Help !!!!

Palma3737

I need some advice I have 3 children that live with my ex I have pay child maintence at a really high rate as I’m in arrears with them through no fault of my own they didn’t send the paperwork to the correct address. They take the money direct from my wages which leave me with £50 after I’ve paid my rent!! Which leaves me no money to pay my essential bills or eat. I have explained this to them and just get told that’s it not their problem and they don’t have to take this into consideration.

I have no problem paying the child maintenance but think I should be allowed to have some money to eat and pay essential bills each month. This has been going on since 2016 and can’t seem to get anywhere with them with regards to help. Has anyone else had the same problems ?
I want to pay towards my children but also want to be able to take my children out and be able to see them.
My ex earns 3 x time what I do and doesn’t comply with the court order and also doesn’t notify me when the children have been to hospital as stated in the court order also

Any advise would be appreciated as How I can get my maintenance reviewed they seem so unhelpful when I call and my debts are spiralling because of this situation

CakeCrusader

Sorry if I sound harsh here, but your ex's income really has no bearing on how much child support you pay. Your contribution towards the upkeep of your children is assessed on YOUR income alone, and your contribution is higher because you're clearing off arrears. Once your arrears are cleared the amount of maintenance you pay will be lower. No matter how much maintenance you pay, your ex will be using the vast chunk of her income to feed your children, keep a roof over their head, clothe them, take them on holiday, pay for any childcare, shoes, books etc, so your maintenance contribution won't necessarily scratch the surface. A deduction to earnings is one of the last things they do, and it's usually because the non resident parent is refusing to pay. There's advice here about negotiating repayments; https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/children-and-young-people/child-maintenance/child-maintenance-2012-scheme/child-maintenance-administration/child-maintenance-negotiating-repayments-when-you-owe-maintenance/


If your ex isn't abiding by the court order to notify you about your children's health, there only thing you can really do is to take her back to court. Contact is seen as separate to child maintenance, children are not 'pay per view', so you need to go down a different route for this.

Palma3737

I have never said that I won’t pay child maintenance but I do think that it should be looked at fairly as how come I have to starve and be on the verge of being homeless I work full time. Surely is it unfair to be allowed to living expenses to be taken into account like protected pay for rent and essential bills to be made !! As for access I’m aware that I will have to go court to enforce the court order but this costs money which I don’t have. And a deduction of £900 a month is lot of money and even after the arrears are clear it’s £644 which will only leave money for bills and minimal food gives me a total of £300 a month for bills and food. I work for be nhs so don’t earn a fortune. My ex’s salary does come into account when it’s its in excess of £70k after tax I think but they are driving around in Mercedes and children have designer clothes. I don’t have money to eat doesn’t seem fair either

HoneyNutLoop

If it’s being collected from your pay, there is s protected pay amount. Unless your case began before 2003, that amount is 60% of your pay after deduction of tax, NI and pension.

You say it’s their fault because they sent info to the wrong address - did you tell them your new address? To still be paying arrears now if collections began in 2016 suggests the balance was quite high. For how long did you underpay or was it that you were not paying anything at all?

How much I are the arrears now and how long will it take you to clear them at the current collection rate?

HoneyNutLoop

Also, assuming you are on 2003 scheme and don!!!8217;t have any children living with you or shared care of more than 52 nights a year, £644 a month would represent 25% of your net pay. That would mean your net pay is £2576 a month, meaning the maximum they can collect monthly is £1030 a month.

So, they are not collecting the maximum they could. This also suggests your gross annual pay £40,000, not £25,000 as you imply by saying your ex!!!8217;s income of £70,000 is 3x your income.

If they are collecting £900 a month and you are being left with £50 a month after paying only rent, that suggests your rent is £1626 a month. That seems awfully high. Are you able to rent somewhere cheaper?

Palma3737

My gross salary is £31000 and after they deduct I take home £1060 my rent is £950 which is for a house so that my children can stay with me.

Palma3737

They are deducting 37%

Palma3737

I moved 50 miles away to make the rent cheaper

BAFE

When will the arrears be finished?

HoneyNutLoop

If you’re on £31k then your monthly CSA amount excluding arrears cannot be £644 - for 3 children with no resident dependents and less than 52 nights a year shared care, it’s 25% of your net pay.

Additionally, if they are taking 37% of your net pay to include arrears, they can’t be taking £900 a month. This would mean your net pay is £2432 a month, which it cannot be if you are on £31k. That would give a net pay of £2038. See net pay calculator here:
https://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/salary.php
37% of a net pay of £31k would give a deduction of £754 a month.

Your figures simply don’t add up. You can’t be on £31k, having £900 a month deducted that equates to 37% of your net pay and be left with £1060. That’s basically trying to say £900 is 37% of your pay and £1060 is 63% and that £1960 is 100% of your pay. That’s clearly wrong mathematically:

(£900/37) x 100 = £2432 vs your stated total net pay of £1960 comprised £900 CSA + £1060 take home
(£1060/63) x 100 = £1682 vs your stated total net pay of £1960 comprised £900 CSA + £1060 take home
£1960 stated net pay (CSA + take home) x 37% = £725.20 vs stated figure of £900
£1960 x 63% = £1234.80 vs stated figure of £1060.

Are you having other deductions taken? Other than tax, NI and CSA?

Additionaly, as asked previously:
Did you tell them your new address?
How long did you underpay/not pay for?
How much do you still currently owe?
How long will it take you to clear the debt at the current collection rate?

Loanranger

Get an additional job until you have cleared the arrears and explain to th children that you need to earn some more money and you will see them a lot more when you have earned enough.