tax creds taking forever, could miss surestart grant!

clb776

you do need to wait for your award because you are only entitled to the surestart grant if you get the higher child tax credits award (basically if you get any working tax credits you are entitled to it!). You don't know until you find out about your claim.

If you ring them you can tell them that you want it done on this years income and give an estimate because it is alot less than last years.

Hope you get it sorted, I missed out on mine too, very annoying!

clairec79

Isn't there a box on the SSMG form to say 'I have applied for CTC and am waiting for the award'? If so tick that box and send the form back, they have the form before the deadline - your aware will be backdated to cover the period and it will pay out it may just be longer than the 'deadline' but you've still met it

[Deleted User]

clairec79 wrote: »

Isn't there a box on the SSMG form to say 'I have applied for CTC and am waiting for the award'? If so tick that box and send the form back, they have the form before the deadline - your aware will be backdated to cover the period and it will pay out it may just be longer than the 'deadline' but you've still met it

Exactly, so long as they have the form before 3 months is up and you have ticked the box to say you are waiting on your award you will get the grant IF you qualify even if the claim takes longer to sort out.

Not hard really is it unless you someone does not read the notes attached to the form!

MichelleM

MichelleM wrote: »

I had also applied for the Surestart grant as soon as LO was born but they got back to me saying that I wasnt eligible as I hadnt any tax creds- I had wrote on my application that I was applying but it seems that doesnt matter!

clairec79 wrote: »

Isn't there a box on the SSMG form to say 'I have applied for CTC and am waiting for the award'? If so tick that box and send the form back

I have already done this but I recieved a letter that says I am not entitled because I do not have any TC! I even wrote it in the notes section, as well as the fact that I am on MAT leave.

_shel wrote: »

Not hard really is it unless you someone does not read the notes attached to the form!

It would help if you had read the thread properly shel!

I honestly will NEVER be posting on this part of the forum again! I only wanted help, not personal attacks! It's ridiculous!

joanne_d_3

MichelleM - dont let a few highly opiniated people put you off . There are some genuine people who will try to help you....as to the "others" just try to ignore them !

annies_mum

GlasweJen wrote: »

No honestly how hard can it be really? All the time I worked in CAB as a benefit advisor and every day you'd get someone in who hadn't got the right forms, hadn't read the booklet and filled the forms in properly, didn't actually meet the criteria for the benefit that they'd got knocked back for and wanted to appeal the decision.

Are you honestly telling me that you'd never heard of child tax credits before? If so what bubble were you in for the last 5 years?

I wouldn't have started the retrospective crap if you'd just come on and said "I'm a new mum, sent off tax credit stuff asap but it's taken so long I might lost out on surestart, is there anything I can do?" but no, you come on and blame the system because it's a shambles, because they should know that you're on less money because you've just had a baby, just moved house etc. That shambles of a system deals with thousands of forms every year for all sorts of circumstances up and down the country, and it will eventually cough up an amount of money to cover you at least until your baby is 1 and you'll get a lump sum of back pay in your bank at some point.

It may be possible to go to a tax centre with your income details to hurry the process along a bit, or you could speak to your midwife and ask how to get an extension on the surestart deadline but to come on and mouth off about the system being a shambles is pretty out of order even if you haven't claimed since you were 15.

But it is a shambles, if they deal with 1000's of forms then you would have thought by now they would have got their act together. It was a system set up to help familes, not by us but by the goverment so at least run it right so it can benefit those it was intented for.

annies_mum

and when i was waiting for CTC, THEY spelt my son's name wrong so it delayed things by 10 weeks and if one more person said i would get it backdated i would have screamed. You can't feed a family on backpay!

Duncombe

They WON'T issue any sort of extension on the SureStart Mat Grant regardless of any circumstances/individual situations. You have 3 months, and thats it.

But, some advice if anyone can offer it.

My sister is due to give birth in November and will definitly be eligable for CTC at a higher rate than the standard family element so should (in theory) be able to claim the SureStart Mat Grant. She is unable to claim beforehand because of the ridiculous criteria set out by the award but thats a different story.

Im worried on her behalf now, given that this seems to have been a huge problem for you OP.

Some of the comments on here seem to be conflicting. Can my sister phone tax credits and get forms for WTC and CTC to fill in BEFORE her baby is born? Just so she can send them off as soon as he arrives?

sp1987

MichelleM wrote: »

Oh my, did she really write all those blas?!

All Im going to do is ring up the Jobcentre/surestart people on Tues and see what they say. If theres nothing they can do I will put in another application just before the deadline and then when they reply to say I havent been awarded I will have 30 days to play with to appeal- lets hope the TC people can sort my claim by then.

Thanks to those who were kind and supportive in their response. Im guessing your jobs havent made you bitter about the people who need support in this country.

I feel better now. hugs

Surely they have written a letter based on circumstances as they have them; you don't qualify when they searched for you as a qualifying person. But you have posted a form on x of July...so when they are informed that in fact when you submitted your form in July you did qualify for tax credits (albeit backdated due to delays) they would award it? As at the time of application you qualified for the payment? So although not an error by them, it is a delay by someone rather than your failure to do what was neccessary? If that doesn't work surely it goes against the idea of such a payment.

If not, one for your MP?

Keep your rejection letter to prove they had an application in time for you is the main thing, I guess!

Stressedtothemax_2

annies_mum wrote: »

and when i was waiting for CTC, THEY spelt my son's name wrong so it delayed things by 10 weeks and if one more person said i would get it backdated i would have screamed. You can't feed a family on backpay!

Oh this is what I keep being told.
Glad they think it's a positive getting backpay,because it doesn't to me pay the bills and outgoings and support children in the meantime! :mad: