Some advice on surestart grant please!?

starlite_2

Our baby is now 9 weeks old and we still haven't recieved our working/family tax credits.
Our initial application was sent off two days after he was born, but they claimed to never have recieved it. I re-did and sent the forms by recorded delivery around two weeks ago after finding this out.
This is our first claim so i don't know how long to expect for them to send our entitlement certificate.
I know we will recieve enough to get the surestart grant, but it has to be claimed in the first three months after the birth so time is running out.

My oh earns around £12'000 before tax, and as I was a student before the baby i do not recieve any maternity pay/allowance, and don't have enough n.i contributions to get income support etc. so have no income whatsoever.

we are just abouit managing on oh's wage, but have debts to family who helped us with buying the baby equipment, so the grant is almosty esssential if we want to keep afloat.

can anyone advise if/how i can rush the tax credits along, or if i can claim the grant anyway given our circumstances?

bigbill

Hi

Don't wait you must put the grant application now or within three months of the birth, it will be turned down, but you can then go back and claim again once the Tax Credit is awarded and it will be paid.

If you wait until the Tax Credit is paid and this is more than three months after the birth you will not get paid the grant.

fairylights_2

First of, congratulations :beer: on your new baby!

Best thing you can do is call tax credits helpline and chivy them along. Each time I've spoken to them on the phone, things are sorted within a week. Explain to them your situation with needing this sorting asap, and just keep pestering them.

When they eventually sort it, you'll get a nice bundle backdated for the last couple of months. The Sure start grant itself - at least mine - was sorted and in my bank within a week of us sending the paperwork.

Karnam

i too was in a rush to get the surestart but had to wait until after birth. i sent off my ctc form and then called the CTC people on the phone, they confirmed on the phone i was going to recieve the higher element and so i just ticked 'recieving higher element ctc' and didnt need the entitlement letter.

starlite_2

thanks for the advice..I will send off my aplication anyway, if it's likely they will reject it but then give me longer to apply.
i'll also call them to chase it up and keep records of who i spoke to and when in the hope of hurrying it along.
it's getting crucial now, especially as he's just about growing out of all his newborn clothes that were mainly gifts.

Lyndsay_21

i didnt think you were entitled to the sure start grant if one of you worked?

Karnam

Lyndsay_21 wrote:

i didnt think you were entitled to the sure start grant if one of you worked?

you can be, if you are on a low enough income