The Government introduced application fees, collection fees and enforcement charges in 2014 for parents who use the Child Maintenance Service. However, if your case is still being managed by the CSA, there are no charges. These charges have been introduced because the government wants to encourage parents to work together to arrange child maintenance via family-based arrangements, rather than using the Child Maintenance Service or the courts.
Tom is the paying parent and Tracy is the receiving parent and they are using the Collect & Pay service.
1. Tom - the paying parent
Tom needs to pay statutory child maintenance of £50 per week. The collection fee is 20% = £10. That means he will need to pay £60 per week which equates to £3,120 in total paid out per year.
2. Tracy - the receiving parent
Tracy will receive statutory child maintenance of £50 per week less the 4% collection fee = £2, meaning she will actually receive £48 per week which equates to £2,496 in total received per year.
When you make an arrangement through the Child Maintenance Service, it is legally binding. This means they can take legal action if payments are not made.
The statutory services have the power to force the sale of property or belongings, register child maintenance arrears as debt and even, through the courts, confiscate driving licences and imprison parents who avoid paying.
The Government has introduced a range of enforcement charges to those customers using the Child Maintenance Service who fail to pay in full and on time: