P-EBT funds suddenly disappeared from my card - anyone else?

omg same thing just happened to me yesterday!!! I had like $840 of PEBT left and now its gone. wtf???

There was a policy change for 2025 P-EBT benefits. Unused P-EBT funds that were more than 9 months old are now being recaptured. They were supposed to send notices about this in February, but many people report never receiving them. You should have received a letter with the subject line "Important Notice: P-EBT Benefit Expiration" that explained when your specific benefits would expire. If you didn't get this notice, you should contact your county office directly.

This happened to my sister last week. She called the county and they said it was an "expiration policy" but the TIMING is super suspicious. Right when summer starts when kids need more food at home?? They spent 30 mins telling her there was nothing they could do. She tried to explain she never got a notice but they just kept saying "it was mailed in February" over and over. The system is DESIGNED to take our benefits when we need them most.

I had to deal with this exact problem last week. After waiting on hold for almost 2 hours trying to reach my county office, I tried using Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got a callback from a real CalFresh worker in about 15 minutes. They explained that yes, they did change the expiration policy and yes, many people didn't get the notices. The worker I spoke with was able to file an appeal for me based on the lack of proper notification. Not sure if it will work, but at least I have a case number now. Check out their video if you want to see how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8

my cousins PEBT disappeared 2 but she got like half of it back after complainin a bunch. u gotta be really annoying to them lol

I want to share some accurate information about the P-EBT expiration policy change: 1. Starting January 2025, P-EBT benefits now expire after 9 months instead of 12 months 2. Benefits issued before June 2024 were subject to expiration in March 2025 3. Notices were supposed to be mailed 60 days before expiration 4. If you didn't receive a notice, you can file for what's called an "Administrative Error Restoration" To do this, contact your county office and specifically mention that you never received the required 60-day advance notice about the P-EBT expiration policy change. Request an administrative error claim and ask for benefit restoration. Also request written confirmation of your claim. Be specific about when you last checked your balance and still had the funds, as this helps establish your timeline.

Make sure to document EVERYTHING when you call about this. Jot down the date, time, who you spoke with, and what they told you. I've seen too many cases where verbal promises from county workers never materialize into actual help. The P-EBT program is administered differently than regular CalFresh, so sometimes you'll get conflicting information depending on who you talk to. Don't give up after one call if they tell you nothing can be done!

anyone know if this affects regular calfresh too?? or just the PEBT?

UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at the county office! They confirmed that yes, my P-EBT benefits expired due to the new 9-month policy. I explained that I never received any notification letter, and the worker said they've been hearing that from a lot of people. She's filing an Administrative Error Restoration claim for me and said I should hear back within 10 business days. She couldn't promise I'd get all the funds back, but said I have a good case since I never received proper notification. Fingers crossed! Thanks everyone for your help and advice!

This is so frustrating and unfortunately seems to be happening to a lot of families. I'm a single mom with two kids and I rely on these benefits to stretch our food budget through the summer months. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like the key is being persistent and specifically mentioning that you never received the required notification. I'm going to call tomorrow and use the exact language Myles suggested about "Administrative Error Restoration." It's really helpful to see that some people like Khalil have actually gotten benefits restored - gives me hope! Will definitely document everything like Simon suggested too. Thanks for sharing your experience Hazel, and please keep us posted on how your claim goes!

I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now! Had about $920 in P-EBT funds that just vanished last week. Like everyone else, I never got any notification letter about the policy change. I've been putting off calling because I figured it would be a waste of time, but after reading all these responses I'm definitely going to try the Administrative Error Restoration approach. It's really encouraging to hear that some people have actually gotten their benefits back. This whole situation is so stressful - I was counting on those funds to help feed my kids during spring break and the summer. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and the specific steps to take. I'll make sure to document everything and ask for case numbers like you all suggested!

This is absolutely infuriating! I just checked my card after reading this and sure enough, $485 in P-EBT funds that I was saving for my two kids just disappeared. No letter, no warning, nothing. I'm a working mom and every dollar counts - I specifically left those funds untouched because I knew summer was coming and my kids would need more food at home. How is it legal for them to just take back benefits that were already issued? I'm definitely calling tomorrow and demanding an Administrative Error Restoration like Myles suggested. This feels like they're deliberately targeting families who are trying to budget responsibly by saving their benefits. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences - at least now I know I'm not alone and there might be a way to fight this!

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Had $672 in P-EBT benefits that just vanished from my card over the weekend. I'm a single parent with three kids and was counting on those funds to help with groceries through the summer when they're home from school all day. Like everyone else here, I never received any notification letter about this policy change. It's so frustrating because I was actually being responsible by saving those benefits for when I knew I'd need them most. After reading through all the helpful advice here, I'm definitely going to call my county office tomorrow and specifically ask for an "Administrative Error Restoration" using the language Myles provided. It's really encouraging to hear that people like Khalil and others have actually gotten their benefits restored - gives me hope that fighting this might actually work. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and the specific steps to take. I'll make sure to document everything, get case numbers, and be persistent. Will update everyone on how it goes!

This is happening to so many families and it's absolutely unacceptable! I'm a working single mom with two kids and just discovered that $890 in P-EBT funds disappeared from my card last Thursday. Like everyone else, I never received any notification letter about this policy change. I had been specifically saving those benefits for summer when my kids would be home from school and need more meals throughout the day. Reading through everyone's experiences has been both heartbreaking and helpful - it's clear this is affecting families across the board who were trying to budget responsibly. I'm definitely going to call my county office first thing Monday morning and use the "Administrative Error Restoration" language that Myles provided. It's encouraging to see that people like Khalil and others have actually gotten most of their benefits back through this process. I'll make sure to document everything, get case numbers, and be persistent like everyone suggested. Thank you all for sharing your stories and advice - it really helps to know we're not alone in this fight. Will definitely update everyone on how my call goes!

I'm so frustrated and scared right now - just discovered that $1,200 in P-EBT funds disappeared from my card yesterday! I'm a single mom with four kids and was counting on those benefits to help get us through the summer when they're all home from school. Like everyone else here, I never received any notification letter about this policy change. I had been deliberately saving those funds because I knew summer would be our hardest time financially. Reading through all of your experiences has been both devastating (seeing how many families are affected) and incredibly helpful - especially the specific advice about "Administrative Error Restoration" that Myles shared. I'm definitely going to call my county office first thing tomorrow morning and use that exact language, along with all the documentation tips Simon and Geoff provided. It's really encouraging to see that people like Khalil got most of their benefits back through this process. Thank you all so much for sharing your stories and advice - it helps to know I'm not fighting this alone. I'll make sure to document everything, get case numbers, and be persistent. Will absolutely update everyone on how it goes!