Advice on the CMS

Hi everyone,

Im looking for some advice in dealing with the CMS, whom I have had a hell of a time with over the years and back when they were the CSA.

I haven't see my daughter who is 13 for a number of years now due to a relationship breakdown with her mum, but that's not the issue here.

In September last year I informed the CMS I was due to start work at the end of September and what my salary was going to be. They told me to continue paying what I was paying, which was a direct payment via standing order to my daughters mother.

I never heard anything for a couple of months I phoned then time and time again every couple of weeks for 6 months, as I didn't want any arrears to accrue which I couldn't handle, as I don't earn much in my current job. Had no luck at all with them, they couldn't even give me any amounts as to an estimate of what i was supposed today, so I carried on regular as clockwork with the payments they told me to make previous.

Fast forward to May of this year and I finally get a letter telling me how much I was to pay and the amount of arrears. I called them up to make an arrangement of the arrears as it was quite a lot of money and they also mentioned a salary of 27k a year which wasn't the case as I had been unemployed for just under a year before it, but they were taking that amount as what I was earning and have point blank refused to negotiate at all with me and made a DEO to my wages. I also asked for a breakdown of all the arrears and when they were accrued sent out via letter and they also refused point blank once again and that I have not been cooperating with the as the woman on the phone made a slip and said well your ex has got her way now your struggling. Since May I have had 8 annual review letter with different amounts of them. Different normal monthly payments and arrears. I have asked them to clarify them and give me a proper breakdown as its confusing, but again no luck.

Fast forward again to now, and I'm now off work with a medical condition which at present is undiagnosed and they are still taking the maximum 40% from my SSP (which I know they are allowed to take), but again I've called them up and asked to negotiate and they refuse point blank.

I have always cooperated with the CSA/CMS over the years and held my temper even when the phone me up and say I owed years worth of maintenance when their system deleted my payment history. :rotfl: that was a cracker that day. Actually thought it was a prank call.

Sorry for the long winded post, but this is becoming a bit stressful

Anyone know the best course of action for this? MP? Citizens Advice?


Thanks in advance