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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.
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!
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Oliver Cheng
Just to add some perspective - I help families navigate these benefits professionally. The P-EBT distribution is completely separate from CalFresh, though they do use the same EBT card system. P-EBT cards come in a distinctive blue envelope with California state markings and require activation with a PIN you set up. For anyone still waiting, don't panic yet. The Central Valley distribution for 2025 is still ongoing through May. If you haven't received anything by the first week of June, that's when I'd recommend calling the P-EBT hotline (877-328-9677). Make sure your address is current with your child's school, as that's the address they use. If you're struggling with food costs while waiting, consider applying for regular CalFresh benefits, which provide monthly food assistance based on household income. A family of 4 can qualify with gross monthly income up to about $4,100 in 2025.
Thank you! This is really helpful. Do you know if kids who get free lunch through the school's CEP (Community Eligibility Provision) program automatically qualify for P-EBT? Our whole school gets free lunch regardless of income.
Oliver Cheng
•Yes! Students at CEP schools do automatically qualify for P-EBT. The school should have submitted all student information to the state for processing. That's actually one reason for some of the delays - the massive increase in participating schools through CEP has added several hundred thousand more eligible children to the system compared to previous years.
Ellie Kim
UPDATE: Our P-EBT cards finally arrived yesterday! Blue envelope just like you all said. Each card has $345 on it for my two kids. Thanks everyone for the help and info. I guess they really are still working through the distribution. For anyone still waiting, hang in there!
Fiona Sand
•Glad you got them! Make sure you activate them right away and create a PIN. Sometimes they can get deactivated if you wait too long.
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Chloe Martin
i thought calfresh and snap were different things?? i'm confused
StarStrider
•They're actually the same program. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is the federal name, while CalFresh is California's name for the program. Other states have different names - like FoodShare in Wisconsin or Basic Food in Washington - but they're all referring to the same federal SNAP program.
AstroAce
UPDATE: Wanted to share what happened in case it helps someone else. After 2 weeks of back and forth, I finally got my benefits replaced! Had to complete the CF 303 form, provide a police report case number, and do a phone interview where they asked a bunch of questions about my shopping habits. The investigator said they've seen a huge spike in EBT theft cases and they're finding organized groups targeting certain grocery stores with skimming devices. They approved my claim after seeing that all the fraudulent purchases happened in a 3-hour period at stores 20+ miles from my home while I was at work (I provided a letter from my employer confirming my shift). I'm being super careful now - checking my balance after every purchase, covering the keypad when entering my PIN, and I even started taking my card out of my wallet only when I'm about to use it. Thank you all for your help during one of the scariest financial moments of my life!
Zara Ahmed
•So glad you got your benefits back! Thanks for updating us - it's helpful to hear success stories with the system working as it should. Those are great security tips too.
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quick update - i just saw your reply about income for HUD programs. if you qualify for calfresh you 100% meet the income requirements for emergency housing assistance!! most counties use 200% federal poverty level for crisis housing and calfresh is 130% FPL. so dont worry about that part!!
Ellie Perry
•That's really good to know! I was worried they'd say I make too much since I work part-time (about 25 hours a week). Thanks for clarifying!
Teresa Boyd
I wanted to follow up on something important - make sure you're still submitting your SAR7 reports for CalFresh even during this housing crisis. I've seen people lose their food benefits in the middle of a housing emergency because they missed reporting deadlines, which then creates a second crisis. If your SAR7 is due soon, you can list the hotel as your temporary address or write "currently homeless" - but don't skip submitting it. Housing instability is actually a good reason to request expedited processing on any benefit recertifications or updates. Also, ask the county about the "Housing and Disability Advocacy Program" (HDAP) if anyone in your household has a disability, even a temporary one. They have additional resources beyond the standard housing programs that others have mentioned.
Ellie Perry
•Thank you for the reminder! My SAR7 is actually due next month. I didn't even think about how to handle the address situation. I'll make sure to submit it on time with the hotel as temporary address.
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Amara Eze
my daughter got a pebt but my son didnt even tho there both in middle school?? he qualifies for free lunch too so i dont understand why only one of my kids got it. has this happened to anyone else??
This happened to my sister! Turns out one of her kids was missing from the school's free lunch roster even though they should have been on it. You need to contact your school's food service department or office administrator to verify both kids are properly listed in their system. Sometimes there are data transfer errors between the school and the state system that processes P-EBT.
QuantumQuest
can we use the pebt card at the same stores as regular ebt? or is it more limited?
P-EBT cards can be used anywhere that accepts regular EBT food benefits. Same stores, same purchasing restrictions (food items only, no hot prepared foods, etc.). The cards function identically at the point of sale - you'd swipe it and enter your PIN just like with regular EBT.
Sophie Duck
This reminds me of when my grandfather used to talk about cost of living adjustments for his pension. He'd always say "they give with one hand and take with the other" because prices always seemed to go up more than the adjustments. Same thing with CalFresh - we get a 5% increase but have you seen grocery prices lately? Everything at the store is up like 15% from last year! My ground beef went from $4.99/lb to $7.29!! How is an extra $20-30 in benefits supposed to cover that?
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Christian Bierman
•So true! The eggs I buy were $3.99 last year and now they're $6.49. The COLA doesn't even come close to covering how much more expensive everything is getting. My kids are eating me out of house and home ðŸ˜
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Savannah Vin
Just to clarify for everyone in this thread - there are three different things being confused here: 1. Annual COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment): This happens every October 1st for all CalFresh recipients. It's an increase to your regular monthly benefits (about 5.6% for 2025). 2. Emergency Allotments: These were extra payments during COVID that gave households the maximum benefit for their household size. These ended completely in March 2023 and are NOT coming back. 3. Disaster CalFresh (D-CalFresh): These are special benefits for people in federally declared disaster areas (like the recent northern California wildfires). These are NOT available statewide - only in specific counties with disaster declarations. So for most people, the only "extra" in October is the annual COLA increase to your regular benefits.
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Kiara Fisherman
•Thank you for breaking this down so clearly! I definitely was confused and thought the "extra" my caseworker mentioned was something special, not just the regular annual adjustment. Mystery solved!
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