Parents who default on child maintenance payments face being turned down for mortgages and credit cards under new government plans.

From March 2015, information from parents' payment records in England, Scotland and Wales could be shared with credit reference agencies.

Financial organisations would then use this data to decide whether or not they want to offer someone credit.

The record of a missed payment won’t appear on a credit record until a liability order is made against them.

In principle I think that the use of credit files in respect of someone who fails to contribute to the upkeep of their own children has a certain morality about it which I find quite attractive

Yes, I would agree with this.

In principle, sure, yes. But frankly, I see little evidence that the CSA (or whatever it's called this week) could be trusted to organise a p*** up in a brewery. What they lack in competence they make up for in belligerent ineptitude and a whole-hearted reluctance to admit to or correct any mistakes. This harms both custodial and non-custodial parents alike, and I'm not convinced I want this faceless and unaccountable agency to get its hands on any more sticks with which to beat people.

I am sorry but I totally DISAGREE with this idea.

According to the CSA, I owe them in the region of £20,000.

This is made up of:

1: 12 months of records and payments THEY lost and refuse to investigate.

2: 18 months I was on SSP with a liability of £5 per week that they, without justification, amended to £50 per week some 5 years after the event (and now I have no proof to provide to argue)

3: A 9 month period they "reassessed" me from £32 per week up to £92 per week based on information given to them by the PWC in one of her regular fits of petulance which they refuse to amend despite wage slip proof because it is "too late now".

4: Several other random changes to assessments and lost records over the course of the last 11 years.

My credit file is already shot to pieces courtesy of the break up of the marriage (her idea of 50/50 was worth money = hers, cost money = mine). Adding this because of CSA ineptitude would be grossly unfair.

Until and unless the CSA can actually prove to be fit for purpose, I feel it would be a huge mistake to give them even more power to ruin decent people's lives (Notice I said Decent, it is normal for the deadbeat dad's to find loopholes in the system and usually only the decent ones who hang around to get stung).