Child Maintenance Service Reviews 

Ridiculous call waiting times, waiting over 30-40 mins. Staff are unhelpful, just never ending headache and inconvenience caused with no resolution.

Service is not fit for purpose. I've spent at least a day a week for nearly two years trying to sort out my case with them. I've now resigned from my job because of them. Their bureaucratic and inefficient processes are inconsistently applied. Their case workers contradict each other. They don't understand their own rules and processes even. It's just a total mess. They should scrap it and start again.

I am a father who happily commits to support his children with love, as much time as they ever want and financial support which rarely reaches them directly. I am also an educationalist and business person and wish to be as dispassionate about this woeful service as I can.

1. Performance. CMS has target timelines for addressing changes in circumstance. It does not achieve them a cases are moved aimlessly between departments.
2. Institutional Bias. Each appeal time or manadtory reconsideration has a different target timeframe. This can leave a payee receiving a collect and pay notice while their unemployment i still under review. Case managers do not read across case notes they just look at the individual process. They shouldnt be called case managers.
3. Lack of Transparency. I now take screen shots of online submissions because they can disappear from my account. Dates for submissions change or are removed. Letters inform what decision has been made without saying why.

Shocking organisation, when I dont even get to see my daughter,no wonder men kill themselves,money is tight as it is,without these ripping your eye balls out,it's not a shock when i seen a 1 star rating they don't even deserve that 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

I have been using child maintenance for 5 years +, each month the customer service is getting worse.

There is no support for the receiving parent at all even with paying the extra £20/£25 fee to set up! I have lost over £1000 of child maintenance. I call up every month prior to going to direct and pay and telly them the amount I was paid turns out not a single person on the other side of the phone recorded how much I was getting paid and was lost £800 of maintenance that year!

Since then I have gone on to direct and pay to go through the other parents employer and guess what.... no payment for months! And still being on hold for over an hour each time trying to speak to someone of where is the payment cause the other parent has shown me evidence out of their payslip that the child maintenance has been paid! Yet im not receiving it... so where is it?

On top of that I wrote a letter of complaint back in July (2025) and have no received a single response. But a text to say they received it!!

Oh..... and everything is need help with you CANNOT do online!!

Worst service I have ever received!

Wasting time away from my ADHD, AUTISTIC, memory process delay, mental health issues and self harming child is a RISK when you have to try to keep them busy when sat on hold for hours!!!

Worst service ever. Takes so long to get through to be able to speak with someone. There is no email address or web support. Impossible to call while you’re abroad. If I could give zero stars, I would. God help everyone who has ever had to deal with them. Shameful

Absolutely disgusting company they just want a profit they don't care about you or the children lie after lie

1. Make sure every interaction is recorded.
2. When you disagree with them and have evidence proving their incompetence or bias, move straight to steps 3 and 4.
3. Demand a mandatory reconsideration.
4. Take them to Tribunal and expose their failings.(before you can take them to Tribunal a mandatory reconsideration is needed)

Hope this helps ....

An absolute disgrace of an organisation. Impossible to get hold of, they lie to cover their mistakes. They make up a figure of what you are meant to pay. Considering I have my children for 40% of the time, soon to be 50%. I could put my children in a five star all inclusive each night for less money. Luckily my local MP has taken on the fight. Now I understand why fathers commit suicide feeling utterly harassed by this vile out of date department. I loathe their incompetence

Firstly, if it were possible, I would award zero stars to this service. The call advisors consistently provide conflicting advice, leading to confusion and frustration. Their rejection of legitimate claims appears relentless and unjustified. It is deeply troubling that those entrusted with supporting children and the parent holding sole responsibility fail to offer the necessary assistance.

Moreover, the system seems to allow the non-paying parent, regardless of gender, to evade their financial responsibilities without consequence. The maintenance services’ gross mishandling effectively enables this, while the parent who undertakes all caregiving duties is neglected and disregarded. This service is fundamentally not fit for purpose.

