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My son has just received forms from the CMS saying he is the father of a 5 year old child ,this has come as a complete shock to us all as well as his partner now . He had a one night stand with the mother (when he was single)and from that time had no contact at all.The CMS letter states he has 14 days to respond (dated 18/4 but received 22/4)or they will take money direct from his wages , he wishes to dispute this and will ask for a DNA test to be carried out .
If parentage is confirmed he will pay the sum they are asking for , the mother is asking for ‘Collect and Pay’ he is in total shock at this news as you can imagine, will the CMS only deal with him or can I talk on his behalf ? Should he be looking at legal advice first before contacting the CMS ? can a family arrangement be made privately and are they legal and workable ?
Thanks for any help
hi,
I would suggest he contacts CMS asap within those 14 days to sort this out. if he asks for DNA test, they should be able to arrange that. I think it's wrong if they want to put him onto collect and pay right away. He should challenge that. They first put parent on direct pay scheme. then if they miss payments or refuse to pay, thats when they are put on collect and pay, and they have to pay extra 20% fee.
their call agents are not always knowledgeable about their rules. you can take a look at their leaflet and explain to them that he should not be put on collect and pay immediately, and even before they establish he is the biological father.
@bill337 Thanks for your reply , I’ve spent all morning on phone to the CMS waiting only to be cut off twice once after 1hour and 45 mins , not good !
@milo46 sounds annoying. If he registered for self service account,.can use that and try web chat. After web chat hours closed its possible to send messages to them through the self service account.
@bill337 Thanks again bill, I noticed the webchat , hopefully come in handy
I wonder why the Mother waited 5 years? I think the DNA rest will demonstrate he is not the father. After all, why would any Mother wait 5 years to seek help in raising their child if they were certain who the father was when the child was born?
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