Family fund - can i use vouchers for something other than what they were awarded for?

Dainty1976

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

Hand the vouchers backs and go and buy a luxury item games console out of your own money like parents do.

Sorry but I think it's disgraceful.

yes its perceived as a luxury item however, for my DS its going to be used FOR THERAPY!!!! I did say this in my original post!!!! If you look at the FF website you will see that its listed as a perfectly acceptable use of the vouchers! Oh - hold on how about I swap the vouchers with you and your son could take my sons difficulties: Classic Autism, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, Hypermobility Syndrome (HEDS), Hypotonia, XYY Syndrome, Abdominal Migraine, Rolling Ankles, Displaced arches, Hormone complications, Allergies to everything under the sun, Global Developmental Delay and learning disabilities!!!

I'd rather be able to afford the everyday things just to get by a bit easier as we live on an extremeley tight budget and just cannot, so using these vouchers to benefit my son by buying something that there is no way in the world I would otherwise be able to afford seems perfectly acceptable to me - so yes, I'll take my FF vouchers thanks but I'd rather have a normal life and a DS who doesnt suffer 24/7 and chuck them in the bin! THose who live a "charmed" life of normality will always find that hard to understand I guess!

Dainty1976

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

£250 to buy a bed? Seems rather generous of FF.

I know - I was rather shocked as I would've thought they would see that you can get a bed in argos for well under 100pounds - even as little as 75 I think! But it seems the standard award for a bed from what I hear! Just so you know, I didnt ask for that amount - The lady who came to house asked what I would like to use the vouchers for, didnt give any figures away but said FF would be in touch! Then the letter came saying that was what was awarded!

formaldehyde_perfume

Dainty1976 wrote: »

I know - I was rather shocked as I would've thought they would see that you can get a bed in argos for well under 100pounds - even as little as 75 I think! But it seems the standard award for a bed from what I hear! Just so you know, I didnt ask for that amount - The lady who came to house asked what I would like to use the vouchers for, didnt give any figures away but said FF would be in touch! Then the letter came saying that was what was awarded!

Assuming you only needed a single bed for your son (I too have HEDS and need at least a 4ft else I can't roll over properly and the pain/discomfort wakes me up and bad sleep sets off the secondary fibro) I would assume that their logic behind that allowance is that you are more inclined to buy a better quality bed which will last him years, than be financially forced to get something cheap and then they get the hassle again when it wears out.. Although when I was at uni and didn't have the option of any bigger I got a single frame from Argos which was about £110 and it is still going strong 2 years later, a very good buy.

Either way, kudos to you for a) having friends/family that are so generous b) the intelligence to seek out other means of getting by, and searching for the absolute best deal on something that is going to be very useful for your son long term rather than frittering it away... Although if the Wii is a success please remember to budget the few extra pounds it will add to the electric bill each month And just because it is for your son doesn't mean you can't join in too :j :rotfl: :T

Edit - Also, I just thought, you should look on eBay for second hand games, and in stores like Game for their 'pre owned' section. You can get some great deals, especially if you're not bothered about the condition of the box/instructions.

when_will_it_end

hi dainty


as another poster said the x-box kinnex may be better for your son, have a good look and compare before you buy, plus it can be used for other things like watching a dvd ect...

Dainty1976

formaldehyde_perfume wrote: »

Assuming you only needed a single bed for your son (I too have HEDS and need at least a 4ft else I can't roll over properly and the pain/discomfort wakes me up and bad sleep sets off the secondary fibro) I would assume that their logic behind that allowance is that you are more inclined to buy a better quality bed which will last him years, than be financially forced to get something cheap and then they get the hassle again when it wears out.. Although when I was at uni and didn't have the option of any bigger I got a single frame from Argos which was about £110 and it is still going strong 2 years later, a very good buy.

Either way, kudos to you for a) having friends/family that are so generous b) the intelligence to seek out other means of getting by, and searching for the absolute best deal on something that is going to be very useful for your son long term rather than frittering it away... Although if the Wii is a success please remember to budget the few extra pounds it will add to the electric bill each month And just because it is for your son doesn't mean you can't join in too :j :rotfl: :T

Edit - Also, I just thought, you should look on eBay for second hand games, and in stores like Game for their 'pre owned' section. You can get some great deals, especially if you're not bothered about the condition of the box/instructions.

Thanks for the suggestions FP! Very helpful and glad to hear that someone out there doesnt think I am a scrounger/chancer/phony and sees that I am simply trying to get the best for my baby!

