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MARTINT330
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My son works on a 0 hours contract. Last month he worked

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Hi, My son works on a 0 hours contract. Last month he worked 39.5 hours for a gross pay of 395.00. CMS have deducted 346.23. He has 2 sons aged 7 and 5 and has them to stay overnight from a Friday evening to a Sunday evening every other week. I thought by law CMS were not allowed to take more than 40% of his wage.
JA: Is he hourly or salaried? How many hours does he work each week?
Customer: Hourly salary at 10 per hour
JA: Where is he located? Wage-and-hour laws vary by location.
Customer: North Wales
JA: Is there anything else the Lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured that they'll be able to help you.
Customer: It's not the first time it's happened, my son contacted them last year and asked for a fully itemised breakdown of what they calculated that he owed and what they thought he had paid, they promised a review and still kept taking the money. They are not leaving him enough to pay rent, put food on his table and fuel in his car to get to and from work.
MARTINT330

Hello, my name is***** hope you are well today. I am a qualified Solicitor, and I will be able to help you by providing you with an answer to your question today. I specialise in UK and Irish Law. I am not always online but rest assured if I do not respond immediately I will respond when I return.

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Is there anything else you feel is relevant to your question or anything else you would like to add before we continue?

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Usually, the CMS will take into account the following in calculating Child Maintenance:

  • how many children he has
  • the paying parent’s income
  • how much time do children spend with the paying parent
  • whether the paying parent is paying child maintenance for other children.

Since he's on a basic rate, he should only pay 19% of his gross weekly income. As per the CMS, "If a paying parent has to pay child maintenance for three or more children, they must pay 19 percent of their gross weekly income".

I would advise him to contact CMS again and explain to them that he only needs to pay 19% of his gross weekly income. They may be contacted at 0345(###) ###-####

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Is there anything else I can help with today?

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Customer: replied 12 days ago.
He only has 2 children so does this rate still apply?

My apologies, no. Since he only has two children, he only needs to pay 16% of his gross weekly income.

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This is the exact statement from CMS, "If a paying parent has to pay child maintenance for two children, they must pay 16 percent of their gross weekly income."

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Customer: replied 12 days ago.
Sorry, I can't really afford the cost for the phone call.

Don't worry, the call request is an automated response by the system. I'm also unable to take calls at the moment.

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Customer: replied 12 days ago.
OK thank you, I'll tell my son to contact cms again, if they continue to disregard this, what are his options

If they'll continue to disregard him, he will need to make a complaint to CMS. He can write or call the CMS. If he writes, he should put ‘Complaint’ at the beginning of his letter. He should then keep a copy of his letter and any reply he'll get - he might need them if he needs to take his complaint further.

He can send his complaint to: 


Child Maintenance Service
Child Maintenance Service 21
Mail Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 2BU

However, if he's unhappy with their response to his complaint, he needs to contact the CMS Complaints Resolution Team. He can ask for a review.

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