By Stephanie Sierra and Renee Koury
Click here for updates on this story
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — You’d think it would be easy to give away billions of dollars for disaster relief, but hundreds of thousands of people in California still haven’t taken their share.
Nearly one million Californians never cashed in the inflation relief debit cards the state gave out four years ago. The cards are still loaded with $400 million. And if they’re not cashed by April 30, all that money goes back to the state.
If that’s you, time is running out to cash in — or that money will be gone forever.
The state’s Franchise Tax Board (FTB), which oversees the relief funds, said it’s tried to alert residents that they have money available.
“The FTB does not have knowledge as to why some cardholders are not activating their cards, but we worked to engage them with letter campaigns and social media campaigns reminding them to activate and spend,” the agency wrote in an email to ABC7 Eyewitness News.
The payments were meant as emergency inflation relief four years ago as the state was emerging from the pandemic. Prices were surging at gas stations and grocery stores.
In response, California lawmakers tapped its then-healthy budget surplus and handed $9.2 billion to struggling residents. About $4 million was directly deposited into bank accounts of 7.2 million taxpayers. The remaining $5.2 billion was mailed out on debit cards.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced the program on social media.
“Millions and millions of Californians are now getting up to $1,050,” Newsom said in a YouTube post in 2022. “It’s called the Middle Class Tax Refund, and it’s our way of getting money back into your pockets to help with everyday expenses. So look out for a debit card in your mailbox or a direct deposit.”
Debit cards loaded with hundreds of dollars each were mailed to 9.6 million Californians beginning in October 2022.
But four years later, statistics show nearly one million Californians — roughly 960,000 — never activated their debit cards. And 4.5 million still have money left on their cards, totaling about $260 million. So why haven’t folks cashed in?
Cardholders like David Kennedy of Daly City tell us they didn’t need emergency funds in spite of the surging prices.
“It was nice to have the debit card, but I didn’t need it. I figured I’d keep it as an emergency in case something happens,” Kennedy said.
He just found his card stashed in a drawer, still loaded with $350.
“I just happened to stumble on it, and I said, ‘Oh, shoot, it’s going to expire,'” Kennedy said.
Jennifer Gee of Concord also didn’t need extra cash back then. She just found her debit card stored in a basket among her collection of coupons. It’s still loaded with $500.
“Gosh, I don’t even remember when it was, but I just set it aside and kind of forgot about it,” Gee said.
Both realized they better use the cards or lose the money.
But it was surprisingly difficult to finally use their cards.
“I took the card and went to Safeway to try to buy some groceries, and it got rejected. Then I went to an ATM, put in the card, then entered the PIN, and it said, ‘Denied by the bank,'” Gee said.
“I tried to get gas with it, did not work,” Kennedy said. “Then I went on Amazon.com to buy groceries. It got denied. I thought, ‘This is a Visa. It should be accepted.’ Then I thought, ‘OK, maybe it’s too good to be true.”
Both tried calling the debit card company, Money Network, to find out what was wrong.
“It’s completely an automated number. You cannot talk to anybody,” Kennedy said.
“The recording said I have $500 on it and I can use it. That’s what made me angry, because it didn’t give me the opportunity to talk to someone to find out what was wrong,” Gee said.
“This is not OK,” Kennedy said. “The government says I have this money, and yet they don’t want to release it.”
Officials at the Franchise Tax Board said the bank likely deactivated those cards to prevent fraudsters from getting the money.
The debit cards were meant to help low and middle-income residents get through the pandemic when prices spiked for everyday goods. Those earning up to $250,000 a year qualified for payments ranging from $200 to $350 per person. Families could receive up to $1,050.
There were problems from the start. Many people tossed out the cards thinking they were junk mail or scams. Others were skeptical about having any account at an unknown bank. Money Network is based in New York.
Others reported hackers had drained the funds from their cards before they received them.
Now that they’re expiring, it may be hard to get the unclaimed money since Money Network has deactivated dormant accounts.
“And that’s why I contacted 7 On Your Side,” Gee said.
“Thank goodness I reached out to ABC News,” Kennedy said.
After 7 On Your Side stepped in, Money Network reactivated Kennedy’s card. Gee says she finally reached someone at Money Network and got her card reactivated too.
And both used the cards, ironically, just as inflation and gas prices are surging again.
“I cashed out, and I just put it right into my Wells Fargo account,” Kennedy said.
“I went to Sam’s Club and used it to buy some gift cards,” Gee said.
If your debit card doesn’t work, officials say contact Money Network at 1-800-240-0223 and follow the prompts to activate your card.
If you have trouble getting through to Money Network, contact 7 On Your Side and we can help get through. If you lost your card or threw it out by mistake, which many people did, let us know about it. We can help.
And remember, time is running out. That money disappears April 30, 2026.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
