Child Maintenance Service (CMS)

4. Miss A complains about the service she has received from CMS since March 2022. She says that it:

• failed to notify her of decisions that carried appeal rights

• did not identify that its revised calculations after her successful appeal in March 2022 impacted later decisions which were the subject of an ongoing appeal

• delayed in providing relevant information to the Tribunal

• did not take sufficient action to recover arrears owed by her ex-husband or investigate his finances until its Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) eventually agreed to open a case.

5. Miss A tells us that she has experienced stress and anxiety through these events. She feels let down by a system that should be there to help her.

6. She explains she has also been affected financially. She tells us she had to take out loans because she was not receiving money that was due to her. This meant that she had to return to work after having another child, rather than stay at home as she wished to.

7. Furthermore, Miss A complains CMS’s delay in providing information to the Tribunal led to two cases having to be heard separately. As a result, Miss A is concerned about being tied up in the Court system for years to come. She also believes that its delays have allowed her ex-husband to dispose of all his chargeable assets.

8. Miss A would like CMS to acknowledge the impact of its actions on her both mentally and financially. She seeks a financial remedy that puts this right. She would also like CMS to enforce her ex-husband’s outstanding debts whilst the ongoing appeals continue.

9. CMS is an organisation sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It administers claims of child maintenance in cases where the parents have not reached a payment agreement between them. Miss A has had a case open with CMS to receive payments from the father of their children (‘the paying parent’) since November 2019.

10. Miss A challenged several of CMS’s calculations between April 2020 and August 2023. There are still ongoing appeals with the First-tier Tribunal relating to these challenges.

11. Miss A reported underpayments during this period. She also complained about the rate at which CMS was asking the paying parent to pay arrears that had accrued. She asked CMS to investigate the paying parent’s finances, but it said it could not do so whilst appeals were pending. We understand that it later agreed to do so in November 2024 after Miss A challenged a new calculation. The work relating to that investigation undertaken by its FUI is ongoing.

12. Miss A escalated her concerns through CMS’s complaints procedure and then to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE). ICE completed its investigation and provided its report to Miss A on 3 June 2024.

13. Miss A remained dissatisfied, and we received her complaint after her MP referred it on 27 November 2024.

17. We understand that Miss A is very concerned about a lack of resolution regarding her maintenance case. She also feels stuck in the legal system with her ongoing and long-running appeals. We understand why this would be so frustrating to her.

18. We have corresponded with both Miss A and CMS to establish more information about the timeline of events and outstanding procedures. We have considered this information very carefully.

19. We understand that appeals are ongoing, and CMS is still carrying out work related to the FIU investigation that was undertaken. We do not think that it would be appropriate for us to give a view on her concerns whilst appeals are ongoing. We believe that doing so may result in us duplicating work that is already being undertaken via that process. We have no such authority.

20. Furthermore, the outcome of all this outstanding work will be important information for us to fully consider Miss A’s concerns. In particular, the outcome will likely shape the impact that those concerns have had on her. We are also mindful that the outcome of these processes may resolve her concerns about CMS or alter the nature of them.

21. We therefore do not think that we can reach a final decision on Miss A’s concerns now. We recognise that this will likely add to her frustration. We wish to be clear that this decision is not a reflection of the severity or credibility of her concerns.

22. It is appropriate to wait until CMS has completed its work, and the related appeals have been decided. At that stage, Miss A should contact us promptly if outstanding issues remain that have not been resolved by those processes. We must be clear that we cannot look at any matters a judge has considered. We also cannot consider any new decisions by CMS which carry a right of appeal.

23. We hope that Miss A understands why we cannot give her a final decision now, and we thank her for bringing her concerns to our attention.

1. We have carefully considered Miss A’s concerns about CMS. We understand that Miss A remains very distressed and frustrated by the events that led to her complaint.

2. We cannot make a substantive decision on Miss A’s complaint now. This is because her concerns relate to appeals and CMS procedures that are still ongoing.

3. We will therefore take no further action at this time. We explain our decision below.