How has CMS only just found out?!

Melsypop

I’ve been going through CMS for years to work out the payments my children’s fathers should be paying. The case for my eldest two children is Direct Pay and has never had any problems. I only go through CMS to work out how much the payment should be each month. 

My other case is with the father of my youngest three children and Collect and Pay. I’ve had nothing but issues and complications with this case since it began. The newest problem arose recently when I received a letter stating that my payments have been recalculated because CMS have been informed that my ex’s income amount changed from 11th February. 

What I don’t understand is how they’ve only just been made aware of the income change over 8 months later?! Who would have informed them about it OR how did they find out about it? 

I’ve had an annual review since this apparent change of income months ago AND since February I’ve also had another recalculation done when my ex changed jobs which meant a new Deduction of Earnings order needed to be processed and sent to his new employer. This took weeks to complete and left me without any payments for many months until it was completed! 

Now it’s happening again!! They’ve somehow been made aware of a change that happened earlier this year which means I’m now left without any payments until it’s processed. My latest message from CMS states that the next payment expected to be paid is 29th December!! No money for 3 months and at the worst time of year possible for this to happen! Christmas is expensive enough but not receiving that monthly income from child maintenance makes it even harder!! 

It baffles me how this system works and how someone designed it to leave the parent who relies on their benefit money without anything for so long?! The amount in payments I’m losing over the coming months while they’re processing everything, will be added to the amount of arrears already accumulated from previous missed payments and then divided up across the rest of the year adding maybe a few extra £’s to each following monthly payment i receive!! So my ex doesn’t have to pay anything to CMS for these next few months at all?!! How is this fair?! Can someone explain it to me please?! 

CMS have now stopped their online messaging service completely so i can’t get any answers unless I’m able to find the time to wait hours on their phone service trying to speak to an actual human !

JJWSJS8700

So he’s a job hopper for that exact reason, stopping and starting the system.

The CMS are informed by HMRC.

HMRC inform Universal credit each month very accurately to work out payments and to the CMS to but they are so unorganised,  as you say it takes 1 hour to answer and they are still working from home, saying they are not and them the dog starts barking, it’s pointless phoning best to write.

You can make a complaint to the Washington office, but they will say he’s changing jobs regularly and not to rely on child maintenance.