family fund question has anyone claimed

[uddy]

hi i just wondered if anyone who has put a claim in 2 the family fund for the first time could give me an idea of what i am likely 2 get first time round.my 4 kids are desperate for a holiday abroad as theyve never had one but i cant book one unless im likely 2 get enough towards it i just wondered if anyone has any ideas how its worked out so i can see if its worth doing it this year or next thanks all.

[glittery]

ive used them twice, first time i got £880, towards a supportive seat and a holiday, last time i got £1555 for ds's trike but i cant re-apply for 2 years

[uddy]

oh lovely thanks for that i thought that u could claim every 12months as thats how it explains it on the site.i werent qiuet sure how they did it as it doesnt explain much and different friends are saying different things.
so i assume u got next years fund this time aswell thats prob why u cant claim for 2 years.

[glittery]

yeah think thats why.
they must work around the £750 ish a year figure maybe?

[donkeyderby]

It used to be that you could get an annual amount from them. As far as I know, you can apply once a year, but they can take up to 3 months to reply and you can only apply again a year after you receive the money.

I have certainly never got over £300/£400 from them, they have always refused larger amounts despite a low income. For holidays, they seem to be linked into a holiday company and were pressurized to take the holiday they were offering rather than using the money for a holiday of our choice. We refused but we got quite a sales pitch. Again, this is all new.

They are great but were better once.

[waitingforgodot]

hi donkey derby. what holidays were they pushing?

[2snowshoes]

we have only ever got one payment a year of about £420 they always refused to help more than that.
we have had this for years and always been able to choose where we go.

[waitingforgodot]

Hi 2shoes
Do you book it and then send them the invoice?

[cloelia]

hi 2shoes is it means tested?

[2snowshoes]

no I just said we wanted to go on holiday and they give you a set ammount.
i think it is means tested as my friend was turned down as thier income was too high(I think)

[waitingforgodot]

thanks for that

[glittery]

they do 3 holiday options....

they will pay for a Haven park holiday or give vouchers to book a holiday thru Thomas Cook or cash towards something you've already booked yourself but that is usually a smaller value and they like to see the booking invoice beforehand .

[jjones]

I know they gave me £550 haven vouchers last year and a friend of mine got the same in thomas cook vouchers.

[5inthebed]

I got driving lessons through the ff. Such a godend.
A friend applies every year for a holiday and they got £600 in Thomas Cooke vouchers which they use for a butlons holiday

[2snowshoes]

maybe it has changed since last year.

[SparklyGothKat]

I haven't applied for 3 years, must do it, cant afford a holiday this year and the kids are dying to go to Butlins this year

[Phoenix4725]

I just applied for driving lessons , that would be the biggest boost for me plan being long as ds dla is redone in july and we still get higher rate will change for a car ,*dreams of how much easier life will be

[anonymouseforthisone]

We can't apply as dp erans £500 over the threshold.

[glittery]

phoenix you could get a grant thru Motability for driving lessons and use the Family Fund for something else?

[waitingforgodot]

What is the threshold? Does anyone know?

[5inthebed]

I think it is somewhere around £22000.

Driving lessons were a godsend to me, although I am without a car now, as I crashed on Tuesday (not my fault) and someone went into the side of me writting my car off . Will need to beg steal and borrow to get a new car as the insurance won't be enough to get a reliable car.

[waitingforgodot]

oh no thats awful. Are you ok?

[5inthebed]

Thankfully yes. Just a bit of whiplash, nothing serious.

[waitingforgodot]

You should put in a claim for compensation.

[DJAngel]

We have been wanting to go to Center Parcs as friend told me is great and dd2 would just love to be in the water all day but no way could we afford it.Checked out Family Fund website but said just Haven or Thomas Cook vouchers, but maybe there are exceptions or maybe you can book center parcs through Thomas cook? Anyone know? Just thinking about this possibility kept me going all day yesterday til I read the detailed info..

[glittery]

they will also give you cash towards a holiday of your choice but you dont get as much as you would if you took the Haven or Thomas Cook vouchers....they must have a deal on with them!