A single mum has been left drowning in more than £25,000 of debt after her ex-husband failed to pay for child maintenance.
The 47-year-old mother, from Hull, is struggling to cope with bills and has been using credit cards to pay off her debt.
This is despite working full-time as a manager in the NHS, Hull Live reports.
The woman gained custody of her daughter after separating from her ex-husband, who moved 300 miles away from their home.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) ordered him to pay the family £840 per month at the time, based on his earnings of £125,000 a year.
The mother received regular payments for two years, but the money suddenly stopped coming in to her account once her husband left employment to run his own company.
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He told the CMS that his business was not making any profit, and as a result, his ex-wife did not receive any child maintenance.
Despite his claims, the mother-of-one said her husband still lives a luxurious life, wears designer clothes and drives an expensive car.
The CMS did not carry out a thorough investigation into why the payments dropped overnight.
The mother said: "He has set up his own company to deliberately exploit a huge loophole in the law for those who are self employed or own their own company.
"The CMS can only see the true wages of a person if they are employed and earn through the PAYE system, so while he worked as an employee he had to pay the correct amount.
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"He never told me he was starting a company, I only found out because I had to ask him where the payment was and he said 'speak to the CMS'."
After fighting her case, the mother received payments of £7 a week which is enough to cover her daughter's lunch and other small expenses.
She now gets £28 a week after her husband declared £12,000 a year in earnings - but she said the number is far from reality.
The frustrated mother added: "He might not be earning as much as he did before, but he still lives in the same house, drives a very nice car, rents an office and dresses from head to toe in designer gear. He isn't only earning the small amount he declares to the CMS.
"It's demoralising, humiliating and I'm frustrated at the total unjustness of it all. I am constantly worried about money.
"I borrow off myself on the credit card when my wages run out which is in the middle of most months. I wake up panicking about money and still only rent as I cannot afford the deposit for a mortgage.
"Luckily I have an amazing friend, who without fail, every month, lends me between £50 and £100 to tide me over.
"The CMS are a useless waste of time."
The CMS told the mother that even though her ex-husband is doing is "immoral and unethical", she cannot take any legal action against him.
The mum said: "I also feel hurt and disappointed on my daughters behalf that he isn’t more of a decent human being and role model for her. Nobody deserves a lying, narcissistic, disrespectful man for a father.
"He is quite happy to show everyone the videos of her swimming and dancing, but of course he won't actually contribute towards any of it."
A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said on behalf of the CMS: “We’re committed to recovering owed child maintenance and recently introduced tougher powers to take people’s assets into account – including property, savings and investments and self-declared income.
“If someone suspects their ex-partner of avoiding paying child maintenance, they should inform us straight away so we can investigate fully.”
