EDD Error e324: Can't register for disability due to duplicate account. Help!

I've been trying to call for days but no luck getting through. How long did you have to wait on hold?

Honestly, it was ridiculous. I think I was on hold for like 3 hours before someone picked up. But it was worth it to get it sorted out.

3 hours?! That's insane. The whole system needs an overhaul 🤦‍♂️

Sounds too good to be true. Has anyone else tried this?

20 bucks? Idk man, seems kinda sketchy...

I get the skepticism, but it seriously saved me hours of frustration. Worth every penny imo.

Can confirm, I used it last week and got through in about an hour. Way better than sitting on hold all day!

Thank you so much for the detailed advice! I'll give this a shot tomorrow morning.

This is solid advice. I'd also recommend keeping a log of all your attempts to contact them. It could help if you need to file an appeal.

For real tho 😂 It's like they WANT us to fail

Oh, that's a good point. I'll double-check my Verify.me status. Thanks!

Thanks for the support. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this mess.

@Yuki Sato @Fatima Al-Farsi This thread has been so helpful! I m in'a similar boat - created multiple accounts during the pandemic chaos and now dealing with the fallout. The specific disability line number is gold - I had no idea there was a separate line for DI claims. Question: when you called, did they ask you to verify identity for both accounts? I m worried'they might flag me for having duplicates in the first place. Also, has anyone had luck with the online chat support, or is phone really the only way to get this resolved?

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called, they did ask me to verify info for both accounts, but they were actually really understanding about it. The rep explained that duplicate accounts were super common during the pandemic because the system was so overloaded and confusing. They just needed to confirm I was the legitimate owner of both accounts before merging them. As for online chat, I tried that first but they couldn t'help with account consolidation issues - they kept telling me I had to call. Phone really seems to be the only way to get this type of technical issue resolved unfortunately. But once you get through to the right person, it s'actually pretty straightforward!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I had the same worry about being flagged for duplicates! When I called the DI line, the rep was actually really understanding about it. They see this all the time apparently - tons of people created multiple accounts during the pandemic when the system was constantly crashing. They didn t'make me feel bad about it at all. They did verify my identity for both accounts had (me confirm SSN, DOB, addresses used, etc. but) it was just to make sure they were merging the right accounts. The whole process took about 45 minutes on the phone. As for online chat - I tried it multiple times and they kept telling me it was too complex for chat support and I needed to call. Phone really seems to be the only way for account consolidation issues. Good luck!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called the DI line, they did ask me to verify both accounts, but they weren t'accusatory about it at all. The rep I spoke with said duplicate accounts are actually really common from the pandemic era when everyone was struggling with the system. They just needed to confirm I was the legitimate owner of both accounts before merging them. As for online chat, I tried that route multiple times and they always said they couldn t'help with account consolidation issues - phone is definitely the way to go for this specific problem. The DI line tends to have shorter wait times too, which is a bonus!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called the DI line, they actually HELPED me with the duplicate account issue rather than penalizing me for it. The rep told me it s'super common and they deal with it all the time. They verified my identity using my SSN and DOB, then asked me to confirm the email addresses for both accounts. Once they merged them, everything worked smoothly. As for online chat - honestly, don t'waste your time. I tried chat support multiple times and they kept telling me to call. The phone reps have way more tools to actually fix account issues. The DI line also tends to have shorter wait times than the main EDD number. Good luck! 🤞

