In addition, of families surveyed that said they could not afford the fees, 72 per cent said they could not set up private arrangements with their ex-partners – meaning their children could go without maintenance support.
The findings go against government claims that paying fees to use the child maintenance service or coming to private arrangements are realistic options for the majority of separated parents.
Gingerbread chief executive Fiona Weir said: "This shows the devastating impact that charging could have on the amount of child maintenance that will get through to children.
"If these findings were to be replicated across the whole CSA caseload, that could mean nearly 300,000 single parent families would go without child maintenance.
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