Call Kurtis: How do I activate a gas tax refund card I never received?
Viewers have been getting letters saying that they have to activate their gas tax rebate cards, which they say they never got. It was time to Call Kurtis to investigate.
So how do you activate a refund card you never received? It's a battle that a Roseville mom says both she and her son are facing.
Both Paulette Stokes and her disabled son, Casey, received letters from the Money Network saying they "had not yet activated" their Middle Class Tax Refund card, mailed out "between October 2022 and January 2023."
"Neither one of us had ever received one," she told CBS13.
Despite calling the number on the back of the letter, she says they struggled to reach a live person.
"I kind of felt like I was between a rock and a hard place," she said. "I called Kurtis so I could maybe get some help."
We were curious just how much of the money issued on debit cards has yet to get spent. State records show that it's about 15%, or roughly $780 million.
The agency could not explain why people say they never received them, although it is possible in some cases people thought it was junk mail and threw them out.
Paulette is certain she and her son didn't do that.
After we got involved, Paulette says someone from the Franchise Tax Board agreed to reissue the cards.
"I'm retired and on social security now, and so, you know, all these little things help," she said.
The gas tax rebate rollout is now under a state audit over a series of problems, including cards fraudulently drained. CBS13 has also exposed how many of these cards went out without those protective chips, which the Franchise Tax Board blames on a supply chain issue.