EBT card suddenly stopped working - no funds showing since yesterday
Is anyone else having problems with their CalFresh EBT card not working? Went to Grocery Outlet yesterday evening to buy food for my kids and the card got declined. Checked the balance through the app and it shows $0 even though my benefits are supposed to hit on the 10th of each month (which was 2 days ago!). Called the EBT customer service number on the back of my card but got stuck in this endless automated message loop. Been trying all morning but still can't get through to a real person. My kids are hungry and I have no food in the house. Has this happened to anyone? Is there a system outage or something? Really stressing out right now.
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Bethany Groves
This is probably because of the system maintenance they've been doing. There was a notice on the BenefitsCal website about EBT system updates happening between the 10th-12th this month. Your benefits might be delayed by a day or two. I'd recommend checking again tomorrow morning. If you still see zero balance after that, you should contact your county office directly.
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Sebastián Stevens
•I didn't see any notice?? And I can't wait another day - we literally have no food. Do you know if there's a way to get through to a human at the county office today? I keep calling and hanging up after 30+ minutes on hold.
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KingKongZilla
The SAME EXACT THING happened to me!! My balance is showing $0 too and I know for a FACT my benefits should've been loaded on the 11th. I think something's going on with the whole system. I tried the customer service line like 5 times already and either get disconnected or stuck on hold forever. This is SO ridiculous!
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Sebastián Stevens
•Omg glad I'm not the only one! Have you tried going to the actual county office? I'm thinking about just showing up there tomorrow if this isn't fixed by tonight.
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Rebecca Johnston
could be u didnt do ur SAR7 on time? they cut mine off last month cuz i turned it in 2 days late
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Sebastián Stevens
•No I definitely submitted my SAR7 last month. Got the confirmation text and everything. And I just did my recertification 3 months ago, so I should be good until next year.
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Nathan Dell
For emergency situations like this where you need to reach someone at CalFresh quickly, I used a service called Claimyr that actually worked for me. When I was having similar EBT card issues a couple months ago, it got me connected to a real person at my county office in about 10 minutes instead of hours on hold. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Much better than waiting on hold all day when you need food for your kids.
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KingKongZilla
•Does this actually work?? I've been trying to get someone on the phone for TWO DAYS. I'll try anything at this point.
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Nathan Dell
•Yeah, it worked for me. I was super skeptical at first but my case was actually resolved that same day. Definitely better than waiting on hold forever just to get hung up on.
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Maya Jackson
have u checked ur mail lately?? sometimes they send those notices about verifications they need and if u dont send it in they cut u off without warning. happened to my cousin last week
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Sebastián Stevens
•I check my mail every day and haven't gotten anything from the county. I also check my BenefitsCal account messages regularly. No notifications about missing anything.
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Tristan Carpenter
This sorta sounds like the quarterly maintenance thing. My worker told me they do updates to the EBT system every few months and sometimes it causes delays. Usually fixed within 48 hrs.
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Sebastián Stevens
•Hope that's all it is! Just worried because I've been on CalFresh for 2 years and this has never happened before.
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Bethany Groves
Just an update - I checked the CalFresh EBT website and they've posted an official notice about a system delay for benefits scheduled between the 10th-12th. They're saying all benefits should be available by end of day tomorrow (the 13th). If you need emergency food assistance before then, you can contact your local food bank or call 211 for resources in your area. Hope this helps!
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Sebastián Stevens
•Thank you so much for checking! That's a huge relief. I'll call 211 and see if there's a food bank nearby that can help us get through today. Really appreciate the info.
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Amaya Watson
Sometimes too it can be an issue with your specific EBT card. My card stopped working suddenly last year and it turned out the magnetic strip was damaged. I had to request a replacement card. If your balance is actually supposed to be there but the card isn't working, that could be the problem. You can request a replacement through your online account or by calling your county office.
