CSA stop dad from selling home

A father has encountered the toughed powers of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) after being prevented from selling his home due to outstanding child maintenance payments.

In a UK first, CMEC stopped the dad from selling his home on the internet for failing to pay twelve years arrears in child maintenance amounting to more than £78,000.

The absent father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, failed to pay his former partner or respond to letters or phone calls from the former Child Support Agency.

Now part of the Commission, a ‘freezing order’ was issued by the High Court after the dad put his four-bedroomed house, complete with home cinema and luxury kitchen on the market.

New powers given to the CMEC stop evaders from transferring valuable assets into the names of new partners or relatives to avoid paying child support.

Chair of the Child Maintenance Commission, Dame Janet Paraskeva said: “Step-by-step the Commission is closing the escape routes for parents who think they can cheat their children out of money from which they are entitled to benefit.  No longer can houses, cars and other valuable assets be sold off quickly to prevent the CSA taking possession of them. Those who cynically transfer the legal ownership of property into the names of their new partners risk having those transactions reversed.”