How do I deal with co-parent not paying agreed maintenance

[Peacho]

DC's father hasn't paid any maintenance to us since January. Its only £50 per month as agreed years ago, but is supposed to be half of school lunches, clubs etc. Now it's causing me to be short of money for the holidays. I have already text him twice and his response was 'ok' - but still no payment! Any suggestions from anyone who has experienced this on how I can actually get him to pay his fair share?
DC is with me an DH (her stepdad) 90% of the time. This isn't the first time he just hasn't paid 😕

Any reason you're not going through CMS?

Go through cms.

I hear so many bad things about cms. I also think he would then argue for 50/50 but actually get his partner to look after DC.
Does anyone have good experiences with cms?

Also DC is a young teen and doesn't want to stay with him any more than they already do.

Go through cms. He can ask for 5050 custody, sure. You say no. If he wants to fight, he goes to court. At which point the judge will a) look at the history and see that the child has always spent most of their time with you so it would be unlikely to be in their best interest to change now, and b) your child is old enough to have an opinion.

Obviously, It could cause tension but him not paying is already causing tension so...🤷‍♀️

Just go through CMS. They will take a percentage, I think it’s 20% or something so you’ll get just over £40.

To go for 50/50 custody you’ll have to go to court anyway. And if your ex is the lazy type, it might not happen. As there are a few upfront costs to go down that route.

I go through CMS. Mine is a teen and doesn’t want to see her dad and doesn’t. I actually give her the money directly as it’s £40 pm.

Most of the people that don’t like CMS are the paying parents who want to skip responsibility. But for the receiving parent sometimes it’s the only way.

£50 a month?! That's peanuts. You definitely need to apply through CMS. They won't make any decisions about 50:50, they just will just calculate what he owes you using his salary and the amount of overnights your DS usually stays with him.

If he then wants 50:50 to avoid maintenance then he would have to apply to court- it is highly unlikely a judge would award 50:50 to a man who has his child less than 10% of the time and who is a young teen and can articulate that he doesn't want to stay with him 50:50. It clearly isn't in your DS's best interests to be 50:50 especially if his lifestyle isnt geared up to be present for him.

He can't get 50:50 since your child is old enough that the court will listen to what she wants.

At secondary school age a court would be unlikely to force a dc to see the nrp more than the regular arrangement
. At 12 my ds went nc with his df... Despite a court order actually in his favour.. Cms.

Definitely cms. Even if he tries for 50-50 your DC is a young teen so old enough to have their opinion taken into account.

cms is problematic when the person paying is self employed or constantly loves jobs to avoid paying. Will either of these scenarios apply?

Thank you everyone. Looks like cms might be the way to go. It's not even a lot of money, but when you are the only one paying for the basics, it adds up and every penny counts. He is self employed, so will probably not provide accurate income figures, which is frustrating.
His other children go to private school (paid for by his partners parents). DC is fortunate to go a good Grammar, but I pay for all the extra activities.

Go through CMS. Less for the money and more to get the behaviour on record.x

Go to CMS. He won’t get 50-50 for a teen, as their needs are considered at that age.

CMS doesn't really work if he's self employed as he will use tax avoidance strategies so the income reported to HMRC is likely to be very low. That said, if he only pays £50pm anyway it's worth a try

Kids can legally choose much contact they have with each parent from around age 11/12 so don’t worry about any 50/50 threats.

If he’s self employed CMS can be tricky, but sometimes the initial contact from CMs is enough to trigger them into paying you regularly privately.