Hi all,
I am looking for a bit of advice. The past 3 years I have had massive issues with child maintenance. I am self employed and the business hasn't been doing so well, price increases on fuel, materials, covid etc. My total income for the years are ranging between £4000 - £8000 when costs has been deducted, these figures have been given to cms by hmrc and myself yet for some unknown reason the past two years they have been counting money (which have been accounted for in the self assessment) transferred between my business account and my personal account as double payments and saying I'm getting extra money. I have tried explaining this to them but nobody is listening, this year they are saying I made 30 odd thousand which is ludicrous and my maintenance payments are being taken on that. I am absolutely skint, managing to pay my mortgage and bills by the skin of my teeth.
I have made complaints but I'm not being taken seriously.
Does anybody have some advice as its really starting to take its toll on me now
Thanks
Have you gone through the proper complaints procedure:
https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance-service/complaints-and-appeals
If you have, and you are getting nowhere, then speak to your MP as soon as possible.
Hi,
Sorry to hear this. I second Actd. Suggest you write to your MP and ask them to raise a formal complaint to CMS on your behalf. Also copy in these emails:
correspondence@dwp.gov.uk
complaint.reviewteam@dwp.gov.uk
Hi all,
I am looking for a bit of advice. The past 3 years I have had massive issues with child maintenance. I am self employed and the business hasn't been doing so well, price increases on fuel, materials, covid etc. My total income for the years are ranging between £4000 - £8000 when costs has been deducted, these figures have been given to cms by hmrc and myself yet for some unknown reason the past two years they have been counting money (which have been accounted for in the self assessment) transferred between my business account and my personal account as double payments and saying I'm getting extra money. I have tried explaining this to them but nobody is listening, this year they are saying I made 30 odd thousand which is ludicrous and my maintenance payments are being taken on that. I am absolutely skint, managing to pay my mortgage and bills by the skin of my teeth.
I have made complaints but I'm not being taken seriously.
Does anybody have some advice as its really starting to take its toll on me now
Thanks
Hi @Jb92, as the previous members have said, write to your local MP and raise a complaint with the CMS. If you have a separate account for your business, you should be able to show what is income (to your personal account) and what is a loan. If you make, for example, a loan payment (which should always be referenced in the transfer description) to your personal account, your may need an accountant to show this. It's tricky if you're self-employed (especially if your business is linked to your personal account). That fact is, the CMS definitely shouldn't be double-counting.
Provide as much evidence as you can; i.e. pay slips from your regular job, and bank statements to show what is coming into your account from your business. Presumably, any adjustment will be subject to the 25% gross income rule. Therefore, if your income drops below 25% (based on the figures the CMS has for you to date) between your review periods, your liability for child maintenance will fall.
Importantly, make a 'report a change' request online today (or a.s.a.p.). A request via an MP does not constitute a formal change request, more so a request to look at your case. They can still advise you to report a change after liaising with your MP.
I hope this is of help.
I have drafted up a complaints letter and plan on sending it. I have stayed I will take it to ice or the ombudsman or would it be worth scrapping that and just getting hold of my mp. Albeit they are a bit useless to be fair hence why I haven't bothered
Thanks