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Sebastián Stevens
•That's something I didn't consider. The card is pretty beat up since I've had it for 2 years. But I think it's more likely the system issue since the balance is showing $0 in the app too. I'll keep this in mind though if the problem continues after tomorrow. Thanks!
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KingKongZilla
UPDATE: Just checked my EBT card balance and the money is finally there!!! Check yours!
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Sebastián Stevens
•YESSS! Mine just loaded too! Full balance is there. Thank goodness! Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. Crisis averted!
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Madison Allen
So glad to see everyone got their benefits loaded! This same thing happened to me about 6 months ago and I was panicking just like you were. For future reference, I found that following the CalFresh EBT Facebook page and signing up for text alerts through the EBT Edge mobile app really helps - they usually post about system maintenance and delays there first before it gets updated on the main website. Also, most food banks don't require any paperwork for emergency food assistance, so don't hesitate to reach out to them if this happens again. Hope your kids enjoyed their meal!
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•This is really helpful advice! I didn't know about the Facebook page or text alerts - definitely going to set those up so I'm not caught off guard like this again. And good to know about food banks not requiring paperwork for emergencies. Really appreciate everyone in this community who helped out during this stressful situation!
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Connor O'Reilly
I'm so relieved to see this worked out for everyone! As someone new to CalFresh, this thread was really eye-opening about what to expect during system maintenance periods. I just applied last month and my benefits should start loading next week, so I'm definitely going to follow Madison's advice about setting up the text alerts and following their Facebook page. It's scary how quickly you can go from thinking everything is fine to panicking about feeding your family. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and solutions - this community is such a valuable resource for navigating these challenges!
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Luis Johnson
•Welcome to CalFresh and this community! You're so right about how quickly things can go from fine to panic mode - I'm still learning that myself. It's great that you're being proactive about setting up those alerts before you even get your first benefits. One thing I wish I had known earlier is to also save the customer service numbers in your phone and maybe screenshot your benefit schedule, just in case the app isn't working when you need to check something. This thread really shows how helpful everyone here is when problems come up!
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KhalilStar
As someone who just joined this community, I'm really grateful to see how supportive everyone is here! This thread was both scary and reassuring to read - scary because it shows how these system issues can happen without warning, but reassuring because of how quickly people jumped in to help with solutions and updates. I'm still waiting for my CalFresh application to be approved, but I'm already bookmarking this thread and taking notes on all the helpful tips like setting up text alerts, following their Facebook page, and knowing about services like Claimyr for when you can't get through on the phone. It's also good to know that food banks are available for emergency situations. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and helped Sebastian and KingKongZilla get through this stressful situation!
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Chloe Robinson
•Thank you for such a welcoming message! As another newcomer to this community, I'm really impressed by how quickly everyone rallied to help Sebastian during what was clearly a very stressful situation. Reading through this whole thread has been like a crash course in navigating CalFresh challenges - I had no idea about system maintenance periods or services like Claimyr that can help you actually reach a human when the regular phone lines are jammed. I'm also still in the application process and feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything, but seeing how supportive and knowledgeable this community is makes me feel much more confident about managing any issues that might come up. Definitely going to follow all the advice here about setting up alerts and keeping those emergency resources handy!
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Zara Ahmed
As someone who's new to both CalFresh and this community, reading through this entire thread has been incredibly educational! I'm currently going through the application process myself and had no idea that system maintenance could cause these kinds of delays and panic situations. It's both concerning and comforting to see how this played out - concerning because it shows how vulnerable we can be when the system has issues, but comforting because of how quickly everyone here jumped in to help with practical solutions and emotional support. I'm definitely taking notes on all the preventive measures mentioned here like setting up text alerts, following their Facebook page, saving emergency food bank numbers, and knowing about services like Claimyr for when you need to reach someone urgently. Sebastian, I'm so glad your situation got resolved and your kids got fed! This community seems like such a lifeline for navigating all the challenges that come with these benefits programs.
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