Great news for those who's exes don't pay maintenance

[Joysmum]

According to BBC news:

Parents who default on child maintenance payments face being turned down for mortgages and credit cards under new government plans

It's about time more action was taken against parents who don't pay towards the upkeep of their kids

[TheHoneyBadger]

and also whilst it is in those men's interest to encourage women to stay in marriages/cohabiting relationships they're unlikely to support genuine changes to child maintenance and childcare.

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

Possibly rather cynical of me, but as long as it is a majority of men in the government, then this is seen as a "woman's issue" right up there with scrounging single mums and childcare issues. And that means they think it's unimportant - they just toss a few bones in the direction of women in the lead up to elections in an effort to gain votes. Nothing solid, mind you, that they'd have to actually follow through on...

[daisychain01]

Having listened to the radio on the way home the other night, and the debate around this proposal, it makes me wonder how long it would take before people whose credit rating was adversely affected by non-payment via the CSA, take on the Government as a breach of their Hoooooooman Rights, contravention of the Data Protection Act (because it would involve sharing the data between Government and Credit Ratings Agencies) etc etc ad nauseum.

Presumably this would need an adjustment to the Law, which would need to be run through the House of Lords, House of Commons etc etc ad nauseum.

I guess the devil is in the detail with these things .....

I expect it could be in place by the time my DSS has grandchildren .... oh joy

[Smilesandpiles]

Because by the time the CSA have actually done anything, you'd be bankrupt anyway.

Fakename, the poster just ment that as how bloody pointless the CSA are and that any alternative is better than getting them involved as they are usually, a waste of time and money for the people who need them most.

I won't bother with them either.

[fakenamefornow]

I would go bankrupt and fold the business before ever using the CSA.

So you would bankrupt yourself, meaning your own child/ren went without things they need/want, why would anybody do that?

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

And how would they know if someone is defaulting if there is a private arrangement? The only way to get this registered in some way is to put it with CSA and pay their fees. I just can't see that this will ever happen.

[Smilesandpiles]

It's bullshit, it won't happen. There's an election coming so take everything you hear from them between now and the election with a huge pinch of salt.

[TrendStopper]

How are they even going to enforce this when they cant even find someone who is working and paying taxes through the inland revenue.

It is absolutely ridiculous that I will have to pay so that my exh provides for his child.

There should be more stigma put on parents who don't pay for their children. Instead the stigma is on the lone parent who is actually looking after and providing for the child.

[skyeskyeskye]

My XH pays £50 a week on around £25K self employed income, He tells me that he is being far too generous and HE threatened to go to the CSA. When I told him that according to the CSA website he should be paying me £57 a week, he shut up.....

Seriously, who begrudges paying £50 a week for their child's upkeep?

If he stops paying at any point, I will involve the CSA but would rather not at the moment.

I hope that the Government do see these laws through and that they are used. There are men out there who can afford to pay buy don't so something needs to be done to make them pay up.

[TheHoneyBadger]

why andy?

[Andywho]

I pay a £1000 PM to my ex for my 2 children being self employed this is possible too little when business is good and too much when business is bad. The ex has tried to get the CSA involved a couple of times but I refuse to the point of going to prison to even talk to them. I would go bankrupt and fold the business before ever using the CSA.

[TheHoneyBadger]

it reminds me of the history of trying to get DV taken seriously by the criminal justice system. it was seen as a 'private matter' for people to sort out themselves and still punching your wife isn't seen on a par with punching your boss or a person in the street.

somehow child maintenance is being seen in the same way - it's 'domestic', it's a private matter, it's his word against hers, they should sort it out themselves etc.

how do you make a private arrangement with someone who has never seen their child and you don't have a contact number or address for? if it is them obstructing any chance of sorting it out 'privately' why should you be the one to pay for it?

this issue really makes me sick to be honest -it's a flagrantly misogynistic move that will penalise women and children.

[TheHoneyBadger]

CSA are reluctant to do ANYTHING frankly.

the idea that the same incompetent service will now be an incompetent service that takes a cut of children's maintenance is.... well. just wtf really - we don't give a fuck about actually making dad's pay for their children and we'll make that even clearer by charging women for the privilege of even trying to get money from absent fathers.

as far as i'm concerned it should be a legal matter akin to council tax or parking fines - re: if you don't pay it's straight to court and court judgments can be made and fees levied. it needs to be seen as a criminal offence not to pay maintenance for one's own children and be enforced properly by HMRC, DWP and the criminal system.

