PITTSBURGH — Numerous families have contacted Channel 11 over the last week, claiming that they received sudden Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-BET) payments that were quickly removed.
Amanda Kenneally, of McKees Rocks, said that receiving the payment was like “Christmas morning.”
That same day, she realized that the funds, which she estimated were around $300, were no longer on her P-BET card.
“That triggered me so bad, because it was a burden off of my shoulder, and as fast as that was off my shoulder I felt like I was stranded again.”
Kenneally’s account is like many others that we received. Some people told Channel 11 that they were in the grocery store check-out line when they realized the funds had been pulled.
Channel 11 contacted the Department of Human Services, which handles P-BET payments, for an explanation.
A spokesperson sent us this response:
”While re-issuing benefits to families whose files were not shared with the Department of Human Services (DHS) previously, our systems inadvertently sent a payment to families who previously received and already used their Summer 2022 P-EBT benefit that was issued in October 2022. The issuance was quickly canceled for households that should not have received the additional payment. DHS staff are still evaluating the scope of the error and will work with affected school districts to clarify any confusion with parents. DHS apologizes for any confusion or frustration that this has caused.”
In follow-up correspondence, a spokesperson confirmed that the wrongfully-issued payment went to 100,000 cards and was identified within two hours.
The spokesperson again noted that the retracted payments were duplicate payments that had already been received as the Summer P-EBT payment for 2022.
“No family lost benefits to which they were entitled,” the spokesperson said.
Channel 11 asked DHS what is being done to assist families who may have spent the erroneous payment before it was pulled.
We were told “DHS is actively working with federal partners to determine next steps and keep up communication with affected families.”
The payment nonetheless brought a combination of hope and confusion to many families who shared their stories with Channel 11 over the last several days.
The error came amid the same month that a major change is happening with SNAP benefits. As Channel 11 has reported, an additional emergency allotment payment is expiring at the end of the month.
With food prices so high, Kenneally is worried about making ends meet come March. She particularly worries for those who are in a worse financial position.
“There’s a lot of people out here who don’t have anything, anything at all,” she said.
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