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  • FRO misdeeds

    I'm the payor, always in compliance, but I reduced payments for a period while my daughter was in university residence earlier this year, per Court order, at least my and my lawyer's interpretation. This reduction is in dispute and a case is underway to resolve that. But when it started, my ex started a FRO case. FRO neglected to tell me there was a case opened for over 3 months! Just forgot that step, it seems. During that time, I was paying my ex directly. I've since paid him in full for period in dispute -- until judge can rule on that -- but FRO won't let up with enforcement actions because they maintain I'm not paid in full and won't give me credit for amounts paid directly to ex. Neither will ex admit to receiving those payments. He is hostile to me, I cannot contact him, and have asked FRO to get accounting but they haven't so far (it's been months). Neither local MPP nor Ontario Ombudsman office has been successful. Is my only route another court case? Any suggestions? I'm desperate here, employer does not garnish wages, they just fire you (and yes, they can't but they are a diplomatic mission, so yes, they can). Drivers license due to be suspended in 2 weeks. It's a catch-22, but one with severe consequences for me.

  • #2
    How did you pay your Ex those payments? I would hope it was by cheque or another form of traceable method.

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    • #3
      ^^^^ what he said.

      If it wasn't a "traceable" method, congratulations, you just gave you ex a gift.

      If it WAS, then get the proof, send it to the FRO and have them adjust things.

      In any event, if you can't prove you paid your ex, then call FRO and see what they can do for a repayment plan pending the outcome of the court action.

      Then just include the payment plan issue with your existing case.

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      • #4
        Get a lawyer or go into court to get a Stay of Enforcement. You will need an application and affidavit (brief) or whatever the Ontario equivalent is. These are fairly common applications so your local FLIC office can help you. Might only be for a limited time period but you can solve your case by that time. Check with your enforcement office as to what kind of Order would stop their actions first. Then get it.

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        • #5
          Alternatively make a payment plan with your enforcement office of some peanuts amount until you can argue your case with your ex at a hearing and get your money back.

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          • #6
            FRO misdeeds

            This is the part I don't get. Amounts paid are entirely traceable! Done by cheque, and I have copies of cashed cheques, front and back, showing his endorsement. Have faxed them to FRO at least three times. Every time I call and ask about it, they say, fax the cheques. You know how it is when you call FRO -- different responses and different information every time. Well, one time they did tell me that ex has to verify receiving those amounts AND that they were for child support and not something else. So it's entirely up to him? His word against mine? AND they will not confirm with him. It's up to me. But he's hostile to me. I can't confirm. A polite email to him asking, copying his lawyer, was met with a rant about harassment charges. It's pretty clear to me that FRO's position is that they have no responsibility to me, the payor at all. It's all about the payee (although I'm sure some payees on this forum would argue otherwise... but I'm only talking about my case.)
            Am going for the "stay of enforcement". Seems I've been sacked by my lawyer though. He hasn't returned my voicemail or email in last week and I know he's in his office. Sigh. Next step... a good attorney, anyone?

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            • #7
              I'm scratching my head as to why you ever made direct payments to your ex. Hope you learned your lesson. The enforcement office (FRO or whatever it is called in Ontario) just enforces; they set up a payment plan and apparently you messed with it.

              You didn't put "child support" at the bottom of those cheques? Honestly, if you can't get your lawyer and the matter is urgent, just go into court and get the duty counsel or helpful counsellors (hopefully others on here know who) to help you fill out an application and affidavit and just tell the judge your story. You should evidence the cheque payments. Then you should be able to get a stay on all the enforcement activities and an order telling the enforcement office to count those payments as cheque payments or something like that.

              The enforcement people are forced to obey a court order.

              It seems odd you have such a bad relationship with your ex if you are such an upstanding payor. Anyhow, if you indicate that you intend to do this to him then perhaps he will admit the payment to the enforcement office.

              You should give him notice of the application to court.

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              • #8
                Good questions. I made payments directly to him because I didn't know there was a FRO file open on me! They neglected to tell me. So I was just doing what I thought was the right thing by paying. The FRO case came about because I wasn't paying the amount he thought I should be, while my daughter was in university residence. I put my daughter's name on the bottom of each cheque, not "child support". Not sufficient, apparently.
                As for my relationship with my ex? I am a steady payor. I've never missed a single payment. Sorry if this is hard for you to understand but there's more than money involved in human relationships. There's also vindictiveness (among other things). I found the courage to leave an emotionally and verbally abusive relationship and he didn't take that well.

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                • #9
                  OH, and another thing I feel compelled to add: he started the FRO case, AND continued to accept and receive cheques/payment from me. Talk about messing with the system.

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                  • #10
                    Kem , I get your situation now. Sorry if I offended. The thing is: you may not even be supposed to pay s.3 table child support for a child away in university. It is not uncommon, when the child is away, for the parents work out a budget that is what the child spends monthly (just divide annual costs by 10 months iincluding food, res fees, clothing, books, tuition, entertainment, travel, etc.). This will become your child support amount. Summer vacation may require s.3 support at table amounts minus what the child earns. I am not sure if this is true but I think I read this in the case law. Ask your lawyer.

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                    • #11
                      I wonder does that employer realize that non compliance to a garnishee can result in a MIN of a $10,000 fine? This is from CRA and labour regulations. And under that same legislation they cannot fire that employee because they have a garnishee against them. Sorry for them but that is the law I was taught in HR and payrolling and that I am governed by.

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