Complaint Review: Brian Benson - St.Louis Missouri

Well I just thought I'd update this and let everyone know that he owed $20,000 in arrears BUT he went to jail a total of 3 times over it. The first 2 times his parents (yeah, his mommy and daddy) paid to get him out of jail. The first incident cost his parents $4,000 to get him out for the arrears owed on the child support and the 2nd incident cost them $2,000 in arrears to get him out. This was paid from October of one year till January of the following year so a total of about 4 or 5 month time span. The third time he went to jail, he was pulled over for driving on a suspended license (Child Support Enforcement took his license in 2004, which he still does NOT have) in 2006 and he had a warrant for child support AGAIN so they arrested him once more, only his parents did not pay that third time. They let him sit there for 30 days. Now let me clarify, because the system is screwed up, he did NOT have the warrants for the arrears, the warrants were for failure to appear in court for his "Show Cause" hearings. Those are a joke anyway. My child support case has been in the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney's office since 2004 (when they suspended his license) and this is currently July 2008 and the case is still there. To date, according to the Prosecuting Attorney, he's been on interviews since 2004. You must be one sorry s****.. My husband adopted my girls but the sperm donor still owes his arrears. Now, BECAUSE his mommy and daddy paid a total of $6K worth of arrears, and the federal income tax garnishments the IRS holds from him, he currently owes JUST under $14,000, hell- I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say $13,200. The last child support payment I received from him was in April of this year (2008) for the amount of $25.43. The payment before that was his income tax refund which was around $200-$250 MAYBE. When I was in HIGH SCHOOL and worked part time during the school year and full time during the summer, my tax refunds as a 16, 17, 18 year old kid were between $700-$800! The only good thing is, he still has to go to court once a month and appear infront of the P.A. and explain that he's "still interviewing" (4 years later LOL) AND my kids have a GOOD "DAD" and "FATHER". They don't remember or even know the sperm donor. He split pretty quick after our second one was born (and intermitantly during her pregnancy) so she doesn't know him and the older one remembers his "name" but she thinks or remembers him as a friend of mine. So, I guess the case is closed as far as collecting FUTURE child support from him (as if I really would- ROFL!!!) but he still owes enough child support for the arrears to buy a heck of a lot of clothes, food, and lunch money.

Sadie, if I'm understanding you correctly and my math is right, you have 2 children: one who might be a little over 2 yrs. and 7 mos. old, and the other 7 mos. old. However, didn't you mention a 4 yr. old who SCREAMS and CRIES whenever she sees the lady with the gray and white hair at WalMart that you go into almost every day? I may be mistaken, but I *thought* you said your 4 yr. old. If so, please excuse me.

I am a single-mother of two children, both by different dads. I was married at a very young age to the oldest one's father. Left him when she was one (for MANY reasons) and then a year later got with the youngest one's dad. Had her just 7 months ago. Haven't seen him in 5 months. If they want to be DADS they need to be DADS. IF they don't they need to LET US KNOW! The youngest one's dad was wonderful to the older one, wanted to be daddy, worked to support us, the whole 9 yards. Now I don't see either one of their dads. I'm fed up. I called Child Support Enforcement today and got no call back. Left two messages, still no call back. I will NOW have to wait until Monday. But I'm going to be on their a$$es like white on rice. If I have to sign up for food stamps and welfare, I will. You need to call child support every week if you have to. Every few DAYS if you have to. Make him pay! Sign up for any assistance you can get. I know that in southeast missouri there is an EMAA where you can get low-income transportation.. or you can get paid TRE which is $5 a day for going back and forth to work. This is all reported to the state. Like the other lady said, the more you are a burden to the state the quicker you will get help. DO something about it! Make him pay!

