ruining my credit - anything I can do?

[zutalurs]

OK, so I am slowly but surely beginning to really hate the way things are set up.
At our final hearing back in June, the court ruled that back support would be due the mother, minus traveling expenses I had incurred, for the months when I wasn't paying child support.  There had been about 11 months I didn't pay anything because we had not established paternity yet.  Once we established paternity and the court set support, I have always paid on time.
Well, the BCSE never adjusted the statements that they sent me, and I did not know when/how to start makeing payments on the back support.  Legal fees being what they have been, any reserves I had are now gone and I am going to have to pay off back support a little at a time each month.
Yesterday I got the letter from BCSE saying I am over 6 months past due to pay the back support and they can take my license away if I'm not paying.
Well, come to find out that is a blanket letter they send, and I am not in danger of loosing my license.  They will do a standard repayment option through my employer to begin working on the back support amount.
What really chaps me though is that until the entire amount is paid in full, they will report my account as being over 6 months past due, each month.
Now, I have always paid on time, I have always paid the full amount owed, but that doesn't matter.  The court order decreeing back support isn't even 6 months old, and that doesn't matter either.
They told me that this system was set up as a way of going after fathers who don't pay their support, and unfortunately there is no system in place for fathers who aren't deadbeats.  So even though I am making my payments, I still get a hefty mark against my credit every month until the back amount is paid off.
So, I get punished with bad credit reports because of policy that assumes every man is going to be guilty of not paying.
This is exactly the kind of discrimination that I am getting so tired of experiencing, hearing about, and reading about.
Yes, there are deadbeat dads out there.  But there are also crack-whore moms too.  
Guys, what can we do about this?  I seriously feel like a minority that is being discriminated against by the government.  Women fought for civil rights and have won them.  People fo color fought for civil rights, and have made great strides in acheiving them.  when will fathers get together and begin fighting for our civil rights too?
I'm seriously thinking about filing a class action suit against the child support system in my state for discrimination and fraud. (They use a calculation that rounds income up instead of down, thus defrauding thousands of people out of money each year.)

[JW]

You may want to research, but I am pretty sure that only public records may be put in your credit file, which would be divorce, judgements, suits, liens, etc. I used to work for a finance company and then a credit union and I NEVER saw child support obilgations on a credit report. Contact the local credit bureau and just ask. If delinquent dads can be reported, then why aren't current dads reported? And never forget, anything in your credit file may be disputed BY LAW. while in dispute, it cannot be disclosed. Also, you may obtain a free copy of each of your credit reports at //www.annualcreditreport.com

Good Luck

[JW]

You may want to research, but I am pretty sure that only public records may be put in your credit file, which would be divorce, judgements, suits, liens, etc. I used to work for a finance company and then a credit union and I NEVER saw child support obilgations on a credit report. Contact the local credit bureau and just ask. If delinquent dads can be reported, then why aren't current dads reported? And never forget, anything in your credit file may be disputed BY LAW. while in dispute, it cannot be disclosed. Also, you may obtain a free copy of each of your credit reports at //www.annualcreditreport.com

Good Luck

[jilly]

Past due child support can be reported to the credit reporting agencies. I don't think it shows up on your credit report if you're not in arrears.  My DH has an arrearage and it's on his credit report.

[wysiwyg]

Right there with ya!

When hubby lost his job he IMMEDIATELY filed a petition for adjustment of Child support because of job loss, the court took three and a half YEARS to make a child support order, during which time we fell severly behind in support (howeve rpaying what we could under the circumstandes and still have a place ot live).  When the order finally came to us, we paid that plus the amount the court ordered repayed in arrears.  Five years later, the Title IV child support folks froze all our accounts - I could not make the next months rent which was due at that time - and refused to even speak to us, until I went in and stood there until I spoke to someone that was not behind bullet proof glass.  BTW while I waited I got to speak to 2 case workers that I was told were not in - but then they magically appeared, go figure, its all lies anyway.  

We explined our plight, gave them copies of the court order that gave us the right to repay as we had for 5 years, they said it DID NOT MATTER, they took al our money anyway and to boot when I told them that we were a family with small children in the home and we would be homeless, they told us that only the children from the first marriage is their priority and they did not care about subsequent children..............

Yes and the court runined our credit, the court went against their own orders and we still did not get what was court ordered.

Where is the justice for all in that?

[MYSONSDAD]

I would like to see a website on Deadbeat CP's who withold visitation. They are four times greater then the NCPs busting their humps to get caught up on the arrears.

You would think the system would allow time to catch up, since you were not ordered on CS before the hearing.

Peice of advice to new dads coming here. Start a savings account as soon as the child is born. Don't wait for paternity testing, hearings, cover yourself so you have the money already set aside. It will save you from paying the high "interest rate" to catch up.

"Children learn what they live"