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If non-resident parents don't pay
If a non-resident parent doesn't pay the right amount of child maintenance at the right time, we will take action to get any money owed to a parent with care or the Government.
If you are a non-resident parent and you know you are going to be late making a payment, you should tell us straight away.
If a non-resident parent pays child maintenance through us we can take action as soon as they miss a payment.
If both parents agreed that the non-resident parent would make payments direct to the other parent after an application had been made to us, and the non-resident parent fails to keep to that arrangement, the parent with care can contact us and ask us to take action.
We will try to get in touch with non-resident parent by phone first. If we cannot contact them by phone, we will send a letter to warn them that we can start enforcement action unless they:
- make an agreement to pay the full amount of the child maintenance they missed
- keep to the agreement they had already made.
They have one week to respond to our warnings. If they don't we can take further action to get the money they owe for their children. The action we take will depend on the circumstances of each case but it might include:
- taking money direct from the non-resident parent's earnings if they have a job,
- taking amounts from their bank or building society accounts, and
- taking action through the courts.
Taking action through the courts can be expensive and can result in the non-resident parent:
- paying their own legal costs and our legal costs, as well as the child maintenance they owe
- losing their driving licence for up to two years, or
- even going to prison.
We can also take court action if a non-resident parent avoids paying child maintenance by:
- failing to give us information when we ask for it, or
- giving us information that they know is false.
We can take them to court and, if they are convicted, they can be fined up to £1,000.
These are criminal offences and they apply to anyone who deliberately gives us inaccurate information or refuses to provide the information we need to work out child maintenance.
You can find more information on our powers in our enforcement section.
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