Information for the Payor Who is Enrolled

British Columbia Family Maintenance Enforcement Program

November 9, 2009
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The court order or agreement that requires you to make maintenance payments has been filed with the British Columbia Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP).

This page explains what the FMEP does, what our legal powers are and what we need from you as a person paying maintenance.

It also provides you with information about what happens if you miss or are late with a maintenance payment, how to work out a plan for making up any missed payments, what to do if you have concerns about the way your case is being handled, and the best ways to get in touch with us.

The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program

Who we are/what we do

The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program is a service of the British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General.

We are responsible under the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act for monitoring and enforcing all maintenance orders and agreements that are filed with us. That means we will:

calculate arrears, record and forward payments to the person receiving maintenance (called the recipient), and
take action, if and when necessary, to try to ensure the person who is supposed to pay maintenance (called the payor) makes his or her maintenance payments.

We recognize the importance of maintenance to families and children. At the same time, however, we do not work just for the recipient. Rather, we provide a service for both recipients and payors to help ensure the terms of their maintenance orders are fulfilled, and we strive for a good working relationship with all our clients.

The fact that your order has been filed with the FMEP does not mean that you have a poor payment history.

We assume that you, like most payors, are willing to pay your maintenance when it is due.

The paperwork

Notice of Filing

Your Notice of Filing tells you that your case is now enrolled with the FMEP, and that we are now responsible for monitoring and enforcing your maintenance order or agreement.

At the top of the notice is your FMEP case number. This is the number we use to track your case; it will appear on all future correspondence we have with you and the recipient.

Below your case number is your personal identification number. We will ask you for this number as well as your FMEP case number whenever you contact us.

Important!
Your personal identification number is a private number, issued only to you. We use this number as a security measure to make sure that only you can gain access to information about your case. Please do not tell anyone else what your number is.

The Notice of Filing also outlines the payor's payment schedule, telling you what your regular maintenance payments are and when they are due (once or twice a month, for example).

If you fell behind in maintenance payments at some time in the past, and the court has ordered you to pay arrears, the schedule will also tell you how much you need to make up in missed payments.

Making your payments

Once your case is enrolled with the FMEP, you are required by law to send all payments to us. We will record your payments and forward them to the recipient. You can make payments through On-line Banking, Telephone Banking or ABM Banking instead of mailing payments.

If you pay by cheque, please send all payments to:

FMEP Payment Services
Box 5599
Victoria, BC V8R 6T7

Please make your cheque payable to the recipient. Include your FMEP case number on every payment, and be sure to mail your payments with enough time for them to arrive at the FMEP by the due date.

Keeping us informed

Up-to-date information about your case is essential for us to keep your account accurate. You must contact us if:

you move or change your telephone number
you change employers
you start to receive income assistance
you – or the recipient – start any legal action that may result in a change to your current maintenance order or agreement
there are any changes in a child's circumstances that may affect your maintenance payments, such as moving from a sole to shared custody arrangement, a child leaving home or becoming independent, or
you think there is a mistake in our payment records.

About your payments …

Do not pay the recipient directly. If you do pay the recipient directly – and the recipient does not report that payment – enforcement action may be taken against you.
We recommend you pay through on-line banking, telephone banking or ABM banking.
We do not encourage payment by bank draft or money order. This is because you have to pay the bank up front for a bank draft or money order and if it gets lost, so does your money.
You may want to consider setting up a voluntary wage assignment with your employer, if your employer agrees. Your employer will deduct the monthly payments from your wages and send them directly to us.
You might also want to consider sending post-dated cheques. We will record them and send them on to the recipient.

What happens if you can't or won't pay

What we can and cannot do

We know that sometimes it may be difficult for you to make all your payments on time and in full. However, the FMEP does not have the authority to change the amount of maintenance you are required to pay under your court order or agreement.

If you are having trouble making your scheduled maintenance payments, you may need to obtain a new court order or agreement.

We cannot do this for you. It is your responsibility to pursue a new court order, and in the meantime we are required to make sure you pay the maintenance you owe.

If you fall behind in your payments, you will need to contact us. We will work with you to develop a plan for paying the arrears in addition to making your regular maintenance payments. This is called a Voluntary Payment Arrangement.

If we cannot agree on a payment plan, we will have to consider enforcement action.

Changing your court order:
To change your maintenance order or agreement, or current child custody and access arrangement, we recommend you talk to a lawyer or Family Justice Counsellor.

Getting help to change your court order
If you do not know a lawyer, you may want to call the Lawyer Referral Service.

Enquiry BC

Greater Victoria (250) 387-6121
Greater Vancouver (604) 660-2421
Elsewhere in BC 1-800-663-7867

Family Justice Counsellors are located at Family Justice Centres [PDF 64kb] throughout the province. Their services are free. Please call Enquiry BC and ask the operator to transfer you to the Family Justice Centre nearest you.

Possible enforcement action

We know that many payors will never fall behind in their payments and enforcement action against them will never be necessary.

If you do fall into arrears, you should know that the laws under which we operate are powerful and there are a number of enforcement options we can use, depending on how much money you owe and what we know about your current situation.

We may decide to take one or more of these actions at any time. We will choose the actions we think will have the best chance of success in each particular case.

Read about some of the enforcement actions we can take on the Information page.

In addition
In addition to the enforcement actions listed, if you miss or are late on two payments within the same calendar year, we will automatically charge you a Default Fee.

We will also charge you daily interest on any late payments, and add it to our records at the end of every month. All interest goes to the recipient.

Beyond provincial boundaries

Court orders or agreements filed with us can also be enforced outside of BC.

Not only can we request up-to-date information about your location, employment and assets through a variety of federal and provincial computer databases, we also have reciprocal agreements with all Canadian provinces and territories, the United States of America, and several other countries – which means we can ask another province, territory, state or country to take enforcement action on our behalf.

If you have a complaint

Our commitment

We are committed to treating all our clients with courtesy and respect, to ensuring that every case is handled fairly, and to being available to answer questions and provide information as openly as possible.

If you have any concerns about the way your case is being handled, we want to know about it. Your feedback helps us to ensure we are continuously improving the quality of service provided to our clients.

Our Complaint Resolution Process

To obtain an appropriate and timely response, please address your concerns or complaints as follows:

As a first step, speak to an Enquiry Representative at your regional FMEP office and explain your concerns. The Enquiry Representative will work with you to try to resolve your concerns and, may consult with your Enforcement Officer, if necessary.
If your concerns cannot be dealt with satisfactorily by the Enquiry Representative, at any time you may ask to speak to an Enforcement Manager.
If you are still concerned about how the FMEP is handling your case, you may ask to speak to the Regional Manager.

Concerns and enquiries about the existing policies and legislation may be sent in writing or fax to the Office of the Director of Maintenance Enforcement.

Document Revised: November 1, 2005