A slap in the face

This past weekend my husband and I went in to an H&R Block to do our taxes and get the possible advance amount of $3,000 on our taxes. Having 5 kids on a single income that is a yearly amount we've never earned before gives us a really great chance of qualifying for that full $3,000 especially since we had gotten the max amount offered the year before, or so we thought.
We have been going to H&R Block for 13 years in a row now, every year it's the same for us, we may have added 5 kids through those years but always the basics are the same, and we always got the emerald advance when it was offered in November, now we get the advance in January since that's when it's being offered, and we have always gotten a decent portion of our return in advance, but this year we get a measly $500?! WHY?!?!
Our credit has never been the greatest, but we still received a decent sum until this year, so why did we get screwed over? A relative of ours doesn't have a great credit score, is a single income family, and has 3 kids. She went to Jackson Hewitt and received the full amount they were offering, so what's the deal with H&R Block this year?
Next year we're looking into doing our own taxes, we may not get the advance, but oh well, maybe we won't be relying on it if all goes well with our investments in crypto currencies.