The actions and inactions of the Child Maintenance Service have caused unnecessary distress, compounding an already challenging situation. The online system is equally flawed and inaccurate; it fails to comprehensively record information and subsequently places the burden of proof unfairly on the parent, often denying ever receiving vital documentation.
This level of service is unacceptable and urgently requires review and improvement.

conflict of interest. it is obvious their existence is reliant on taken as much money as possible from a party, no matter if it is morally right or not. Almost impossible to speak to these idiots too

Dont know how they are still running they should be shut down. There intentions are to destroy men even when priven the women are lieing. I got put on when i had a brain hemorrhage they ignored it but gave me delusional erroneous going back on my last tax code years back when i was ar the bank working before ny injury. I proved i over paid but they cane up with a new erroneous of £59.83 and then increase it to 91.84 without no explanation where it came from as im not on an active case or no erroneous. The mother of my child is also under investigation for child neglect lying about her immigration and lying on child maintence about payments. Do not trust anyone from there especially if you get any case workers named kevin or glen they make things up and help people who break immigration laws and any other laws and go after men they should be shut doen and prosecuted as long as they are females. They make things up hoping youll fall for it and especially if your vulnerable theyll manipulate instead of following there policies under the guidance of the Law.

Total scum bags.
Illegal operating is what they do a total disgrace of a company. No other organisation would get away with what illegal activities they get upto. Un notified and don't keep to there word, don't do any research and don't allow you time to contact them or dispute a total joke of an organisation would expect nothing less from this corrupt organisation.

Abhorrent service …. Certainly do no service in ensuring the children are provided for & call centre Oscar , disconnected me when I asked for this to be raised with a management .

£3:50 a week , starting January 2026 is NOT SERVING THE CHILD OR CHILDS NEEDS !

Note :paying parent paid £2k a few months back … only said funds didn’t actually arrive to the children ….. apparently an awful lot of fees charged 😤

ONLY SERVICE THIS FUNDS IS ITSELF

I have never stopped my son seeing his dad even though he is manipulative a liar and an alcoholic. Only concerned for himself and money. My son has finally had enough of him, he's a teenager and far from stupid. He cut his contact right down and last time he saw him for less than 24 hours he came back said he never wanted to bother with him again because of the way he treats him and tries to manipulate him. I have so many examples.

The Cms will not have it that he lives with me full time. I have to go to court to prove it. Like wtf! It's 100% my son's decision. But because his father is saying that I'm lying and he has him 50/50 they won't make him pay unless I get proof that he's living with me which involves dragging my son through court. So savage that they believe lies all the time and there's nothing you can do about it. How many 100s of paying parents are getting away with not paying for their kids because they lie. Why are the full time parents always the ones made out to be the bad guys

Your reviews tell the story absolute shambles of a company. Out of abusive relationship since 2016 and you haven't collected a penny from their dad in four years, haven't done what you promised. Your supposed to support parents and their children but your as useful as a chocolate watch on a hot day. You expect us to gather evidence putting ourselves and the kids at risk but when you say you'll get enforcement to contact or chase it up four years later NOTHING. You don't deserve a percentage off the paying parents when you've done nothing to try support people who really matter. Just because it isn't worth your time doesn't mean it's not worth ours!

Anyone dealing with these need to go straight to your MP fake arrears impossible to deal with or contact. Robbed me of thousands over passed few yrs with no answers to where the arrears have come from has I was always on direct pay sent evidence said it’s with a financial team been with them since February 25. DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH THEM AT ALL!! Even the dads that want the best for the kids get screwed over one big scam.

I think I probably hate the cms more than anyone in the world 🌍 despite nearly killing me before I have a new fresh case now and even tho I’m suicidal they are not even investigating the case even tho they are called case handlers iv had to ask my local mp for help now my ex has lied about everything and the cms are just supporting her all way thew even tho she’s left me with 20k debt for spoiling my lil girls and iv been cms d on top of that there not even gonna give me a variation I will not survive if my mp doesn’t help me god hope so the cms are just an evel very powerful pack of rapist s ☠️

Child maintenance don’t care about the people trying to get money from the other parent they care more about protecting the parent that suppose to pay don’t even know why their in business

Waste of time, just wanted to ask a question and was sent round and round listening to a monotonous answerphone message that gave zero help. If you don't have a case don't bother calling it's useless.