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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!
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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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THEY BETTER NOT SEND NEW CARDS!!!! I've kept every P-EBT card since the program started and they've ALWAYS loaded the new benefits on the original card. If they suddenly change this policy without proper notification, thousands of families will miss out on benefits they're entitled to. The state is already doing a terrible job communicating about this program. My daughter's school never even sent out the email about 2025 eligibility - I only found out through a Facebook group for parents!
preach! the communication is so bad with this program. different schools in the same district are telling parents different things!
Just to clarify some confusion I'm seeing in this thread: 1. For P-EBT 2025, they will attempt to load benefits on existing cards first 2. New cards are only issued if: - Your previous card is reported lost/stolen - Your card has been inactive for 365+ days - Your address has changed and been updated in the system - You're new to the program entirely The P-EBT and CalFresh cards look different (P-EBT is white with a blue stripe, CalFresh is the golden State of California design), but they're both managed through the same EBT contractor and customer service system. P-EBT benefits for 2025 are being issued between April-June depending on your county and school district. Some counties are receiving benefits in waves based on the first letter of the child's last name. If you need to update your address or report a lost card, calling the EBT Customer Service number is correct (though as others have mentioned, wait times can be extremely long).
This is so helpful! Thank you for breaking it down clearly. I'll check our cards to make sure they haven't expired and keep an eye out for deposits in April. Our county usually gets benefits in the first wave based on past years.
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With that specific information, I can now provide a more informed response. If you're seeing two separate CalFresh deposits of different amounts, here are the most likely explanations: 1. Supplemental benefits for a specific county program (some counties have additional food assistance) 2. Correction for previous underpayments being distributed monthly 3. Split issuance due to a case specific situation 4. You may have two separate CalFresh cases (rare but possible if household members were split and later rejoined) You absolutely need to contact your county office for clarification. If this second payment isn't permanent, you need to know before it stops. When you file your next SAR7 or recertification, this might trigger a review that could end the second payment if it's not supposed to be continuing.
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. I've been so stressed about this all day. I'm going to try that Claimyr service tomorrow to get through to my worker because my SAR7 is due next month and I don't want anything to mess up my benefits. I'll update here when I find out what's going on!
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Just wanted to update everyone - I called the P-EBT customer service department to ask about the high call volume issues. They confirmed they're experiencing an unprecedented number of calls due to the new summer P-EBT issuance that just went out to about 400,000 households in California. They're adding additional staff to handle calls but recommend: 1. Calling between 7-8am or 6-7pm 2. Having all info ready (card number, child DOB, zip) 3. Making sure you're calling the specific P-EBT number, not the regular EBT line They also mentioned that the new card PIN setup can be done through the ConnectEBT app for P-EBT cards issued after March 2025. If you received your card recently, check if your card number starts with 5077 18XX (these newer cards can use the app for activation).
Thank you for getting this information for everyone! Just checked my card and it does start with 5077 18, so I'm going to try the app right now. Really appreciate you following up on this!
UPDATE: Success! I tried calling at 7:01am this morning and got through immediately! The whole process took less than 5 minutes once I had someone on the line. My benefits are now active and I can see them in the ConnectEBT app. For anyone still struggling, definitely try right when they open at 7am. Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice!
congrats!! gonna try tomorrow morning
Great news! Thanks for updating the thread - this will help other families who are experiencing the same issue.
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Catholic Charities has emergency food assistance and they're usually open until 6pm. They don't ask about your religion or anything. Also check with Shepherd's Pantry in Glendora, they're open Thursday evenings until 7:30pm. Just wondering tho... if ur getting CalFresh on Saturday why don't u have food now? Did they reduce ur benefits or something? My caseworker told me benefits are supposed to last the whole month. Not judging! Just wondering if you should ask for an increase if it's not enough for your family size.
Thanks for the Catholic Charities suggestion! Will definitely try there. To answer your question - we normally make it through the month, but my oldest two kids had friends stay over last weekend (unexpected) and they went through our remaining food way faster than planned. Plus prices keep going up but my benefit amount stays the same. We get $1,020/month for 5 people which sounds like a lot but with four growing kids it goes really fast. I've tried asking about an increase but was told that's the maximum for our household size.
Oh yea teenagers eat SO MUCH! My nephew stays with us sometimes and omg he eats more than my whole family combined lol. That makes sense. Good luck!
Just following up - were you able to find food assistance? If you're still struggling, you could try Union Station Homeless Services in Pasadena. They provide meals and I believe dinner is served around 6pm. You don't have to be homeless to access their services.
Thank you for checking back! I was able to go to Friends In Deed yesterday and got enough to get us through until Saturday. They were really nice and didn't make me feel bad about needing help. I'm going to start putting aside a small emergency food stash for the future so this doesn't happen again. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions!
Beth Ford
Thanks everyone for the clear answers! I understand now that the emergency allotments ended back in February 2023 and aren't coming back anytime soon. I'm going to call tomorrow to report my rent and childcare cost increases - hopefully that helps boost my benefits a bit. And I'll check out the local food bank too.
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Isaiah Cross
Good plan! Also remember that many farmers markets double CalFresh benefits through the Market Match program (up to $10 per visit at most markets). It's a great way to stretch your benefits and get fresh produce!
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