FAMILIES have had their new Healthy Start Food digital cards declined at the tills as the scheme's shake-up has resulted in chaos.

The Healthy Start scheme means struggling families can get up to £442 in free food vouchers to help them get by.

But a big change to the scheme means prepaid cards are replacing the old paper coupons households have previously been using.

You used to be able to apply for paper vouchers, but applications for that ended on January 31 this year.

Now you have to sign up for the new, upgraded, prepaid card system before March 31, and your balance is topped up every four weeks automatically.

The card will be valid at any shop that accepts Mastercard and sells eligible healthy start food items such as fruit, vegetables and vitamins.

But families who have been trying to use their cards to buy their food have been left humiliated at the tills after running into issues using them.

Parents took to social media to complain that their cards were declined when they went to pay for their food.

Posting on the NHS' Healthy Start Facebook page, one mum said: "It literally doesn't work anywhere, I've tried to use it three times and it gets declined for use, there's definitely a balance on there so can you explain its embarrassing."

While another said that the money had been taken off her balance despite being rejected.

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"Mine's saying it being declined so at first I thought it was the contactless, but when I call up for recent transactions it’s actually taking the money out but showing the cashier it’s being declined."

While other mums said they couldn't even activate their card in the first place to use.

"Received my card and my pin but will not let me activate it keeps saying card number not found and I can not get through on the phone," one mum said.

Numerous people complained about being unable to get through to the Healthy Start helpline to sort out their issues, leaving them unable to use their vouchers.

It comes as research from charity Sustain earlier this week revealed over 300,000 families eligible for the help could miss out on the scheme.

That's because they haven't claimed for the digital cards before the paper vouchers stop on March 31.

Sustain campaigner Sofia Parente called for a overhaul of the digital switchover.

She said: "Eligible families are being rejected, cards are failing at tills and calls to the helpline go unanswered.

"The Government needs to extend the paper vouchers until the digital scheme is working, otherwise families exposed to increasing food prices will miss out."

While food foundation Children'sRight2Food's Zoe McIntyre said: "It’s really heart-breaking to hear how many families have been hindered by the digital switchover, rather than helped by it.

"At this challenging time of rising food prices, rising cost of living, Government really needs to remedy these issues immediately.”

What to do if your card isn't working

There is a Healthy Start helpline set up to help with queries about your pre-paid card.

It is open 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday on 0300 330 7010.

But be warned as reports on social media suggest parents are having trouble getting through to someone who can help them.

You should also be aware that you may be charged for the call – NHS numbers starting with 0300 cost up to 55p per minute.

It might be worth emailing [email protected] if you are having trouble getting through.

You could also try interacting with the Healthy Start social media accounts if you have an issue, as these accounts have been replying to many parents online.

How much could I get in Healthy Start vouchers

If you have a child that's younger than 12-months-old, you get two vouchers each week.

The vouchers are worth £4.25 each – they used to be worth £3.10 but in April last year the value was hiked.

That means that £442 worth of help is available in the first year of a child's life.

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Pregnant women get one voucher a week, and parents also get one voucher for each child between one and four – so at least £221 in a year.

You have to be receiving Child Tax Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit, or Universal Credit to be eligible for the help.

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