Is it possible he could wreck this to?

LegacyUser · 31-07-2009 12:57pm #1

hi,unreg for obvious reasons. keepin this short, not much need for all the details. Am due to head to college this sept, cant wait. Got my forms for grants in the post today and flicked through. section about fathers income is my prob. Basically my father is a wash out alcoholic and hasnt done real work since i was very small. Its my mam who has supported us since(in an ok job but lately like everyone its tougher) anyway he usually scabs off her or gets money from bets etc. but if i apply for this grant with no accounts/tax stuff from him (he used to farm) then will i be refused. i cant prove that he has made money and cant prove that he hasnt.life at home is far from good at times and if he f**ks this up to i dont know what ill do. if anyone can shed light on this i would be grateful,i thought a signature from the guards is an idea but i dont know. thanks.

draven3410 · 31-07-2009 1:56pm

if your parents are legally separated, then it depends on the income of your legal guardian. You should go to the local authority who are giving you the grant or the college grant office and they'll be able to give you exactly the advice you need.

LegacyUser · 31-07-2009 2:25pm

no theyre still together unfortunately. will contact the authority next week was just looking for initial advice. like i said mam's income is the only finance but i have nothin to prove that only my word and well anyone who knows him or us really but thats not much good. the gfact that he has stolen money i was saving is also making it hard. thanks though.

LegacyUser · 31-07-2009 2:58pm

You could also phone Citizen Information. You can call a different area if you know employees in your local office.

www.citizensinformation.ie

LegacyUser · 31-07-2009 7:02pm

You need to provide your mother's income details on the grant form along with the relavant tax documents from 2008 (P60 (from her work), P21(she needs to request that from the tax office)). Any work your father did in 2008 which was taxed also needs to go on the form, with the same documents plus a P45 (you get that when you end an employment). Once you have that in order you should be fine. If your father was not in taxed employment in 2008 and was claiming unemployment benefit instead, that should go on the form along with a letter from the social welfare office to say how much he claimed in 2008. Honestly, if your father was up to anything dodgy it's very unfair that it should be your problem, so I would focus on taxed employment and social welfare.

LegacyUser · 31-07-2009 11:59pm

its not that hes into anything dodgy. he isnt into anything. money he made last year from work is almost zero as far as i can make out, a few odd jobs, stuff like that and he doesnt claim welfare and benifits or anything. so ive no records that way. all mams stuff will be totally above board and perfect but is there any way i can well sort his half??i think in some records he is still 'technically' farming.but with no accounts and no benifits he isnt really there if you get me.he is just useless, its a total mess.

LegacyUser · 01-08-2009 10:24am

Maybe you could apply as an independent. Not sure what the rules are with this ie if you need to be over a certain age. If he has a farm but is not working it then there obviously will be no income.

LegacyUser · 01-08-2009 12:07pm

think you have to be a mature student to be indpendant but i can check i guess. its just the part of provin there was no income that is the problem. like this booklet that has to be filled in asks what he does..if i say unemployed he isnt claiming benifits if i say self employed there are no accounts...they say incomplete=NO GRANT. and am thinking this whole section might qualify as incomplete, other than citizens info is there anywhere else anyone can think of i could clarify this???

Queencake · 01-08-2009 3:05pm

Ring up the Grants office and explain your situation. Yes you may be embarrassed (although you shouldn't be - you sound very mature and well balanced which is amazing at your age and coming from a difficult home situation).

In my own personal experience people and officals are really quite sympathetic to such circumstances. They'll steer you right.

banquo · 01-08-2009 4:07pm

You can just leave his column blank. Seriously. It's ok.

LegacyUser · 01-08-2009 4:18pm

queencake, thanks. oh god embarassed no,no point really is there.cest la vie and all that..plan on explainin it and gettin proper advice from the office but it was late friday evenin by the time i got a chance so i said here was next best shot until monday, sorry tuesday now. but i have a month so i should be fine i guess. am kinda dependin on this grant to get out really , so i really dont want to have any probs with it.
and banquo thanks to you to.
i was goin to first post on the finance thread in edu but you cant go unreg so i left it.
thanks again.

Maggie.23 · 01-08-2009 4:18pm

I think you have to put 'None' in the boxes, if you leave them blank they might send the form back to you. Just put in 'None' for everything if he wasn't working and wasn't signed on. Hopefully, they will just presume that your Mam is supporting him and it will be grand.

Gerry81 · 02-08-2009 7:52pm

Unregistered wrote: »

hi,unreg for obvious reasons. keepin this short, not much need for all the details. Am due to head to college this sept, cant wait. Got my forms for grants in the post today and flicked through. section about fathers income is my prob. Basically my father is a wash out alcoholic and hasnt done real work since i was very small. Its my mam who has supported us since(in an ok job but lately like everyone its tougher) anyway he usually scabs off her or gets money from bets etc. but if i apply for this grant with no accounts/tax stuff from him (he used to farm) then will i be refused. i cant prove that he has made money and cant prove that he hasnt.life at home is far from good at times and if he f**ks this up to i dont know what ill do. if anyone can shed light on this i would be grateful,i thought a signature from the guards is an idea but i dont know. thanks.

hey op, your best bet is to call into the grants office and explain the situation to them. most standard application forms are only really suitable for standard applications. I went back to college a couple of years ago and got a grant from the vec, had some peculiar circumstances myself, just called into the local vec office and the staff were more than helpful once I explained the situation.

LegacyUser · 04-08-2009 10:24pm

thanks, thats what i thought,just puttin in none might not be totally ok. ringin em in the morn so will know then.

Monkey61 · 05-08-2009 8:44am

It will work out in the end OP, but just bear in mind that you could be waiting a while for the grant to come through. I had a similar situation when I started college and it took me until the start of second year to get my grant and get the registration fee refunded.

