‘They took £20,000 I didn’t owe’: Parents hit by child maintenance errors

They took 20 000 I didn – During a lunch break, John Hammond, a math teacher, noticed an unusual transaction in his banking app. He had just begun his role at a new school and was chatting with colleagues in the staff room when the discovery struck him. Instead of his expected first month’s wages, £20,000 had vanished from his account, leaving him stunned. “I was so shocked that I couldn’t stop shaking,” Hammond recalls. “Other teachers could see something was wrong and asked what was the matter.”

Historical Child Support Arrangements

Hammond’s children were 25 and 28 years old at the time, and his child support agreement had concluded over a decade prior. “I was convinced it was a scam,” says the 56-year-old from Peterborough. “I didn’t owe any money, and yet it felt like the system had turned against me.” His story is not unique. Over 30 parents have shared with BBC Your Voice that they encountered miscalculated child maintenance arrears, funds incorrectly deducted from their wages or bank accounts, and drawn-out legal battles with the CMS. These issues often stem from arrangements finalized years or even decades ago.

Launched in 2012, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) took over from the Child Support Agency (CSA). Its purpose is to ensure children receive financial support from non-resident parents. To determine payments, the CMS employs a formula that considers income, the number of children, and living arrangements. When private agreements fail, the service can deduct sums from wages, bank accounts, benefits, or pensions. It also recovers back payments if parents fall behind on their obligations.

Systemic Errors and Legal Challenges

Many of the reported errors highlight a flaw in how the CMS handles old cases. The experiences shared with the BBC align with concerns raised by parents in a House of Lords report. They described money being taken “inappropriately” even when they were “trying to comply.” The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which oversees the CMS, did not address individual cases like Hammond’s or clarify why some funds were wrongly deducted. It explained that enforcement measures are only applied when parents “continue not to pay.”

Hammond’s ordeal began in September 2002 when he received a letter from the now-defunct CSA. The document stated he owed £947, but the CSA had agreed not to collect it at his ex-wife’s request. He believed his financial responsibility had ended. However, in 2019, the CMS sent a new demand, claiming he owed nearly £19,000. “I was in complete shock,” Hammond says. “You phone up and explain everything, but they tell you the computer says something different. It felt like banging your head against a wall.”

Despite Hammond’s efforts to dispute the claim, the CMS persisted. In correspondence reviewed by the BBC, the DWP admitted it could not “ascertain why” Hammond was told he owed £19,000. By December 2020, the service had issued interim and final deduction orders, removing £19,269 from his account. A year later, after winning his appeal, a county court judge ordered the full amount to be repaid and awarded him £8,000 in legal costs. Hammond spent £14,055 on fees and now remains more than £6,000 out of pocket. “Even when you’re proved right, it doesn’t feel like justice,” he says. “It just feels like you’ve survived it.”

Longstanding Discrepancies and Mistakes

Richard George, 63, from Devon, experienced a similar plight. He discovered £18,800 had been taken from his bank account by the CMS. “I won’t forget how I felt,” George says. “It triggered the most horrendous adrenaline shock. It’s like your last money, everything you’ve got left, is taken by a scammer. That’s what I thought had happened.” His case dates back to 2016 when an appeal tribunal overturned a CSA decision, effectively wiping out over £16,000 in arrears. George believed the matter had settled, especially since the CSA had been dissolved. But in late 2019, the CMS unexpectedly contacted him, removing £18,800 from his account.

George later found that CMS correspondence, meant for him, had been sent to the wrong address for several years. Despite undelivered letters and repeated phone calls to confirm his details, the service continued to deduct funds. It wasn’t until 2023 that the CMS acknowledged the arrears should never have been carried over. “They paid the money back in the end,” George says, “but by then the damage had already been done.” His ordeal underscores how systemic errors can persist long after the original agreement is finalized.

These incidents reveal a broader issue with the CMS’s handling of historical cases. While the service aims to streamline child support payments, its reliance on automated systems and outdated data has led to misdirected deductions. Parents often find themselves in a cycle of confusion, frustration, and financial strain. For Hammond, the process involved not only disputing the claim but also navigating a complex legal framework to reclaim the funds. “You have to fight for every penny,” he says. “It’s like the system is designed to keep you in limbo.”

Experts suggest that the CMS’s transition from the CSA may have introduced inconsistencies in data management. Some parents argue that the service’s formula, while standardized, doesn’t account for individual circumstances that may have changed over time. For instance, Hammond’s situation was affected by a past agreement between him and his ex-wife that the CSA had honored. The CMS, however, applied the old calculation without considering this. “It’s like they’re using a one-size-fits-all approach,” says George. “But every family is different.”

The DWP’s response to these cases has been criticized as inadequate. While it acknowledges the need for voluntary payments, it has not clearly addressed how errors in past cases can lead to current financial hardship. Parents like Hammond and George now describe the process as a bureaucratic nightmare, where their efforts to correct mistakes are met with resistance. “They told me they couldn’t access my account, but they had already done so,” Hammond explains. “It was as if the system didn’t care about the individual.”

As the CMS continues to operate, these stories highlight the importance of transparency and accuracy in its processes. For parents, the emotional toll of these errors is as significant as the financial loss. “You’re not just losing money—you’re losing trust,” George says. “It’s a sense of being wronged by a system that should be helping you.” The experiences of Hammond and George serve as a reminder of the challenges faced by families navigating the complexities of child maintenance in the modern era.