I have had food stamps, daycare assistance, the kids are currently on medicaid. I was released from the program after 6 weeks of looking for work. I had to join a program that my state has and they allow you six weeks to find a job. I could still get daycare a*s. but I would have to provide proof of income and right now my only income is ebay. That's not exactly a regular job with paychecks. I just took out a loan from the bank to start a good business on ebay but the profits aren't coming in like I thought they would. THey tried to get us off medicaid when I became married to my current husband but since we don't have much income, they could not deny the children medical, even though the bio dad is supposed to provide med. ins. Some women live off the system most of thier adult life and they get every benefit for the rest of thier life but when I tried to get help, I was allowed help during the last 3 months of my pregnancy and 6 weeks after my maternity recovery. So a total of 12 weeks plus the time of my pregnancy and was booted off. So I did try to get some help. Now the state is making the dad pay THEM back and take it out of MY CHILD SUPPORT. They said the only reason I got the benefits was because he wasn't paying child support. Now he has been to jail a few times and mom and dad paid to get him out so the state took thier cut out of that check. A few times. I believe he still owes them money but the PA says as long as he owes the state money, it will be taken out of my child support until it is all paid up. Talk about the system being screwed up. I got those benefits because I needed help, which I still do but now they just take it from me. His taxes were even intercepted last year but I didn't get them, the state took that too. Thanks for the advice though. It's appreciated. I just don't understand how much more twisted the system can get.

Dawn, You will never get any help from the state unless your deadbeat dad starts costing the state real money. Sad, but true. Just sign up for every program you and your children are eligible for. Get food stamps, help with your rent and childcare, medical, schooling. Whatever your state offers, get it. No, I am not suggesting that you become a lifetime member of a welfare program. I am suggesting this will be the quickest way to see "Daddy Dearest" pay up or go to jail. Make sure the PA knows that you have done this and are drawing these benefits. Watch the courts become more stringent. Watch the deadbeat go to jail. I have seen too many women struggle for years to raise the children of deadbeats without any help from the state. They were invariably kicked to the curb by the system. Even providing phone numbers and current addresses of the deadbeat dad did not move the state from its lead butt. It did not care because these women and children were NOT costing them money. The women drawing all the benefits get all the help. Men were tracked down (even after moving to other states to attempt evading their responsibilities), subjected to blood tests, paternity proven, and either they sent money or they went to jail. Income tax refunds were garnished. Professional licenses were revoked (even those held in other states in other states). Crazy, but true. The system is screwed up. It will not help you willingly. You have to become a burden to them. So do it. Do it today, as this issue seems to be causing you much stress.

Okay, bozo did go to court on Friday and told them................AGAIN, that he is still looking for a job. He claims that he went on one interview in the last MONTH and has more lined up and waiting on call backs. Now, he is NOTORIOUS for working fast food. How many freakin McDonalds, Taco Bells, Wendy's, Hardee's can you apply at and not get an interview or a job? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to flip a hamburger with a spatula. Again, they still let him go and said, "Come back next month." Now, seriously, how many times will they let you walk out the door with POOR A$$ excuses? I feel like the system is LETTING him abuse it. These kids need child support. The utilities don't pay themselves and I don't have a money tree in the backyard. So I'm figuring that if he keeps showing up and feeding them excuses, they'll keep releasing him. That isn't fair to me or these babies. He walks around in Tommy's while we wear Walmart clothes (not that there is anything wrong with wally world clothes) but is it fair that he walks around in Designer jeans and no one else and he's the one that don't work and don't pay? And you know what kills me? He goes to court wearing these designer clothes and I told the PA's office how much my house payment is, daycare, avg. of bills and they keep saying, go ahead brian, just leave, we don't mind. I'm so angry right now! Can anyone tell me how many times you can get slapped with a ruler before you get slapped with the cuffs?

I'm just curious how the system works? Brian went to court at the beginning of February and told them he had no job. They let him go and told him to come back on 2-25-05. I don't know if he showed to court yet but if he did, he has not even paid 1/5 of his child support for this month. He is supposed to be paying $500/month for both kids but has only paid a total of $89.00. How can they keep letting him go? He did the same thing last month in January. Well, actually in Jan. I got a nice payment because he went to jail on a body attachment and his parents missed thier vaction to HI to get him out of jail and had to pay $2,000.00. I don't understand how they can keep letting him walk? I've talked to the PA (prosecuting attorney) that is handling my case and she is WELL AWARE that he lives at home for free and has all the time in the world to look for a job, but yet, they still let him walk out of court with almost no payment or minimal payment. I don't understand how they can do this? The PA and I had a long talk about how much he owes, how much he DOESN'T work and so on. I could see if he supported himself and just simply didn't have the money but it costs him as much to live as it cost a 10 year old to live - NOTHING! Mommy and daddy pay for everything, even his gas and cig. money. Why can't the system nail his butt to an assembly line and make him work? Well, that's a little extreme but he would be working and paying child support.