[skyeskyeskye]

jelly the employer is wrong to collude with your ex in non-payment. i do payroll for a company and we got a phonecall and paperwork from DWP to complete and I now have to deduct a set amount from the wages each week and send it to CSA. It is very simple to do and the employer is very very wrong to not do it in your case. the employer should be taken to court for non-compliance, but the CSA seem very reluctant to do this

[jellycake]

I'm supposed to get money directly straight from ex's wages and I'm still not getting a penny. His boss is leading the CSA a merry dance. Pisses me right off as it is no business of his boss - jail for the lot of them!!

[Margaritte]

Its an awful system. My eldest son is from a previous relationship. He's 12yrs now & we separated when he was a baby. Never had anything from him.
Went to CSA & told them he see's his father once a fortnight (ex's choice) and his father told them he has him more. Which I got told means 'shared care' . I disagree, which is not really the point here as he really does just him minimum he can get away with.
Anyway, they told me it was my word against his & I have to prove Have long given up.

[TheHoneyBadger]

i presume it simply means that non payment of CM will go onto the credit report and be taken seriously as a debt. kind of incredible to think that this doesn't already happen.

so now the CSA etc don't even bother to register an unpaid debt with experian et al.

[magoria]

How can the government link mortgage and credit card applications to do this? If someone just doesnt reply and they have no proof who they are etc they are no further forward than now.

As others have said they already have powers they rarely use.

I am on the cynical election side until I see proof.

[CantBeBotheredThinking]

TheHoneyBadger When you move over to CMS and start paying fees they will treat it as a new claim and will recalculate so you should end up better off than now. I think they are hoping that people won't bother claiming when they have to pay upfront and don't really expect to get anything back which will cut down on the number of nrp who show as not paying maintenance.

[TheHoneyBadger]

can'tbebothered - i'm thinking if they're going to start charging they should at least provide a proper service and do checks and keep it up to date. i'm not holding my breath though.

likewise i'm not hand to mouth reliant on it but it isn't the point. he paid nothing for three years whilst i foolishly hoped he'd come to his senses then i gave up on that idea and went to the csa. never since that original claim have they even updated anything, checked if he still earns the same or done anything other than the initial chase and force paternity test (he knew damn well he was the father but i suspect that isn't the line he'd told the woman he got pregnant and was foolish enough to let him move in and marry him 6months after he realised i wasn't going to cave and let him move in with me just because i'd gotten pregnant).

if they're going to take a chunk of g's money they could at least provide a service for their cut.

[CantBeBotheredThinking]

CogitoErgoSometimes double checked and maintenance will not be taken into account when universal credit comes in.

TheHoneyBadger I'm hoping that my maintenance will be recalculated when they get his new employer details. I'm reasonably hopeful because I think he might have annoyed CSA more than he does me. They are not even giving him the option this time to pay they are just setting up the attachment of earnings as soon as the trace from HMRC comes back.

I'm lucky that I don't need to rely on it but many lone parents do and the system does need reforming properly not just headline catching ideas which change nothing.

[TheHoneyBadger]

so basically they'll make their profit on a percentage of my son's maintenance that is based on his biological father's earnings 5 years ago. so my son will get even less of a percentage of what isn't even an up to date salary. for all they know he could be earning an extra 20k by now.

[TheHoneyBadger]

will be a nonsense that never gets used.

even where absent parents do pay maintenance under the csa they can't be bothered to check if their wages have changed. i got in touch with the csa recently pointing out that my son's father had been paying the same amount for nearly 5 years now and i knew he must have had wage rises in that time as he works for an LA. they eventually responded to say they would not be looking into it as i had no evidence they merely needed to send out a letter saying can you confirm your current income and provide evidence.

soon they'll cancel my agreement and i'll be paying for the privilege of them not even bothering to ensure their figures aren't five years out of date.

there is simply no will politically to enforce child maintenance and most political will seems to be directed at economic policies and cuts that will do their best to force women to stay with even abusive partners rather than become single parents.

no way is anything that makes it easier to be a single mum going to be supported by the powers that be, any of them to be fair but least of all tories with their long standing attitude to single mothers.

[notnotnee]

I struggled for 14 years with the CSA, even getting my MP involved, who just so happens to be David Cameron, and to date, I have never had a penny from the father of my two children who are now 20 and 18. The worst experience ever was dealing with them!!! They are a joke and a waste of tax payers money. Rant over !