Can't reach California CalFresh? Claimyr connects you to a live DSS agent in minutes.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the DSS
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the DSS drops your call
If I could give 10 stars I would
If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
Really made a difference
Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
Join the conversation
Join the conversation
Mei Liu
You can check your household composition on BenefitsCal.com if you have an account. Log in and look at your case summary - it should show all household members currently on your case. While you're there, also check if there are any electronic notices you might have missed. Sometimes they send communications through the portal without sending a paper copy.
I just checked BenefitsCal and both kids are still listed in my household. But I did find a Notice of Action in my messages that wasn't mailed! It says there was an "income change" but doesn't specify what changed. Shows my work income correctly but has an additional $425 listed as "other unearned income" - that's definitely the child support being counted wrong!
That confirms it - they're incorrectly counting your child support as income. Per CalFresh regulations (MPP Section 63-502.2), child support received is specifically excluded from countable income. When you get through to a worker, direct them to that regulation. Also, since you've found the error, you have a right to request retroactive benefits for any months you received less than you were entitled to. Make sure to specifically ask for that when they fix the error.
@Yuki Yamamoto This is exactly what happened to me 6 months ago! The county worker initially insisted child support counted as income and kept giving me the runaround. I had to escalate to a supervisor and reference that exact regulation Andre mentioned. It took 3 weeks but they finally corrected it and gave me back pay for 2 months. Don t'give up - you have the documentation now showing their error. When you call, be persistent and don t'accept that "s'just how the system works as" an answer. You ve'got this!
@Yuki Yamamoto I just went through something similar last month! My benefits got cut from $289 to $23 because they counted my tax refund as monthly income. When I finally got through took (6 phone calls over 3 days ,)the worker admitted it was a data "match error where" their system automatically flagged child support payments as unreported income. She fixed it in like 10 minutes once I explained the situation and referenced that regulation number @Andre Rousseau mentioned. They restored my full benefits retroactively and it showed up on my EBT card within 48 hours. Definitely try the Claimyr service - that s what'finally got me through to a real person. Stay strong, you ve got'all the documentation you need to prove this is their mistake!
Join the conversation
I'm going through something similar right now! My kids have been getting free school meals since 2020, but I only received that very first P-EBT card. I had no idea there were multiple rounds - this thread is eye-opening. Reading everyone's experiences, it sounds like there's a good chance I have benefits sitting somewhere too. I'm definitely going to try calling the P-EBT hotline tomorrow morning early like Julian suggested. Has anyone had luck getting through on certain days of the week? I'm wondering if there are better times to call to avoid those busy signals that Lauren mentioned. Also, should I call my school district first to make sure they have my current address, or is it better to start with the P-EBT hotline directly? Thanks for all the detailed info everyone - this community is amazing!
Hi Danielle! I'd recommend calling your school district first to update your address before contacting the P-EBT hotline - that way you know they have the right info for any future benefits. As for timing, I've had the best luck calling the P-EBT hotline right at 8am on weekdays (avoid Mondays if possible since everyone calls then after the weekend). Tuesdays and Wednesdays seem to be the least busy from my experience. Also, if you get a busy signal, hang up and try again immediately - sometimes you'll get through on the second or third try. Having your kids' names, birthdates, and school info ready will make the call go much faster once you get connected. Good luck!
I'm in almost the exact same boat as you Vanessa! Got that first P-EBT card in 2020 for my daughter but haven't seen anything since, even though she's been on free lunch this whole time. Reading through all these comments has been super enlightening - I had no idea there were so many different rounds of P-EBT benefits over the years. It's crazy how inconsistent the system seems to be with who gets cards and when. I'm definitely going to try calling that hotline number tomorrow and checking with my daughter's school to make sure they have our current address. Thanks for posting this question and thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and tips! It's given me hope that we might have some unclaimed benefits waiting out there too.
Join the conversation
Harold Oh
tried the app too, same maintenance message. this whole system needs a complete overhaul!! 😡
I'm having the exact same problem! Been trying to access my EBT account for 4 days straight and keep getting that maintenance page. What's really frustrating is that there's no clear communication about when it will be fixed - first they said a few days, then the 15th, now the 17th? My family depends on these benefits and not being able to check our balance makes meal planning impossible. I tried calling the customer service line multiple times but either get disconnected or wait over an hour just to be told they can't help with website issues. This system really needs better communication and backup options for when the main site goes down. At least we're all in this together!
Jacinda Yu
•Exactly! The lack of clear communication is what makes this so much worse. I'm new to the CalFresh program and this is my first time experiencing one of these outages - I was starting to panic thinking something was wrong with my account specifically. It's reassuring to know this is a system-wide issue, but you're absolutely right that they need better backup options. I've been relying on the tips from @Payton Black and @Edward McBride about checking at ATMs and grocery stores. Has anyone found any official CalFresh social media accounts or newsletters where they post these updates? It would be nice to get notifications directly instead of hearing about extensions through random texts or word of mouth.
Join the conversation
I'm going through this exact same situation right now! Got my EBT card yesterday and called to check - completely empty. It's so nerve-wracking when you're planning your grocery budget around those benefits. Reading all these responses is making me feel so much better though. Sounds like this delay between card arrival and benefit loading is totally normal, even if it's super frustrating. I'm going to try calling the EBT customer service line tomorrow morning to see if they can confirm my benefits are "pending" like Diego suggested. Really wish they would update those approval letters to warn people about this timing issue! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it helps to know we're not alone in dealing with this.
Paolo Rizzo
•I'm so glad you found this thread helpful! It's crazy how common this issue is but nobody really talks about it until you're going through it yourself. I just went through the same thing last month and was panicking that something went wrong with my application. Definitely try calling the EBT customer service line like Diego mentioned - they were super helpful when I called and could confirm that my benefits were approved and just waiting to load. It really does seem like the system updates overnight, so checking first thing in the morning is your best bet. Fingers crossed for both of us that our benefits show up soon! The waiting game is so stressful when you're trying to plan meals for the week.
Harold Oh
This is such a helpful thread! I'm a new CalFresh recipient and was wondering about this exact timing issue. My card should be arriving any day now and I was expecting the benefits to be available immediately based on the approval letter. It's really good to know that there's usually a 1-3 day delay after receiving the card before benefits actually load. I'll make sure to plan my grocery shopping accordingly and not panic if the balance shows zero at first. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this kind of real-world info is so much more useful than the official letters that don't explain these details!
Anastasia Romanov
Update: Just called the County office and they confirmed Bakersfield cards should start getting loaded next Tuesday! The lady said they're doing it alphabetically by last name, A-M first week and N-Z the following week. Thanks everyone for the help and information!
0 coins
Yuki Watanabe
•That's great news! Finally some concrete information. My last name starts with P so looks like I'll be waiting until the second week, but at least now I know when to expect it. Really appreciate you calling and sharing the update with everyone here!
0 coins
Nia Harris
Thanks for calling and getting that update! I'm in the same boat waiting for my two kids' benefits. Quick question - did they mention anything about whether you need to do anything if you moved recently? We relocated within Bakersfield in May and I'm worried our address change might delay things. I updated it with the school district but not sure if I need to update it somewhere else for P-EBT specifically.
0 coins
Ava Thompson
•Good question about the address change! From what I understand, P-EBT eligibility is tied to your child's school enrollment records, so updating with the school district should be sufficient since they're the ones who submit the eligible student lists to the state. However, if you want to be extra safe, you might want to call the P-EBT helpline at 877-328-9677 to confirm your current address is on file. I'd hate for your benefits to get delayed because of a mailing address issue, especially since some people do get new cards mailed out.
0 coins