Hi All
I have been paying my ex for 17 years directly for my two daughters on a personal agreement. Last year the relationship with my daughters and the ex broke down & now I have no contact with them. My ex then went through an assessment with the CMS and I had my judgement, to be fair far more than my personal agreement, and an ex that wouldn't meet a happy medium, I have a new family to support with 3 other children.
Luckily my youngest is 19 (she is 20 in Feb next year) and just finished her one of a number of college courses she has been doing, she has just completed an NVQ level 2 in hairdressing.
From information I have seen on social media sites she has been posting that she cant wait to start her apprenticeship at a salon in September, so under the rules I assume I should stop paying CSA ??
My question is how do I prove to the CMS that she has started this apprenticeship? My Ex has committed benefit fraud in the past, and is likely to do it again
What is my next step?
Will CMS look into it if she is illegally still claiming Child Allowance?
Child allowance wont discuss with me I assume because I am not the claimant of Child Allowance??
So I will pretty much be stuck having to pay directly into my Ex's bank account, waiting & there is no way she would return he money???
CMS won't look into whether she is claiming CB illegally, just whether she is getting it - it's up to the Benefits Agency to look into whether there's any fraud. It's worth speaking to the CMS anyway to see if they can contact your ex - if the worst happens, you stop paying in February when she gets to 20.
Hello Jockstrap74
With you having a case with the Child Maintenance Service, you would need to contact them directly to discuss any concerns you have regarding your case and your payments. You will find their details on any letters they have sent you or on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance.
Under child support legislation, regular child maintenance payments must be made until a child is 16 years old, or 20 if they are in full-time, non-advanced education (A-level or equivalent), or for as long as Child Benefit is being paid. When a child leaves full-time education in the summer, Child Benefit generally continues until the first week of September.
For further information on when maintenance ends and what courses are classed as full-time non-advanced education, you may find the following link useful https://www.gov.uk/when-child-maintenance-payments-stop.
For more information on all the different ways to set up child maintenance and for a more personalised service, you can visit the Child Maintenance Options website at http://www.cmoptions.org.
The DWP have a sorting out separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.
Regards
William
Like many others I am struggling to get the CMS to look into my case. It seems ludicrous that the CMA will not talk to Child Benefit about potential benefit fraud, as long as they are concerned Child benefit is in place so CMS is to be paid.
I have been advised to continue paying my ex even though she maybe committing benefit fraud by not notifying them that my daughter is starting an apprenticeship in September and will be on day release 1 day a week to college. I have the potential to be overpaying my ex-wife, when I asked the adviser how they will get any overpayment back, he said they would try everything in their power to get any potential overpayment back but they have no legal powers to do so. This is absurd, so the CMS have legal powers to ensure fathers pay which I understand and commend, but have no power to refund money??????
I think this is ridiculous and once again penalises the absent fathers who very often like myself are not to blame for a marriage breakdown and being absent.
The CMS needs to be a bit fairer to the male point of view & also correspond between departments. Not happy & have no way to protect my rights from a Government organisation, I have no choice but to continue to pay
what does a-level stand for?
what does a-level stand for?
Exactly advanced.
It's just frustrating that there is no real support for fathers who have always paid and understand the need to pay upto a point, the system in providing is fair up to a point, it should be there to assist both parties not just the receiver of payments
I know the forum is set upto help and the CMS advisors come on and post, but I have looked through the boards and 98% of the responses to us "absent fathers" is the same cut and pasted standard answer.
The idea a recipient can CHOOSE not to have direct payments and thus have it collected without evidence of failing to pay is clearly a weapon, you HAVE to go to mediation, you should HAVE to direct pay first.
In all this it makes me a bit ill, you have folk encouraging family based this and that left right and centre and then fundamentally the mother can just deny it and you're in the [censored].
I had a much lesser issue of sending money (child is much younger) and the CMS told me depsite bank statements it 'did not matter', I asked so if I gave her grand yesterday and she makes an application on that day......answer "unfortunately sir yes" - she did go on to call me absent...which riled me no end
Totally agree mate, its the imbalance in the rules that actually add to the animosity and make keeping thins amicable far more difficult. I had as you say a family based arrangement and always paid, I too was told by the old CSA that even though I paid her by cheque (in the old days) it didn't prove I gave her money, I could have just wrote them out!!! Really I ask you!!! Standing order was put straight in place and had been for 12 years
It really is unbalanced, you almost feel alienated for wanting your case looked into & questioning the relevance of the claim. Pretty often we have new families we have to support with no disposable income, so the new children suffer, the reduction you are given off any payment for having a new family/child is laughable
Sorry for ranting, its just the cards are always stacked against us and you end up feeling a criminal for trying to get answers & help
Hello Twiston
When using the Child Maintenance Service, either parent can choose the Direct Pay option. This means that the paying parent would not have any fees to pay on top of the maintenance payments. A standing order can be set up and the Child Maintenance Service need not be involved again unless there are missed payments. Receiving parents cannot choose not to use Direct Pay.
Regards
William
Hello Twiston
When using the Child Maintenance Service, either parent can choose the Direct Pay option. This means that the paying parent would not have any fees to pay on top of the maintenance payments. A standing order can be set up and the Child Maintenance Service need not be involved again unless there are missed payments. Receiving parents cannot choose not to use Direct Pay.
Regards
William
Hi William
Thank you for that, I already have the direct pay option to ease the financial burden on me. However both parties have to agree, lets be fair most separations are not friendly affairs, if one refuses then the paying parent is the one that is financially penalised again
The other question of course is child maintenance is paid while Child Benefit is in place, so what happens if your child enrols on a college course after her 19th birthday???
The child benefit rules on the .gov website state that the child has to be enrolled on a college course before their 19th birthday to be entitled to Child Benefit so as an example
Child is 19 in Feb finishes a coarse and then enrols on a new course on the 25th of August so after they are 19, they should no longer be eligible for Child benefit so no Child maintenance should be due.
This is question is on here
the form for declaring your child is staying on in education so if someone fails to inform the CB office they are committing fraud surely???
If they declare falsely, then yes they are committing fraud - unfortunately the benefits office seem to be appalling at chasing up this type of benefit cheat.