So you will get it in the end, but just be prepared to wait slightly longer than everyone else.

LegacyUser · 05-08-2009 1:52pm

got my answer there now..no accounts, no farm assis,t no letter off the revenue to exempt him from it then no grant..sorry for ya but we cant do anythin..have a nice day!
on top of that gion further could land the revenue on him with a bill, to be footed as always by my mam. thanks for advice tho, am pretty f*cked up now.
thanks again. at least PI lets me vent

tbh · 05-08-2009 2:12pm

I swear to god, if I could pay your fees myself I would. This is so frustrating OP. I'm really sorry for you and i hope you find a way around it. Please don't give up.

Monkey61 · 05-08-2009 9:02pm

Sorry to hear about that OP, but it's not the end of the world. Lots of people take a year out before college - I had to as I couldn't afford to go straight away anyway - so now's the time to get looking for a job and get saving. Yep it's a pain in the arse, but it can be done!

LegacyUser · 05-08-2009 9:51pm

monkey, for other reasons cant take a year out and well job prospects at the mo...in fairness.just replyin because you offered your 2c am sorry for being short but am pretty much destroyed over this. its just well to use a big cliche..not very fair. he has hurt me often enough.

Sleepy · 05-08-2009 9:58pm

You've nothing to lose by putting his occupation down as 'home-maker' and showing zero income or benefits for him... you can't lose what you don't have.

LegacyUser · 06-08-2009 1:18am

Op,

My mam had a civil service job and my dad was working in construction but my dad got ill so had to take time off and had zero income. I have a younger sister so we wrote down dads a homemaker. I provided all my mothers income details and no questions were asked. I got the grant for college no problem.

I suggest you just put down homemaker.

LegacyUser · 06-08-2009 12:16pm

homemaker seems like an option, have younger siblings so its fair. and i guess for the most part when he is half sober thats what he does. its worth a shot i guess, like ye say i cant lose what i dont have. the only thing i would be concerned about is the fact that he is down in some records as farming, and would his pps number and details show this?? if someone can tell me for sure that it wont then i would do this in a heartbeat. after talking to the office, who werent exactly sympathetic... i now have this fear that the revenue will come knocking for tax evasion or something...ide rather have no grant than make my mam face that aswel.

Queencake · 06-08-2009 1:44pm

Yeah, homemaker sounds like a plan. Otherwise - and this may sound a lil nuts but bear with me - talk to a local politican. A td or a counsellor. I know a friend who was having difficulties with a grant (he deserved one but red tape was making stuff difficult like it is for you) and a word from the local TD sorted it out.

mood · 06-08-2009 3:51pm

Unregistered wrote: »

homemaker seems like an option, have younger siblings so its fair. and i guess for the most part when he is half sober thats what he does. its worth a shot i guess, like ye say i cant lose what i dont have. the only thing i would be concerned about is the fact that he is down in some records as farming, and would his pps number and details show this?? if someone can tell me for sure that it wont then i would do this in a heartbeat. after talking to the office, who werent exactly sympathetic... i now have this fear that the revenue will come knocking for tax evasion or something...ide rather have no grant than make my mam face that aswel.

I don't really see how he could get in trouble with revenue if the farm earns him little or no money.

Did you ask about applying as an independent?

LegacyUser · 06-08-2009 9:25pm

like i say the lady in the office wasnt exactly well helpful. slightly condescending and well a little off with me, as if because he has a problem i am automatically trouble. i did my best to get the facts in between bouts of, well dear... and well really we need ...and well i dont like to pry..and family situation..yada yada yada. that p*ssed me off to.
then she started on about how it could spell trouble for him to and that in their process the revenue might be contacted by them. by then i felt pretty bad and just said thanks very much and went.i left the independent question. needed time to think and stuff. its still an option though i suppose.
the TD councillor thing was sugested to me by a close friend to so if all comes to all....

LegacyUser · 07-08-2009 7:59pm

Try the TD, maybe the homemaker suggestion. The other option would be (and I don't know a whole lot about the grants system), could you pay your registration in whatever college you get accepted to, and then maybe talk to someone in the college who might be able to help you out?? Is that an option?Most colleges have student centres where they give help and advice on stuff like that. Would that be possible? It might help to have someone who knows the system to give you a hand.
Otherwise I'm really sorry OP, that's a horrible situation to be in. Have you told either of your parents about what's going on?

Wompa1 · 08-08-2009 8:45am

My dad hasn't worked since 1999 and doesn't have any income. I got rejected for a grant my first 3 years of college. I eventually got it in 4th year but less than I expected because for some reason my own income which I had because I couldn't get the grant was counted and it bumped me down to a lower grant. I was told everything from my dad makes too much to your dad is registered as deceased!

LegacyUser · 08-08-2009 9:35am

Sorry hon dont really have an answer for you but l do want to wish you the best of luck with everything and say well done on getting out there and doing something with your life in such horrible circumstances! I bet your mum will be very proud of you! WELL DONE

LegacyUser · 08-08-2009 9:43pm

wompa thanks for the positivity..??..but i guess it shows the reality of what i facing. sorry to hear that after what happened to you that you trying to do something made a mess of it in the end. shows what a hopeless system we really have. like i found out on the phone its all red tape and rules..people..people in trouble count for jack s*it!

someone asked can i pay registration, am goin to do whatever it takes, i mean anythin to get through this course. so answer at the min prob not but YES at the same time. i will make it work.maybe try the college supports after that.

to someone else yes my mam knows the score, but i have tried to avoid putting pressure on her, not very fair.

to the last poster thanks so much for the support.

Is it possible he could wreck this to?

Comments