Is CalFresh taking money back from EBT cards? Heard rumors about benefit reductions
I heard from my neighbor yesterday that CalFresh is taking back money from our EBT cards (the yellow ones). She said they're doing some kind of "recoupment" and just removing funds without telling people first. Has anyone else heard about this? I checked my balance this morning and it seems lower than I expected but I'm not sure if I just spent more last week than I realized. I'm a single mom with 2 kids and really depend on these benefits to feed my family. Would the county actually just take money off our cards without warning us first??
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Amina Bah
They can't just randomly take money off your EBT card without notifying you. However, if you have an overpayment situation (where they gave you more benefits than you were eligible for in the past), they can reduce your current benefits to recoup that money - but they are required to send you a Notice of Action before doing this. Check your mail from the last month - you should have received something explaining any reductions.
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Oliver Becker
•ya this happened 2 me last year.. I got a letter saying I was overpaid like $750 cuz I didnt report my part time job right away. they took like 10% of my benefits each month until it was paid back
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Paolo Marino
I've been checking through all my mail and can't find anything about reductions or overpayments. Is there a way to find out if this is what's happening to me? I've tried calling the county office but just get the automated system and it hangs up after 20 minutes on hold.
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Natasha Petrova
•If you can't get through on the phone, try using Claimyr. It's a service that holds your place in line and calls you back when a real person is available. Saved me HOURS of frustration when I had a similar issue with missing benefits last month. You can see how it works at claimyr.com or check out their demo: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Seriously worth it when you need to talk to an actual person at the county office.
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Javier Hernandez
THEY ARE DEFINETLY TAKING MONEY BACK!! this new administration is cutting all benefits secretly. my cousin works for the welfare office and said they got orders to reduce everyone's benefits by at least 15% starting in june 2025. they don't want the public to know until its too late!!!!
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Emma Davis
•This is not accurate information. There is no secret plan to reduce everyone's benefits by 15%. CalFresh benefit amounts are set at the federal level through the USDA, not by a county-level decision. Any changes to benefit amounts require proper notification through a Notice of Action. Please be careful about spreading misinformation that might cause unnecessary worry.
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LunarLegend
I think what you might be experiencing is the end of the emergency allotments that happened a while back. Everyone used to get the maximum benefit amount during COVID, but that ended. Could that be what your neighbor was referring to? That wasn't really "taking back" money, but benefits did go down for many households.
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Paolo Marino
•I don't think that's it since I only started receiving CalFresh last year, well after those emergency benefits ended. But thanks for the suggestion!
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Amina Bah
Another thing to check is whether you recently reported an income change or if someone in your household changed. Even small income increases can affect your benefit amount. Also, if you didn't complete your Semi-Annual Report (SAR7) on time, they might have reduced your benefits. I'd recommend logging into your BenefitsCal account to check your case status and see if there are any notices posted there that explain the change.
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Paolo Marino
•Oh wait! I think you might be onto something... I did get a small raise at work last month (about $250 more per month). I didn't think I needed to report it until my next SAR7 is due. Could that be why my benefits went down? I thought we only had to report changes right away if income goes above the IRT?
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Emma Davis
You're exactly right. In California, you're only required to report income changes mid-period if your total household income exceeds the Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) listed on your last approval notice. A small raise that doesn't put you over the IRT can wait until your next SAR7. However, if the county somehow found out about your raise (sometimes employers report new wages to systems that the county can access), they might have adjusted your benefits. But they still should have sent you a notice explaining this change. I strongly recommend contacting your eligibility worker to get clarity on why your benefits changed.
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Malik Jackson
•this happened to my sister too...turned out her employer reported her new salary to some database and calfresh found out even tho she was waiting to report it on her sar7...they didn't even tell her they knew!
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Oliver Becker
my friend said they take money back if u buy non-food items with the card but thats not even possible lol the card wont work for anything except food
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Amina Bah
•You're right that the EBT card for CalFresh benefits can only be used for eligible food items. The system automatically prevents purchases of non-food items with the CalFresh portion of benefits. Your friend might be confusing CalFresh with other benefits like CalWORKs, which does provide cash aid that can be used for non-food items.
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Paolo Marino
Update: I finally got through to my eligibility worker! Turns out there was a calculation error on their end. My benefits should NOT have been reduced, and they're going to issue the difference back to me within 10 days. The worker said they've been having system issues this month that have affected several cases. So no, the government isn't randomly taking money back from our EBT cards! If anyone else notices unexpected changes to their benefits, definitely call to check what's going on.
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Malik Jackson
•so glad you got it sorted out! it's always something with these systems...breaks down every other month i swear
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Demi Hall
That's such great news that you got it resolved! Thanks for updating us - it's really helpful to know that system errors can cause these kinds of issues. I'm dealing with something similar right now where my benefits seem off, so I'm definitely going to call my worker tomorrow. Did you end up using that Claimyr service someone mentioned, or were you able to get through the regular way?
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StarSurfer
•I actually ended up using the regular phone line, but it took me calling first thing in the morning (like right at 8 AM when they open) to finally get through without waiting forever. I think I just got lucky that day! But honestly, if I had to do it again and couldn't get through quickly, I'd probably try that Claimyr thing someone mentioned. Good luck getting your benefits sorted out - hopefully it's just another system glitch like mine was!
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Miguel Herrera
This is really helpful information! I'm new to CalFresh and honestly didn't know that system errors could cause benefit reductions like this. It's reassuring to hear that when there's a legitimate mistake, they do fix it and reimburse the difference. I've been worried about similar issues since I keep hearing conflicting information from different people. Thanks for sharing your experience and for following up with the resolution - it really helps those of us who are still learning how all this works!
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Diego Vargas
•Welcome to the community! Don't worry, we were all new to this at some point. The system can definitely be confusing at first, but you'll get the hang of it. One thing I've learned is to always keep track of your benefit amounts and check your account regularly - that way you'll notice right away if something seems off like Paolo did. And don't hesitate to ask questions here - everyone's really helpful and shares their experiences. The CalFresh system has its quirks, but when there are genuine errors, they do make it right once you get through to them.
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Donna Cline
This whole thread is so helpful! I'm glad you got your issue resolved, Paolo. I've been on CalFresh for about 6 months now and this is exactly the kind of information I needed to see. I had no idea that system errors could cause benefit reductions, but it makes sense that they would fix it once you contact them. I've been paranoid about checking my balance constantly because I keep hearing horror stories from people, but most of the time it sounds like there's a reasonable explanation. It's good to know that if something seems wrong, the best thing to do is just call and ask rather than assume the worst. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is really valuable for people like me who are still figuring everything out!
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Carter Holmes
•I'm glad this thread helped you too! As someone who's been on CalFresh for a while now, I can totally relate to that constant worry about benefit amounts. It's really easy to get anxious when you hear all these different stories floating around. What I've learned is that most of the time when something seems off, there's usually a simple explanation - whether it's a system glitch like Paolo experienced, an unreported income change, or just forgetting about a purchase you made. The key is definitely to contact your worker sooner rather than later if you notice anything unusual. And you're absolutely right about this community being valuable - I've learned so much from everyone's shared experiences here!
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