Section 16. Writing Off A Claim

Writing off a claim means that the claim is no longer considered a receivable subject to any federal or state collection requirements such as the Treasury Offset Program at 31 CFR 285 or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at 7 CFR 273.18. A claim may be written off if the claim is at least six (6) years old and at least one of the provisions of Subsections A through E of 8.100.640.15 NMAC apply. Only SNAP, LIHEAP and NMW cash assistance claims may be written off. [8.100.640.16 NMAC - N, 09/30/2013] 8.100.640.17 EBT Adjustments: A. EBT adjustment pertains to any EBT transaction resulting in a change to a client’s cash or snap benefits. If a system error causes a customer to receive funds to which they were not entitled or causes their account to not be charged for an EBT transaction, an adjustment may be completed to reclaim the funds or settle the transaction. (1) Client-initiated adjustments: The department must act on all requests for adjustments made by client households within 90 calendar days of the error transaction. (a) For SNAP the department has 10 business days from the date the household notifies it of the error to investigate and reach a decision on an adjustment and move funds into the client account. (b) For cash the department has 20 business days from the date the household notifies it of the error to investigate and reach a decision on an adjustment and move funds into the client account. (c) These timeframes also apply if the department or entity other than the household discovers a system error that requires a credit adjustment to the household. Business days are defined as calendar days other than Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays. 8.100.640 NMAC 13 B. Retailer-initiated adjustments: The department must act upon all adjustments to debit a household's account no later than 10 business days from the date the error occurred, by placing a hold on the adjustment balance in the household's account s a credit adjustment to the household. Business days are defined as calendar days other than Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays. 8.100.640 NMAC 13 B. Retailer-initiated adjustments: The department must act upon all adjustments to debit a household's account no later than 10 business days from the date the error occurred, by placing a hold on the adjustment balance in the household's account. If there are insufficient benefits to cover the entire adjustment, a hold shall be placed on any remaining balance that exists, with the difference being subject to availability only in the next future month. The household shall be given adequate notice. The notice must be sent at the time the initial hold is attempted on the household's current month's remaining balance, clearly state the full adjustment amount, and advise the household that any amount still owed is subject to collection from the household's next future month's benefits. (1) The household shall have 90 days from the date of the notice to request a fair hearing. (2) Should the household dispute the adjustment and request a hearing within 10 days of the notice, a provisional credit must be made to the household's account by releasing the hold on the adjustment balance within 48 hours of the request by the household, pending resolution of the fair hearing. If no request for a hearing is made within 10 days of the notice, the hold is released on the adjustment balance, and this amount is credited to the retailer's account. If there are insufficient funds available in the current month to cover the full adjustment amount, the hold may be maintained and settled at one time after the next month's benefits become available.