By Anita Dangazele
- Tracy Ruiners saved every till slip to prove she spent her money on her daughter without any help from Calvin.
- The Gqeberha court used the slips to order Calvin to pay out a portion of his monthly salary to Tracy.
A cashier from Cleary Park used till slips to force the father of her child to pay maintenance.
Tracy Ruiners raises her five-year-old daughter, Amy-Leigh, on a salary of R6,800.
The child’s father, Calvin, earns R18,500 a month. In early 2024, he stopped sending his usual R1,500 contribution and ignored Tracy’s messages.
Tracy bought a file and kept every receipt for five months. She saved grocery slips, loan bills and other expenses.
She proved she spent R14,340 on her child without help from Calvin. She separated the school needs and food for her daughter from general household groceries.
“I gave him grace for many years, thinking he’d eventually take responsibility but things are harder now,” Tracy said.
Tracy is expecting a second child with another man. She realised she could not afford two children on her salary alone.
Her family told her to take Calvin to the maintenance court. The court is free and people do not need a lawyer.
Tracy took her file to the Gqeberha Magistrate’s Court. She brought her identity document, the child’s birth certificate and bank statements.
The court summoned Calvin. He tried to argue that Tracy exaggerated her costs, but he could not argue with the receipts.
The court looked at both incomes and the daily needs of the child. The magistrate ordered Calvin to pay R2,800 a month.
The money is now deducted straight from his salary.
“People think going to court is for people with money,” Tracy said. “I just had my slips. That is proof that I showed up.”
To apply for maintenance, parents must take their identity document, the child’s birth certificate, bank statements and proof of expenses to the nearest court.
Names in the story were changed to protect the family.
Pictured above: Tracy shows the grocery slips she used to prove her child’s expenses in a maintenance court case in Gqeberha.
Image source: Supplied
