Child Maintenance Service Reviews 

My Story: When It Becomes Too Much, Please Walk Away

I want to share my story because I genuinely hope it might help somebody else.

This about the Child Maintenance Service Vicky and Mia,and I am not interested in making things up or saying things that aren't true. I am simply telling the truth about my own experience and, most importantly, the impact the situation had on me.

There came a point where the stress, frustration and feeling of not being listened to became too much for me. I reached a very dark place and I took an overdose.

I am incredibly grateful that I received medical help and that I am here today to tell my story.

I have learned a very serious lesson from what happened.

So, if you are dealing with Child Maintenance, or any other situation that is causing you enormous stress, please remember this:

You are allowed to walk away from the phone.

If you're getting worked up, upset or overwhelmed because you feel you aren't being listened to, put the phone down.

Leave it.

Concentrate on yourself.

Concentrate on your wellbeing.

Get some rest. Speak to somebody. Take some time away from the situation.

If, when you are feeling calmer, you decide you want to go back and try to resolve the problem, you can do that.

But please don't allow a problem to become bigger than your own life.

And please, don't do what I did.

I don't want anybody else reaching that point.

If you don't have family or friends around you, that doesn't mean you have nobody. Reach out for help. Contact the Samaritans, Shout, your GP, emergency services or somebody you trust.

You are not alone.

Ultimately, only you can decide what is right for you. But my recommendation, from someone who has been through this myself, is:

When it becomes too much, step away. Protect yourself first. Your wellbeing matters.

I am sharing my experience because if my story helps even one person stop, put the phone down and choose to look after themselves instead, then something positive can come from what happened to me.

Please look after yourself. ❤️

Have nothing but issues with them. Overpayment not being returned so basically they stole my money and the government just let them carry on committing crime department of work and pension do Notting either been going on for years still to this day

Absolutele joke wanted £490 a month off me and now wanting £802 a month starting on December.. how am i gonna afford that absolute criminals horrible dirty robbers lot them…. Will probably leave my job and lose my house…

They tell you to call get first message before the options then goes silent and you get cut off been gpimg om for 3 days and no reports of issues cms a jokke my ex claims hr sonskint cant make payment he got more money than me goes luxury cruises constantly takes his new partner out every weekend pubs and a meal goes away for weekend aways in luxty hotels pays hos partner jhair and naols every month whilst my kids do with out have alwaus said he earning more than declaring .and.cms dont listen to thing aske for fiu asked foe everything to get him investigated and ypu know why he gets away with it because he is ex dwp employee knows loop holes knows how to play system and not dam tjing fets done

Don't even deserve 1 star .....you given the mother mo tha and months of time past the due date for a DNA test and you gave her multiple opportunitys but yet got nothing but your quick enough to put the money up I owe but not quick enough to close the account down when you have given the mother mo ths and mo ths of time way way past the due date ........us father's are worth nothing to you or social amd all your good for is ruining father's life and all money grabbing scum

Waiting time on phone is always over an hour. Webchat is useless and cannot help you with any queries other than to tell you to phone in. Reporting a change of income going up results in an immediate and opaque increase. Reporting a change of income down takes forever to register and despite naming a completion date, it runs weeks past what it says it should take. Absolutely useless service as can be seen by every single review on this page. Why does the UK Government not do something to fix this?

Will my review make a difference..probably not. Parents are either comitting suicide across the country or giving up their jobs because of the ridiculous calculations of child maintenance and this service! A service that is unfit for service. My daughter turned 18 - 2 months ago completing A Levels. Im now in the lurch as to whats happening with payments, ive been asked to provide proof and proof Child benefit has stopped? Why am i being asked to provide that as a father, thats the CMS's job to look into surely? as Child benefit would not give those details to me anyway!...Maybe our soft government will do something to sort this service out at some point, but i doubt it.

This service is terrible and needs a complete review. Despite accepting that they have used the wrong figures in calculating my child maintenance payments, they rejected my claim to recalculate. I now have to lodge a formal appeal to the tribunal to have the calculation reviewed. Which could take months and me paying an additional £200 a month extra in child maintenance.

Nothing but incompetence
As much use as an ashtray on a motorbike

Absolutely awful. Online portal doesn’t work, had to reset my pin and still wouldn’t accept my new pin. Then called them and had too listen to 10 minutes of an automated voice telling me to go online when I was told online that I couldn’t do anything online and had to call!! Makes no sense!!!

Totally shocking system, automated, with agents who are clueless. Both parents will suffer using this system and the net result is children loose touch with theitr Dad's.

1 star as unable to give it a 0

Owed thousands of pounds by paying parent and nothing is being done.

Parents who pay are rinsed and parent who Dont get away with it.

2 years ive been fighting just to get my child what he deserves and I haven’t received a single penny.

Fobbed off and told lies constantly.

Not fit for purpose.

Dreadful service got told 3 different things about my case had put complaint in and now after 6weeks after reporting change in circumstances and told it’s all been sorted I get message asking send proof of p45 really bad service and I’m taking further now complete joke

Terrible worse than bailiffs and doorstep lenders in all of my years dealing with these people never can i say iv had a positive experience iv complained made subject access requests also sought legal advice they will force people to give up work due to the ludicrous amounts requested for a parent with a 50/50 split corrupt to the core

CHILD MAINTENANCE SERVICE IS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE

On hold for 65 minutes and no answer - I am asking a simple question that is not being answered!
No way of getting hold of them!

For Jesse-

Thank you for your help today while I try to sort out my child maintenance case. I appreciate ur help so much, and am so grateful for the advice you gave me.

Thank you again!

My experience with the Child Maintenance Service has been nothing short of disgraceful. The treatment of paying parents is appalling, and the repeated failure of CMS staff to follow their own rules, guidelines, and statutory obligations has caused unnecessary stress, financial instability, and emotional harm.
The level of incompetence displayed is unacceptable. Cases are mishandled, information is ignored, and decisions are made without proper investigation or evidence. Paying parents are treated as an afterthought, left to deal with the consequences of CMS's mistakes while staff show no urgency, accountability, or Professionalism.

I am disgusted by the way this service operates. The lack of consistency, transparency, and basic competence has had real-world consequences for me and my family. CMS's failures are not minor administrative errors - they are systemic issues that damage lives.
I am demanding a thorough, independent investigation into the conduct, processes, and decision-making within CMS. The current standard of service is unacceptable, harmful, and far below what any government body should be allowed to deliver.

Unlike a lot of people im extremely savvy when it comes to book keeping and I always make sure I have evidence to back up allegations, I will go to the papers regarding the matter of CMS to help prevent the continued failures by this governing body, and help future paying parents in a fair system.

Terrible Government department that is not fit for purpose.

My son had a terrible experience during a period when his mental health was poor. I pursued the matter endlessly with formal written complaints which were left unanswered until I involved the local MP.

I took my complaints to the Independent Case Examiner and they have upheld all my complaints.

I advise everyone experiencing problems to involve their MP and perhaps someone will eventually realise that this department and its flawed computer system needs to be disbanded.
This is another Post office scandal in the making, I hope a TV company will make a docudrama and perhaps yhen things will change.

This is a private company that profits from the abuse of children and unjustly alienated parents. All who choose to work for such evil do so knowing full well that they choose to make their living from the ongoing abuse of children and of unjustly alienated parents. May you be judged, held accountable and justice find you all.