Family fund grat received.

martin57

Hello folks,

Myself and my partner are very lucky that we have received £500 grant (stated in letter from The Family Fund) towards buying an ipad for our son who has autism and has no speech.

The letter states £500 grant and gives the name of a store who will contact us in due course.

I actually rang the store or supplier stated in letter by the family fund, and they say its either an ipad 2 with accessories case and cover or an ipad 3 with no extras. They will only supply the 16gb pad.

When I mentioned the £500 grant stated in letter by family fund they hummed and haaed, more or less said thats only a guideline etc. (as we probably would take the ipad nearest that amout which is the ipad 3 32gb at £479)

Don't get me wrong we feel very grateful and privledged to get for that matter any basic ipad atall to help our son, but I'd just hope that since the family fund say that its a certain amount grant, that we would get something near that price, also that the supplier is giving us what is expected from them by the fund.

Just wondering if anyone who has experience of dealing with the family fund can give me some advice as to whether that grant offered by them in their letter to us is just a guideline only, and its up to the supplier to give a cheaper product even if there is one nearer the grant amount.

Thanks for any help
Martin57

Nicki

Is there not a phone number for the family fund where you could phone and ask them what the deal is? I imagine if this shop is ripping them off and pocketing the difference between a £500 cheque and a lesser product, they may find themselves new suppliers quite quickly!

Hope the ipad helps with your DS. My DD is non verbal and autistic too and she loves my Ipad. There are some great free apps around too for people with autism.

mummyroysof3

my son is 3 and non verbal with fragile x sydrome and i keep reading about ipads helping children in a similar situation.

just wondered in what way and his support worker suggested the family fund but i didnt know what to put on the form.

Nicki

3 might be a bit young to fully use it, depending on whether he has any associated developmental delay.

I am sure we only use a fraction of what is out there, in fact I know we do as my DD is very developmentally delayed so wouldn't know where to start with a lot of things, but what we use with her are:

1. PECS cards on the screen to request basic items
2. Social stories for common situations - eg feeling frustrated, needing the loo, etc
3. A calm down count down app
4. Some basic games which are good for keeping her occupied when she needs to wait
5. We also use the camera and photostream and talk about the photos with her

kingfisherblue

My experience with the Family Fund is that you get the whole amount and can add some additional money to the funding - so you could spend £479 on a 32gb Ipad 3 and then get a cover or an Itunes card to make up the rest of the amount. If you don't spend the full amount, the remainder is lost.

Page 2 of the FF leaflet on tablets states that:

If the cost of the item and any warranty
you may choose to buy is more than the
value on your Comet card you will have
to pay the difference.

Here's the link:

http://www.familyfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/Tablet%20leaflet.pdf

This indicates that you have a choice, not that the shop should dictate to you.

I have used Comet for FF items before, and for white goods you need to purchase the 5 year warranty as well as the item. I don't know if this is the same for tablets - your award letter should tell you. Could it be that the £500 will cover the things you mention plus the warranty? Would you be able to pay any extra for the warranty if this is required?

Slightly off topic, but you may also want to check to see if your house insurance covers the Ipad. If it is being used as a communication aid (as my son's is), it is likely that it will be used away from home as well as inside the home. My house insurance covers the Ipad away from home, as I have additional cover for items away from home, but it isn't always standard. Also, insurance does not cover an apps.

There's a thread (I think on Disability and Dosh) with a link to apps particularly suited to autistic children. I'll try to find it for you, in case it is any help.

ETA: found it. Post 5:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3677931

pogofish

Family_Fund wrote: »

Hi Martin57 (and all),
Your grant £500 and you can spend the full £500 at Comet on whatever combination you think is best for you e.g an ipad 3 with 32g at £479 with accessories. It sounds as if the person at Comet was telling you what you can for the £500 limit. You can put money towards any extras should the amount go over £500. The choice is yours!
With ipads, you do not have to purchase a warranty as a condition of the grant from the Family Fund.

Any more questions, drop us a line on our online contact form on our website familyfund.org.uk and someone will get back to you.

Family Fund

Have you cleared your participation here with a moderator FF? While I don't want to be coming down on a genuine helpful service, there are conditions and requirements that have to be complied with for people who act as reps on here.

londonsurrey

Family_Fund wrote: »

It sounds as if the person at Comet was telling you what you can for the £500 limit.

Why are you trying to protect Comet? That's totally inconsistent with OP's actual experience, as they said very clearly in the OP that they were told they could only have one with 16gb.

michellenealemum

Hi,
That's great news about the family fund grant. I own an iPad and use with children on the asc spectrum. I would advise you to get some iTunes vouchers to top up to the £500 , some of the apps for autism are expensive the most being the pro lo qou to go its a great app that is used for communications . Hope it helps

martin57

Thanks very much for replies. It's not actually comet that I have to get it from but from a smaller retailer.

When I rang them I got speaking to a chap and as I stated in my first post he was insistant that the £500 pound grant offered didn't mean I could choose something up to that amount, in fact he said that there is no way a kid of 4 needs a 32gb ipad.

He seemed to give me the impression that maybe the family fund allow up to that amount on letter but if they are able to supply something cheaper then well and good, and that they dont actually get the £500 themselves, but some sort of supplement.

To be honest when he was finished I was more confussed than ever, but the person at his company who is dealing with people who get a family fund grant, will contact us in due course.

He even said that he thought the warranty period is only 3 mths but I took him up on that.

I got the impression that they ring people up and ask "what colour of an ipad do you want" and as people (inclucing ourselves are getting it free) we shouldn't ask any more questions.

Don't want to rock the boat too much as regards this as after alll we are getting it for nothing, and are extremely grateful for it, but his reaction did seem a little off to me.

Thanks for good wishes and advice on apps etc, really hope it starts him off talking.



Thanks
Martin57

merlin68

I would report them to the family fund as they sound well dodgy. I have them and you can spend the full amount and add to it if you want to.

shelley_crow

Yep, it does sound like the company are up to no good. Use another retailer and report the other lot.