The UK's Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is facing accusations of severe systemic failures, with parents—predominantly fathers—reporting inflated financial demands, plunging them into poverty, causing mental breakdowns, and in some tragic instances, leading to suicide. These issues have led some to dub the situation the 'new Post Office scandal'.
Simon Hunter, the CMS director, recently expressed pride in the agency's 'modernisation journey,' highlighting high-tech improvements that he described as making the service 'slick and more usable' and 'incredibly accessible through the digital channels.' This assessment, however, has been met with disbelief by parents who have experienced severe financial hardship due to the agency's alleged failings.
The CMS, established in 2012 to replace the troubled Child Support Agency, manages payments for over 800,000 parents annually, totaling approximately £1.6 billion. The agency calculates payments based on income, number of children, and other factors. Under its system, parents who dispute demands for what they claim are inflated amounts can face automatic seizure of funds from bank accounts or direct salary deductions, even while an appeal is pending. The CMS can also freeze bank accounts, preventing parents from accessing their savings.
Since initial reports of these issues, hundreds more parents have come forward with similar accounts of incompetence. One father reported his monthly maintenance demand jumping from under £500 to over £5,000 after a minor pay increase. Despite the volume of evidence, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which oversees the CMS, has stated that its payment assessments are almost 100 percent correct and has not offered apologies for the specific cases highlighted.
Simon Hunter, who earns up to £125,000 annually, has a background in the private sector, including roles at Vodafone and Axa, and managed a call center before joining the CMS in May 2023. His daughter was hired by the CMS in 2025 and promoted to financial investigator in January 2026.
Cases of Severe Hardship
Among the reported cases is that of Gerry McMonagle, a PE teacher, who diligently paid his CMS-mandated maintenance for years. In 2015, after being told by the CMS not to pay during a year of study, he received a bill for £5,000 in arrears. Further investigation revealed the agency had added a non-existent third child to his account. Despite this, after more than a decade and three years since Hunter's appointment, McMonagle's debt has not been cleared.
Another father, finance worker Chris Toft, has reported consistent issues with the CMS online portal, making it impossible to access crucial notifications, including payment demands that warn of legal action if not met. He stated that approximately 90 percent of the time he cannot even log in, and payment systems often fail. Toft believes these IT issues are fundamental to the overcharging and miscalculations he has experienced, leading to severe depression and financial hardship. He has resorted to scavenging food from supermarket bins at one point.
Steve Martin was informed by the CMS that he no longer needed to pay maintenance for his eldest son, who had left full-time education. However, two years later, the agency claimed a 'technical fault' had removed the son from the case, resulting in incorrect arrears. Following a court hearing, his weekly payments were increased from £98 to £1,922 after his income was mistakenly inflated by over 100 percent. Months later, he was told that a third 'technical error' meant the incorrect arrears remained on his balance, with the agency unable to explain the cause.
Paul Pizzey, upon querying a £3,500 bill he believed was incorrect, was told by a CMS worker that 'mistaken arrears' had been added to his account, a problem that reportedly 'sometimes happened on the system.' Case workers allegedly described the CMS failings as the 'will of doom' and acknowledged ongoing IT issues.
Shaun Hancock received a demand for £1,100 per week with £2,100 in arrears eight months after he became eligible for shared custody and was no longer liable for payments. He is still awaiting resolution three years later.
Agency Response and Ongoing Concerns
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman stated that the CMS handles complex family situations and prioritizes children's welfare. The DWP maintains there is no evidence of systemic IT glitches affecting calculations, asserting that externally audited assessments show high accuracy rates. They also noted that parents can appeal decisions through independent tribunals.
Despite these assurances, a BBC Panorama follow-up investigation heard from mothers who also felt 'massively let down' by the CMS, with some forced to use food banks or go without meals due to the agency's failure to enforce payments or its own errors.
In response to the Panorama report, Simon Hunter acknowledged that it was 'frustrating' for some parents when waiting for payments and apologized to those affected by 'administrative mistakes.' He reiterated that most customers are 'highly satisfied' and that the majority use the service without problems.
Senior DWP advisors have reportedly drawn a distinction between the CMS's issues and the 'Horizon' IT scandal at the Post Office. However, individuals like Gerry McMonagle remain unconvinced, with one parent stating the situation at the CMS feels worse than the Post Office scandal after a decade of unresolved financial distress caused by agency errors.