As he is only 5yrs old, a single is more than adequate for him. The fantastic benefit of the car bed however is that it is only 14.5cm's off the floor which is great for him as due to his dyspraxia/HEDS and Prioperception probs he falls out of normal beds when getting up in the morning and crawls onto normal beds on his hands and knees to go to bed as they are too high for him! Unfortunately, regardless of the width of the bed he is going to need a new bed in a timeframe not so far from now because of his XYY Syndrome. Most likely he'll need a specially adapted,very low level extra length bed due to the fact that he's estimated to hit 6ft tall by the age of 10 if not before and he's gonna keep growing! He's already just over 4 1/2ft tall at 5yrs old so whatever bed I got him it wont last that long - his eventual height at the rate he is growing doesnt even bear thinking about lol (close to or poss over 7ft - not a laughing matter!)

The width of the bed will be a conundrum to deal with as although he will need space to roll and turn, due to his sensory issues he prefers a narrow space surrounded and bolstered by pillows to make him feel secure! But I'll deal with that one when he's tall enough to warrant that problem scrutinised!

As for Ebay - I love ebay! Get most of my clothes 2nd hand on there and anything else I can get on there that is cheaper than in the shops, so I will def be looking on there!

Hadnt thought about the pre-used in the shops though - great suggestion!

stassy23

hi you can only use the argos card vouchers for the bed it will prob state on the card we had £100 argos for my son for bedding and we can only use it for bedding, they can ask for receipts up to 12 months so i have kept all mine. comet will give you a card but it will state on front of the card what it can be used for like game consoles etc you can always add to it if you needed to hope that sort of helps a bit

formaldehyde_perfume

Dainty1976 wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions FP! Very helpful and glad to hear that someone out there doesnt think I am a scrounger/chancer/phony and sees that I am simply trying to get the best for my baby!

Unfortunately, regardless of the width of the bed he is going to need a new bed in a timeframe not so far from now because of his XYY Syndrome. Most likely he'll need a specially adapted,very low level extra length bed due to the fact that he's estimated to hit 6ft tall by the age of 10 if not before and he's gonna keep growing!

If he does need a specialised bed as a child I personally would put a lot of effort in to thinking how I could make it feel like a kids bed. Even for an adult, a medical type bed can be quite daunting. Depending on what type of bed he gets you could perhaps paint some mdf and attach it using those plastic clips that you can never get off kids toys (and I think they use them as temporary hand cuffs now too!) .. It's hard to say when you don't know what it'll be.

.. And don't worry about other people on here. The Family Fund judged you as being in need of a bed, when one became available from elsewhere they have still judged your son worthy of help from them so you have no need to worry about what people who aren't involved think of you.. Although looking at what other people have said it looks like you might have to exchange them and get a worse deal, but it might be worth writing down the figures before phoning them and point out it is a better use of their grant and see what they say.

paddedjohn

try and use the whole £250 for the best bed you can get, cutting corners with cheap matress will prove a mistake in the long run, remember you spend about a third of your young life in bed and your back needs all the support it can get.

McKneff

I think you all need to wind your necks in.

And OP, you cannot dictate whether people can or cannot post on these boards, neither can you police what they say.

To be honest, if you had the permission from the FF before you posted on here then why did you bother and open yourself up to the critisism you surely knew you would get from some posters.

eskimo26

McKneff wrote: »

I think you all need to wind your necks in.

And OP, you cannot dictate whether people can or cannot post on these boards, neither can you police what they say.

To be honest, if you had the permission from the FF before you posted on here then why did you bother and open yourself up to the critisism you surely knew you would get from some posters.

I think you misunderstand the OP is asking 'My question is... what if I just used the vouchers at Argos anyway to get a Wii, Would I get in trouble with FF?

So to clarify she has permission to get a wii as its listed with FF as a form of therapy BUT they only supply them through Comet, the OP has argos vouchers already for the purchase of the previous product and is asking if she will get in trouble for using them to get the wii from a retailer that the FF don't use for that product.

I would say to ask FF, have they said anything along the lines that you'd have to exchange the vouchers to comet ones for the wii? It seems that they do check and they might get miffed if your buying a wii from a retailer that they ordinarily couldn't get vouchers from for that product, it would probably flag up on there system as a bit strange. I'd imagine there obligated to keep certain vouchers to certain products so they might feel its a breach of protocol that could get them in trouble, i really don't know.

I can see the problem argos is cheaper because of deals but the unit price is the same... I recommend you get the accessories you need from comet as well and 1 game should come free (you'll get wii sport regardless as its a basic freebie) i think that would swallow up the allowance alone, for games i recommend secondhand from gamestation, game and cex.

Then trade them in and get money off your next one!

Welcome to the world of game consoling I hope it brings your son much joy.