Legal sanctions for arrears

Things have moved on a bit so wanted to go give an update. I spoke to CMS last week and was told:

The bailiffs contacted the NRP and informed him they had returned the case to CMS and that the next steps would be CMS taking him back to court. CMS had also written to NRP as they were unable to get him to answer the phone warning that he needed to contact them urgently.

NRP did call them and CMS told him they have managed to find a bank account that is definitely his but which he has opened with a slight variation to his name and at his mother’s address. NRP confirmed that the account found is his and admitted to opening it to use for his taxi driving earnings and try to avoid them being found by CMS.

Based on the figures going through the account, CMS agreed an arrangement with him of £150 immediately and then £300 every month starting on 28th November on the basis that a Direct Debit was to be set up. He has failed on too many occasions to make card and Standing Order payments so Direct Debit is the only basis they would accept for the arrangement.

Of the £300, £50 is to cover the Collect & Pay fee, £85.38 is for the ongoing support payments to stop any further arrears building and the remaining £164.62 is to be split between the two Liability Orders and the more recent arrears. My case handler did say though that she is “cautious” over whether the payments will actually be made as previous records show he has agreed such things in the past then cancelled Direct Debits just before the payment date. To ensure any payments that payment that do come through are definitely cleared before they are sent out to me!there is going to be around a 10 day wait after each payment date before they issue the money to me.

I asked them what would happen if he made a couple of payments then stopped. The case handler said they would contact him and ask for an immediate payment to bring the case up to date and only if that immediate payment was made in the same phonecall, would they continue with the arrangement. Otherwise they have already advised him that if he breaks the arrangement, they will be applying to the court for either removal of his driving licence or comimital to prison. From what I’ve heard from others that know him, his mother has found out that he hasn’t been paying despite having convinced her in the past that he had and that the bailiffs were chasing extra money that I was demanding! She has made him change the bank account from her address and confronted him over the many things he has told her over the past years and found out with proof that he has been lying to her and his wider family the whole time. Friends have also stopped talking to him as they have found out about his behaviour.