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Advice about CMS

My husband is due to move over to the new CMS.

He has always paid CM via CSA, and has never missed a payment. He is happy to pay via direct pay, as he and and his ex are not on speaking terms, however she is insisting that he is put on collect and pay, as it will mean he'll have to pay fees every month.

Can this happen, or if he has a good history of paying, does he have a say in paying direct with no fees? The fees would put him into financial distress, and it seems his ex is being vindictive asking for it this way. So far no official set up via CMS, this info is coming from his children.

Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • System
    System Posts: 178,358 Community Admin
    10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    My husband is due to move over to the new CMS.

    He has always paid CM via CSA, and has never missed a payment. He is happy to pay via direct pay, as he and and his ex are not on speaking terms, however she is insisting that he is put on collect and pay, as it will mean he'll have to pay fees every month.

    Can this happen, or if he has a good history of paying, does he have a say in paying direct with no fees? The fees would put him into financial distress, and it seems his ex is being vindictive asking for it this way. So far no official set up via CMS, this info is coming from his children.

    Thanks in advance.

    From https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/relationships/children-and-young-people/child-maintenance/child-maintenance-2012-scheme/child-maintenance-administration/the-2012-child-maintenance-scheme-the-collect-pay-service/
    What is the Collect & Pay service?

    In some cases, it might not be possible to ask the other parent to pay you maintenance directly. This might be because:
    • the other parent has failed to pay maintenance to you directly
    • you don’t want the other parent to know any of your personal details
    • the other parent has asked to make payments this way.
    In these cases, the CMS can collect payments of child maintenance and pass them on to the parent with day-to-day care of the children. If you’re getting maintenance you can’t ask for this option unless the other parent has failed to keep to a Direct Pay arrangement. However, the parent paying maintenance can ask to make payments this way.
    My highlighting

    She can insist all she likes, she won't get anywhere.
    This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • shoe*diva79
    shoe*diva79 Posts: 1,356 Forumite
    Yes, as the above poster says, your husband has to be offered to pay direct and unless he misses a payment, he can continue to direct pay and avoid all the fees.
  • WYSPECIAL
    WYSPECIAL Posts: 748 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    No she can't insist on it he is entitled to use direct pay.
  • pmduk
    pmduk Posts: 10,683 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Make sure he rigorously documents all payments he makes in case allegations are made about future "irregular" payments
  • 24skins
    24skins Posts: 1,773 Forumite
    As other posters have said, she can't up insist unless he doesn't pay.
    Yes, as the above poster says, your husband has to be offered to pay direct and unless he misses a payment, he can continue to direct pay and avoid all the fees.

    My ex was allowed to miss 6(!) payments before they moved him to c&p, my understanding is that if he'd made any payment they would've let him continue to (not) pay direct. They do seem to really want couples to sort it out amongst themselves.
    Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
  • moomoomama27
    moomoomama27 Posts: 3,823 Forumite
    Thank you for all of your advice, that does put my mind at rest.

    In the 13 years he's been paying , there was only a problem with one payment, early on, and that was a glitch with his bank, and out if his control! Amazingly within days the CSA were on his case threatening a DEO!! However my ex was and continues to miss payments left, right and centre with only loose threats that nothing ever materials from!!
  • 24skins
    24skins Posts: 1,773 Forumite
    Thank you for all of your advice, that does put my mind at rest.

    In the 13 years he's been paying , there was only a problem with one payment, early on, and that was a glitch with his bank, and out if his control! Amazingly within days the CSA were on his case threatening a DEO!! However my ex was and continues to miss payments left, right and centre with only loose threats that nothing ever materials from!!

    It's a very annoying feature of the CSA that they seem to take very little action against non-payers whilst hammering regular payers when they genuinely get into difficulty.
    Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
  • clearingout
    clearingout Posts: 3,290 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I don't think it has anything to do with 'hammering' or not...it's more to do with your own reactions to the 'threats'. If you are a head in the sand type, the CSA is something of a toothless tiger, so you ignore the threats but you're never sure when or if they'll finally catch up with you. With the more responsible types, a threat is something you take seriously so you immediately act to deflect the threat. I am quite certain my ex is bombarded with phonecalls from the CSA and other creditors. The way he manages his front door and lives in the back of his house, it is pretty clear that he does everything he can to give the impression that he doesn't live there - thus avoiding teh doorstep collectors. I don't imagine he receives fewer CSA phonecalls per missed payment than a good payer, it's just about how you manage it.
  • 24skins
    24skins Posts: 1,773 Forumite
    I don't think it has anything to do with 'hammering' or not...it's more to do with your own reactions to the 'threats'. If you are a head in the sand type, the CSA is something of a toothless tiger, so you ignore the threats but you're never sure when or if they'll finally catch up with you. With the more responsible types, a threat is something you take seriously so you immediately act to deflect the threat. I am quite certain my ex is bombarded with phonecalls from the CSA and other creditors. The way he manages his front door and lives in the back of his house, it is pretty clear that he does everything he can to give the impression that he doesn't live there - thus avoiding teh doorstep collectors. I don't imagine he receives fewer CSA phonecalls per missed payment than a good payer, it's just about how you manage it.

    Yeah, you're right, of course.

    Have you considered moving to CMS? My ex paid nothing for 11 years via CSA, but CMS have used their powers to DEO him. IME the CSA would send umpteen threatening letters, but ultimately let him avoid paying & closed cases rather than chase arrears, but CMS took legal action after 6 months of him ignoring them and have managed to collect money at source, something CSA told me was impossible when he was self-employed.

    The new system is better for cases like mine where the NRP is determined not to pay, though I do wonder how it's going for those people that previously had CSA support and are now sorting it out for themselves.

    Apologies for thread detail OP.
    Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
  • My husband is due to move over to the new CMS.

    He has always paid CM via CSA, and has never missed a payment. He is happy to pay via direct pay, as he and and his ex are not on speaking terms, however she is insisting that he is put on collect and pay, as it will mean he'll have to pay fees every month.

    Can this happen, or if he has a good history of paying, does he have a say in paying direct with no fees? The fees would put him into financial distress, and it seems his ex is being vindictive asking for it this way. So far no official set up via CMS, this info is coming from his children.

    Thanks in advance.


    Hi try not to worry i know of someone in a similar situation .All that will happen is he will receive a letter informing him that the current arrangement/schedule will end,so will the pwc. The csa will then ask the pwc of their intentions.If you husband has always been a good payer and has stuck to his maintenance schedule then there is no reason really why he wont be able to use direct pay as long as the cms agrees .In fact even if the pwc objects at him wanting to use direct pay if he is willing to the cms will be more favourable to the nrp and if the cms agree to him using direct pay and the pwc objects then the cms wont pursue it and the payments would stop(i think?).
    As far as i'm aware in the direct pay situation if the pwc and nrp do not have contact or there is no way of them coming to arrangement without the csa's help all that happens is the csa can work as a go between while the schedule is being arranged,they can obtain the pwc bank details on behalf of the nrp for a standing order and i heard that they can also set up a paypal type of account.Basically as long as the nrp sticks to the agreed payment calculated for both parties and pays on time there is no reason why they would have to come off direct payments once it is in place.
    Hope this helps i can understand the thought of a possible monthly charge for using the service will be a real worry
    :)
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