Under the current legislation, an absent parent can run up significant arrears before Child Maintenance Options can take the money directly from their wages, via their employer. After 6 months of paying Child Support in such a forced way, an absent parent can then request to be allowed to pay by a more direct means, such as, a direct debit, regardless of the amount of arrears on the account. I personally, am currentley owed over £2000.00. and my case is in no way unique. If the absent parent fails to make the payments on time, or at all, another attachment of earnings order will be put in place, however it can take months before it becomes active, thus allowing further arrears to accrue. This should not be considered! To appease a person that sees fit to avoid financially supporting their own child/ren in place of considering the implications, a lack of adequate financial support has on a child is ludicrous and wrong! The cost of bringing a child up is not optional to the remaining parent and more often than not, the amount deemed adequate by the CSA/CMO is never 50% of what it costs to feed, clothe, pay for school meals, school trips, gas, electric, water amongst other things. Also, it does nothing to counter the financial implications of running a one parent household.
