CMS found ex-partner’s undeclared income after years of no child maintenance

[littlebub11]

I split from my partner 2 years ago. It wasn’t an amicable split, he cheated and was evil and enjoyed rubbing my nose in it like it was me who did the dirty. He’s a narcissist!
We have 2 children together and even though he has always earned well, he would never help financially with the children.
I contacted the child maintenance service and for 2 years I was told he didn’t have to pay anything for his children as he was claiming benefits. ( he’s never been on benefits)
Yet he was still working for the same company that he’s been with for years and driving the same company van as well as owning his own home and income from a rental property.
He would happily smirk and say ‘they can’t touch me, I’m on benefits’
I asked the cms to look into his earnings, which they did and found out that for the last 2 years his income has been nearly 50k a year.
The cms are now recalculating and he’s not as ‘cocky’ as before.
Im awaiting the new calculation but have had hundreds of messages asking me to drop the claim as ‘this is what civil mothers do’ lol, he’s been anything but civil since the split.
He now wants to come to set up a private arrangement ( he doesn’t want to part with any cash) but has said that he can help with school uniforms or take one of the children out for meals occasionally to ‘help financially’ what a joke!
His lifestyle is has never reflected a ‘benefits ‘ income but now the cms have obtained his earnings from HMRC, he’s getting worried!
Has anyone been in this situation and what can I expect after them discovering his income! Surely they won’t come back with ‘zero to pay’. I don’t want to get my hopes up!

Hopefully HMRC take him to court for benefit fraud. ‘That’s what decent mothers do’ - haha, what a joke. What do decent father’s do, they pay for their children and don’t hide their income and become a benefit cheat. What goes around, comes around.

I'd be standing in front of s mirror practising my own smirk

.good for you op.
My ex hasn't said cms since 2011..

Absolutely this.

Made up for you, OP! He's in some hot water now.

Leave it to CMS
and block messages. Only email contact

Just a note that if they move to "collect and pay" that doesn't automatically mean wage deduction. It means the paying parent is meant to pay them then they pass it to you. Once they fail at that you then need to ring them to ask then to arrange a deduction from earning order, and THEN they can take it from his pay. Its ridiculous.

This basically. He owes your kids two years money. Dont feel bad taking it.

I loved reading this’ hurrah! Happy Father’s Day lol. Well done CMS and hmrc - hope he’s done for benefit fraud too!

I would only agree to drop the claim AFTER HE TRANFERS YOU ALL BACK PAYMENTS IN A LUMP SUM AND SETS up a standing order for an amount higher than the monthly amount. Then if he defaults at all just log back in and they can pick up where they’re left off. I think this way will get you your money faster if

He's a complete idiot. Being on PAYE means he really couldn't hide his earnings. The men who get away with it are cash in hand, own their own company, job hop etc.

You should he in a good position unless his conviction for benefit fraud means he loses his job, but that would be a while away.

Thank you. He is the worst kind of human being. The things he has done to me and the kids, it’s a wonder I’m still here. Nasty, gloating piece of work. Even paying for some random girls hair colour and cut ( he had been with her for a couple of weeks) and he took her for a weeks holiday abroad because she had never been on holiday before and he ‘felt sorry’ for her and she posted it on Facebook thanking him but he was ok with that knowing he wasn’t paying for his kids. He’s very tight with money, always has been but likes to show off on social media to paint himself in a good light. Sickening!

Well done OP, but I'm confused. How can he have been claiming benefits if HMRC were aware of his income?

Under no circumstances drop your claim. If he refuses to pay The CMS will go after him hard to get what you are owed. They now have the power to have your driving licence revoked and suspend your passport if you refuse to pay! Well done, dont back down... teach him a lesson on paying for your children 👍

I agree with the poster who suggested that you move all correspondence with him to a parenting app. That way you can just check it every now and again rather than constant texts. Also my understanding is that it can be used as evidence in court. So if he tries to change the custody arrangements you have evidence he is only doing so to reduce payments.

Id also have a standard response you use every time like “cms will continue to handle this “.

And congratulations. I’m sure it’s bitter sweet though. It’s always horrible knowing your children’s dad is a loser who cares nothing for them.

I do too..
I wish more people would regard it as disgusting and not what’s done in a civilised society.
That other men would speak out about it.

They will work out what the calculation should have been and calculate the arrears while setting the new payment. So if it was 50k per year they will use that for the historic payment and the new one moving forward.
whatever you do, do not fall soft! Ever! Been there and they just make a fool of your generosity! Stick with the CMS as it is the fairest way.

This.

Congratulations. My ex asked for me back. I rejected him. He then disappeared for almost 7 months. Only returning when cms recalculated his pay. The calculator has two parts. An arrears section and the normal claim section. I called cms and they said he can negotiate the repayment plan and they might agree on a lower amount. Because he might needs some money left as living cost. I said ok. Ex hasn't called them yet. He just pays the original calculation amount they suggested.

I asked for a variation of earnings and that triggered a financial investigation with the cms. Before that the system just detected a means tested benefit with ‘zero to pay’. It’s extremely difficult to speak to anyone via phone as I was always getting cut off. I was only able to use the online portal which sent standard replies of zero to pay. It was incredibly frustrating when I knew he was working.

They can ask him to pay but getting him to do so is another matter. Good luck with that! Just don’t except any private arrangement as it will wipe any arrears (even if they tell you it won’t) keep pushing but don’t get your hopes up too high is my advice

He demanded having them at least 4 nights a week, not to pay which is laughable. The children 5 and 10 would never agree to it and neither would I) He wasn’t interested before the cms was on his back. He’s utterly vile!

Is this only now he is asking to have them this much? How much has he previously had them?

I am so glad they have found his real earnings. I genuinely think something needs to change with the cms system, the resident parent doesnt get to opt out of paying child related costs when money is tight so why should the non resident parent? If you stopped buying them clothes, food, didnt pay for the roof over their heads etc it would be neglect, so why shouldn't it be. I think it should be a realistic minimum cost per child (tell me what child has ever cost £7 per week or month what ever the figure is) and that should be the minimum payable regardless of finances.

I am lucky I've never had to or never will have to deal with CMS but it infuriates me for those that do, that these deadbeat parents get to decide if they want to pay towards their own children. The minimum should be half the bare minimum costs required to raise a child, regardless of financial circumstances and it should be a priority bill that has to be paid or accumulates with no ability to write it off.

Just let them get on with the job it’ll serve him right .

Please update when anything happens 😂

If he’s been defrauding benefits and lying to this extent, I’d be surprised if he’s also not hiding additional income from HMRC. Suspect 50k is not the real number

@littlebub11Hes a cunt and I'm glad for you they have caught up with him. I was in the same boat, almost exactly the same circumstances. What you need to do is not engage with your and not agree to do anything with him on the side. Please let the CMS do their thing and I repeat Do not engage with your ex. Let him bloody squirm the cheating bugger xx (((hugs)))

No they don’t. They initially give him time to pay and if he refuses then they will set up a collect and pay. I wish they did though because he’s not going to pay willingly and the cms are very difficult to to communicate with. My only hope is that when he knows that (a 20% fee will be added if he doesn’t pay) it might make him think twice. I’m not holding my breath for an easy ride.