I had Child support removed, should I worry?

[Jhlowe86]

I looked at my equifax a couple months ago and noticed Florida Revenue was marking payments as missed since last December. I never missed a payment because Child support automatically came out of my check. Haven't missed a payment in 10 years.

I payed part towards support and part towards arrears. 

They reported as collections and forclosure. I disputed it showing them I payed, they seen how much I payed each month because it showed amount paid.

I didn't think about this but will I get arrested potentially? I didn't want it to be removed, just the payments updated to on-time. 

I am worried they are going to think this was fraud and be arrested. 

Has anyone had a similar situation? If so please share what happened, thank you!

[GZG]

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@Jhlowe86 wrote:

I looked at my equifax a couple months ago and noticed Florida Revenue was marking payments as missed since last December. I never missed a payment because Child support automatically came out of my check. Haven't missed a payment in 10 years.

I payed part towards support and part towards arrears. 

They reported as collections and forclosure. I disputed it showing them I payed, they seen how much I payed each month because it showed amount paid.

I didn't think about this but will I get arrested potentially? I didn't want it to be removed, just the payments updated to on-time. 

I am worried they are going to think this was fraud and be arrested. 

Has anyone had a similar situation? If so please share what happened, thank you!

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this is something you should probably take up with the state, for some reason they thought you weren't paying that caused the reporting

at best, clerical error, at worst, I could imagine a warrant for your arrest for failure to pay (even if you are fully in compliance with what you're required to pay, you can't just hand over paystubs to a cop and stop yourself from getting arrested if they are coming to arrest you) 

but the credit reporting side isn't the concern, the concern is if the state thinks you're not in compliance with what you're required to pay, that's what I'd be concerned about

If I was you, I would consider contacting a lawyer/your lawyer to have them look into this for you, even if it's just an hour to make a phone call to make sure you're all squared away with your requirements

[pizzadude]

I agree with the post above, credit reporting should probably be your lowest priority right now.    You might think that you've paid on time for the last ten years but it's what the state of Florida thinks that matters.   I'd call them immediately and request any statements or records they have and then followup with them in writing. 

When you say you've paid "towards arrears"  - what does this mean?  I'd intrepret it to mean that you were behind at one time and / or making catchup payments ?

[Jhlowe86]

I agree. I will consult. When I called the child support office the other day, they said they see I pay every week out of my pay check. She said she seen a percentage goes towards support and percentage to arrears.  I asked why it's reporting as missing if she can see it's being paid per court order, she told me that's just how it works. 

Woman who work there think every guy is a dead beat dad.

I check the Child support website status and it says I've been paying, so I don't get it. 

I am just curious is why why all the sudden in December it changed, guess I'll have to consult with an attorney, thank you!

[Jhlowe86]

I have been paying for 10 years directly out of each paycheck. Yes. I had some arrears do to the mother when she took me to court said that I didn't support my son for 7 years when she lived with me and had no job or nothing, I supported them. 

I went to court and judge awarded her back pay and I elected to just have it taken directly out of my paycheck. So part went to Child support and part went to arrears. 

[FicoMike0]

Wow, being arrested gives new meaning to adverse action!

[KatzNDawgs]

If you have arrears due, that is payments that were not paid on time. Even if you are making partial payments on that in addition to current monthly amount owed, having outstanding arrears can be reported as a negative on credit report. When was the judgment for this made? If recently, it may just be showing now. Did you make an agreement with the court that they would not report the negative information if you stuck with a certain payment plan? A lawyer may be helpful in this situation.

[Jhlowe86]

This court order has been in effect over 10 years. It was agreed and signed by the judge. It literally just happened last December. 

[pizzadude]

One other point I'll add here, child support accounts are not factored into your FICO score, see this link:   https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/credit-scores/whats-not-in-your-credit-score

Child support and family support accounts do not impact your FICO Score because these accounts are bypassed from the score calculation.

[Jhlowe86]

I read that too, my actual mortage fico from equifax was way lower than the others. I wonder if it's only not affected in the 8 or 9 score?