paying for them. I’ve complained to my MP, I’ve complained to the CMS ombudsman, I’ve read through the laws which are not adequate and too ambiguous.

It has been very stressful and made me realise the system isn’t fit for purpose. I considered going to the newspapers but what’s the point? Due to the rampant misogyny in this country, I’d just be dismissed/criticised for choosing to have children with him.

I agree with the poster who said it’s a scandal in the making. So many women (and I’d like to know the percentages because I suspect it’ll be 90%+ women) have to financially support their children alone. I’m not a single parent, I’m a sole parent.

I agree they are pretty hopeless, but if he’s not working, not much they can do. A friend of mine is receiving money each month for her 28yr old son! They have made him pay her what is owed. She had a lump sum of 10k and now monthly payments. So they did manage to catch him in the end.

Regular amount of £2.28. £9.12 a month lol 😂 I did say that. What’s the point in that?

Yea, I quipped to the CMS call agent that “so this could go on for the next 30 years?” … which in my case is likely.

£2.28 a week ?

CMS are absolutely useless.
They have no power.
They take the absent parent's word for it.
We need to be more like USA - take their passports.
Put them in bloody prison or on tags.
Can you tell I never got a penny ?

They can in certain circumstances.

I'm so glad you did that. I post on threads on here all the time when they close people's claims.

They do it because it wipes the debt and reduces the amount of unpaid maintenance in their stats.

I always encourage anyone to keep it open ever since I worked there. Both in case things change in the future, but also to help stop the massaging of figures to hide how poor they are at chasing debt owed.

there is no point of them. i am suppose to get £7 a week for 4 children but because HE owes debts he doesn’t have to pay it! he hasn’t paid it for a year, how is that even a thing?! i am closing the case but people have told me not to so he is “held accountable” but how exactly is he being held accountable when he doesn’t need to pay it!! it’s been a year he’s laughing 🤷🏻‍♀️

Just for balance, my experience of CSA was a shambles but my CMS experience has been fantastic although my situation is fairly straightforward. Rung them up, sent ex's details, paid the £20 admin fee, they calculated how much he should pay and review it annually, ex set up standing order and pays.

Obviously more difficult situations are an issue. But you should never have stopped the £2.28 he was paying, too late to go back in time now but you have no record of him not paying it to rack up arrears. He is a waste of space and not worth your energy.

Better than nothing. But he's unemployed, OP winter get more than that.

I've had similar (although ex was earning less)

I send them info on his job. He denies it and claims he can't afford to pay as he has 5 other children (2 aren't his. He chose to have the other 3) Nil assessment. They wrote his arrears off. I've had nothing in 12 years.

🙄 it is nothing. I am the OP.

It was collect and pay. CMS has a record of all pay made and all arrears owed.

His debt is live, so it’s not been wiped.

The service is pointless because nothing gets taken or paid, and if it is it’s unfortunately useless as it’s such a small amount.

CMS are 12th on the list of priority debts! When I heard that my jaw nearly hit the floor. The government would rather these sperm
donors pay back overpaid UC or pay council tax arrears than pay for their kids. The CMS claim they care for kids but they don’t. My son is in his twenties and my case is arrears only. I’ll never get what I’m owed even though my ex works. My son sees him out and about working all the time. It’s not fair.