Mum says her ex-husband still owes £17k in maintenance
NURSE SLAMS CHILD PAYMENT SERVICE OVER LACK OF ACTION
A FRUSTRATED single mum claims her ex-husband owes their daughter more than £17,000 in unpaid child maintenance.
The 41-year-old nurse says she has been fighting her ex-husband and the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) – the Government body responsible for collecting payments from non-resident parents – for 17 years since they separated when their daughter was just five years old.
She says the most recent statement from the CMS shows the non-resident parent owes his now 22-year-old daughter £17,792 in unpaid maintenance.
The mum, who does not want to be named, says her ex-husband has got away without paying because he is self-employed and has always “dodged the failing system.”
She says the CMS is a “disgrace”, and has called it a “pathetic and broken” system.
The mum is speaking out to reveal the true scale of the problem of non-resident parents not paying child maintenance and evading the system.
She said: “He is self-employed and used that to dodge paying his maintenance.
“I provided all her food, material needs, school trips, family holidays etc, but it was a hard struggle. I’ve made sure she hasn’t gone without, I simply had to spend less time with my daughter and work more shifts to provide for her. I’ve never claimed benefits, I’ve always worked. I am a nurse, I work very long hours.
“He doesn’t have a relationship with our daughter because he didn’t want to have a relationship with her. He got married again very quickly and decided my daughter didn’t fit into his new life.
“That is his personal choice, but I strongly feel he should have been forced to make payments towards his child’s future.”
The mum says she has now given up her long fight with the CMS, because after all these years, she isn’t getting anywhere. However she has urged other single resident parents to continue in their fight.
She said: “The CMS is a pathetic and broken system. They have all his details in black and white, his tax details, his address, phone numbers. They proclaim they can enforce loss of driver’s licence etc, but they have never enforced any such action.
“Why has he not been taken to court to retrieve the owed debt as you would if it was a loan? This system is failing many single parents, but to allow this debt to reach this stage is an absolute disgrace.
“Over the years I tried everything. I’ve spoke to my local MP, spoken with CMS managers, emailed, phoned daily, etc all to no avail. It’s extremely frustrating and had I not of been in a position to go and work to provide for my child I dread to think of how I would have survived.
Child maintenance is the term used to describe the money a parent should pay towards their child’s upbringing.
The CMS says the service has “a range of enforcement powers” it may be able to use depending on the circumstances of the case, if the paying parent stops paying.
The Independent Case Examiner can look at complaints about the service.
Their service is free and impartial. You can contact the Independent Case Examiner in the following ways:
■ Online: www.gov.uk/ice
■ By phone: 0345 606 0777
■ By text phone: 18001 0345 6060777
■ By email: ice@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
■ By letter: The Independent Case Examiner PO Box 209 Bootle L20 7WA.
“This system is failing many single parents, but to allow this debt to reach this stage is an absolute disgrace Frustrated single mum