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
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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.
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.
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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!
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 :)
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For anyone still showing pending status: I just received confirmation from the state CalFresh office that all remaining pending cases should be resolved by tomorrow morning. The technical issue affected approximately 30% of cases statewide, primarily those with case numbers ending in specific digits. If your benefits aren't available by tomorrow afternoon, you should contact your county office directly as your case might have a different issue requiring individual attention.
Thank you so much for keeping us updated! This forum has been more helpful than any official channels. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and information.
This thread has been so helpful! I'm a newcomer here but dealing with the same issue - my benefits have been pending since Monday. It's really reassuring to see that it's a widespread system problem and not something wrong with my case. I was starting to panic thinking I'd somehow messed up my recertification or something. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and especially @Gianna Scott for the official updates from the state office. It's frustrating that we have to rely on community forums to get real information instead of getting clear communication from the county offices directly. Fingers crossed mine updates tomorrow morning like they're saying!
Welcome to the community @Skylar Neal! You're absolutely right - it's pretty disappointing that we get better information from each other here than from the official sources. I've been dealing with CalFresh for years and this forum has saved me so much stress and confusion. Hopefully your benefits come through tomorrow morning like they're predicting. Keep us posted on how it goes!
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Thank you for these tips! I'm definitely going to start keeping at least a few days of emergency food on hand. This was too stressful.
This thread is so helpful! I'm new to CalFresh and had no idea that delays like this could happen. I was panicking last night when my benefits didn't show up at the usual time, but reading everyone's experiences and the advice about keeping emergency food supplies really puts things in perspective. It's reassuring to know that the community here is so supportive during these stressful situations. Definitely bookmarking the 211 number and those other tips for the future!
Welcome to the community! I'm glad you found this thread helpful. It can be really overwhelming when you're new to the system and something unexpected like this happens. The people here are amazing at sharing their knowledge and supporting each other through these kinds of situations. Don't hesitate to ask questions - we've all been there and everyone is really understanding about the learning curve with CalFresh.
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Just wanted to add another helpful tip for newcomers - you can also check your CalFresh case status and upcoming appointment dates by calling your county's automated phone line (the number is usually on the back of your EBT card or any letters you've received). This is separate from the EBT balance line and can be really useful when BenefitsCal is down. I learned this after missing an important interview because I couldn't log in to see the appointment notification online! Also, if you're ever in a situation where you need to submit time-sensitive documents and both the website and fax are having issues, you can usually email them directly to your caseworker if you have their contact info. Not all workers are great about checking email promptly, but it's another backup option that has saved me before.
This is such great advice! I'm also relatively new to CalFresh (about 4 months in) and had no idea about the county automated phone line option. I've been relying entirely on the BenefitsCal website, so when this lockout happened I was completely lost. It's frustrating that they don't provide a comprehensive list of all these alternative ways to access information during the application process. I'm definitely going to save all these phone numbers and backup methods in my phone. Thank you for sharing about the direct email option to caseworkers too - I haven't gotten my worker's email yet but I'll ask for it at my next contact. This thread has been more helpful than any official CalFresh documentation I've received!
I'm pretty new to CalFresh (just got approved 2 months ago) and this whole thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I had no idea there were so many backup options when the main website goes down. I've been panicking every time I can't log into BenefitsCal thinking something was wrong with my case. The EBT customer service line at 877-328-9677 is definitely getting saved in my phone right now. And wow, I really need to start taking screenshots of everything I submit - I've just been trusting that the system works perfectly. Thank you everyone for sharing these practical tips! It's so helpful to learn from people who've been navigating this system longer. Makes me feel a lot less alone in trying to figure all this out.
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Hey everyone! I'm a single-person household too and just wanted to say this thread has been incredibly helpful while I wait for my notice. I've been checking my BenefitsCal account and mailbox daily with no luck yet, but reading about everyone's experiences has put my mind at ease. Currently getting $185/month, so if the increase is around $22-25 like others have reported, that would bring me to around $207-210 which would be such a relief with food costs being what they are. I'm definitely going to call that customer service number (1-877-847-3663) if I don't hear anything by this weekend. Also planning to look into updating my utility costs since I moved earlier this year and my bills have definitely gone up. Thanks to everyone for sharing their amounts and experiences - it's so helpful to know we're all in the same boat waiting for these notices!
I'm so glad I found this thread too! I'm also a single household still waiting and was getting really anxious about it. Your current amount is close to mine - I'm at $179/month right now, so with the $22-25 increase everyone's reporting, I should be looking at around $201-204 which would be amazing. I love that you mentioned updating utility costs after moving - I completely forgot that could affect my benefits beyond just the COLA! I moved last fall and my electric bill has definitely gone up. Definitely going to look into reporting that change once I get my notice. It's such a relief knowing we're all in the same situation and that the notices really are just coming out in batches. Fingers crossed we all get ours this week!
I'm in the exact same situation! Single household here and I've been checking my BenefitsCal account multiple times a day with no luck yet. This thread has been such a huge relief - I was starting to worry that maybe my case got closed or something went wrong. Reading that everyone is getting around $22-25 increase has me really hopeful since I'm currently at $193/month, which would put me around $215-218. That would make such a difference with grocery prices being absolutely insane lately! I'm definitely going to call that customer service number (1-877-847-3663) if I don't get my notice by this weekend. Also really appreciate the tip about checking utility costs - I hadn't thought about that but my PG&E bill has gone up quite a bit this year. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and amounts - it's so comforting to know we're all in this waiting game together!
Logan Scott
Has anyone tried calling the P-EBT hotline? I tried yesterday and was on hold for 2.5 HOURS before getting disconnected!!! This is ridiculous!
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Caden Nguyen
•I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier when I needed to reach EDD last year. it actually worked pretty good. haven't tried for PEBT but might be worth a shot if you're desperate to talk to someone
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Logan Scott
•Anything is better than getting disconnected after hours on hold! How does it work exactly? Do they just call for you?
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Zara Mirza
Just wanted to give everyone an update - my kids' P-EBT 4.0 benefits finally loaded this morning! Checked the EBT app like someone suggested and there it was. Got $376 for each kid, which is going to be such a huge help. For those still waiting, hang in there! It seems like Fresno Unified is definitely doing the alphabetical rollout. Our last name starts with L and we got the funds exactly 12 days after receiving our notification letters. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it really helped knowing we weren't alone in the wait!
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