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called the DI line, they actually helped me merge the accounts without making it seem like I did anything wrong. The rep explained that duplicate accounts happened to tons of people during COVID because the system was so overwhelmed. They just had me verify my SSN and personal info, then asked which email I wanted to keep as primary. As for online chat - I tried it multiple times and it was useless. They kept telling me to call anyway. Phone is definitely the way to go, especially that specific DI number @Yuki Sato shared. Pro tip: call right at 8am when they open - much better chance of getting through quickly!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - yes, they did ask me to verify both accounts, but I was upfront about the duplicate situation and explained it happened during the pandemic when the system was overloaded. The rep was actually pretty understanding about it. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times with no luck - they kept giving me generic responses and couldn t'access my account details. Phone is definitely the way to go for account consolidation issues. Just be prepared to wait on hold, but the disability line tends to be less busy than the main UI line. Good luck!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called, they did ask me to verify info for both accounts, but they were actually relieved I was being upfront about the duplicate situation. The rep told me it happens all the time during high-stress periods like the pandemic, and they d'rather help fix it than have people struggle with errors. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times with zero success - they kept giving me generic responses and couldn t'access the backend to merge accounts. Phone is definitely the way to go for this specific issue. Pro tip: call right at 8am when they open, you ll'have better luck getting through!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I had the same worry about being flagged for duplicates! But honestly, they deal with this ALL the time - especially after the pandemic when everyone was scrambling to get online. When I called, the rep was actually pretty understanding and said it happens more often than you d'think. They did verify my identity for the primary account I wanted to keep, but they didn t'make me jump through hoops for the duplicate. As for online chat - don t'even bother. I wasted hours in those chat queues only to get disconnected or told to call anyway. Phone is definitely the way to go, even though the wait times are brutal. The disability line tends to be less busy than the main UI line though!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called the DI line, they did ask me to verify both accounts, but they were actually really understanding about it. The rep explained that duplicate accounts are super common because their system was so overwhelmed during COVID and people got frustrated trying to log in. They didn t'flag me or anything - they just walked me through verifying my identity for both accounts and then merged them on the spot. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and they kept saying they couldn t'help with account issues and to call instead. Phone really seems to be the only way. One more tip: call right when they open at 8 AM PT - I got through in about 20 minutes vs hours later in the day.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called, they did ask me to verify both accounts but they were actually relieved I was being upfront about it. The rep told me duplicate accounts are super common from the pandemic period and they have a process for consolidating them. Don t'worry about being flagged "-" they deal with this all the time. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and never got anywhere. The chat reps seem to have limited access compared to the phone agents. Phone is definitely your best bet, especially the disability-specific line that @Yuki Sato mentioned. The key is being honest about the duplicate accounts and emphasizing that you need help filing your disability claim before any deadlines pass.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called the DI line, they did ask me to verify both accounts but they weren t'suspicious about it at all. The rep told me it s'actually super common and they deal with duplicate accounts daily, especially from the pandemic era when everyone was scrambling to get help. They just needed to confirm I was the legitimate owner of both accounts before merging them. As for online chat - don t'even bother. I tried that route for weeks and they kept telling me to call. Phone is definitely the way to go, even though the wait times are brutal. The DI-specific line tends to have shorter holds than the main number though!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I just went through this exact situation last month! When I called the DI line, they actually were really understanding about the duplicate accounts. The rep told me it s'super common because of how confusing the system was during COVID. They didn t'flag me or anything - they just asked me to verify my identity once and then merged everything. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and they kept telling me I had to call for account consolidation issues. Phone really seems to be the only way unfortunately. One tip: call right at 8am when they open - I got through in about 45 minutes vs the 3+ hour waits later in the day. Also make sure you have your most recent paystub ready because they asked for employment verification info too. Good luck!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I had the same concern about being flagged for duplicates! When I called the DI line, they actually told me duplicate accounts are super common - apparently tons of people created multiple accounts during COVID when the system was overwhelmed. They didn t'give me any grief about it at all. They just asked me to verify my SSN and DOB, then walked me through which account had my most recent activity. As for online chat - I tried it multiple times and it was useless. The chat agents can only handle basic questions and kept telling me to call. Phone is definitely the way to go for account consolidation issues. Pro tip: call right at 8am when they open - your wait time will be much shorter!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification! When I called, they did ask me to verify both accounts, but I was upfront about the duplicate situation from the start. I explained that I accidentally created the second account during the pandemic when the system was overwhelmed and I couldn t'access my original one. The rep was actually understanding about it - apparently it happened to A LOT of people during that time. They didn t'flag me negatively for it, they just needed to verify I was the legitimate owner of both accounts before merging them. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times with no success - they kept telling me to call for account consolidation issues. Phone really seems to be the only way to get this type of problem resolved unfortunately.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification part! When I called the DI line, they actually were really understanding about the duplicate accounts - apparently it s'super common from the pandemic era when everyone was scrambling to get benefits. They just had me verify my SSN and birthdate, then walked me through which account had the most recent activity. They merged everything on their end and I didn t'get in any trouble. As for online chat - honestly, I wouldn t'waste your time. I tried for days and either got disconnected or told to call anyway. The phone is definitely your best bet, even though the wait times can be brutal. Good luck!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - yes, they did ask me to verify both accounts, but they weren t'suspicious about it at all. The rep I talked to said duplicate accounts are super common because their system was so overloaded during COVID. She actually seemed relieved that I was being proactive about fixing it rather than trying to hide it. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and it was useless - they kept telling me to call. Phone is definitely the way to go for account consolidation issues. One more tip: call right at 8am when they open, your wait time will be much shorter than later in the day!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called, they did ask me to verify info for both accounts, but they were actually relieved I was being upfront about the duplicates. The rep told me it happens ALL the time and they have a standard process for merging them. As for online chat - don t'waste your time. I tried chat for hours and they kept telling me to call anyway. Phone is definitely the way to go, especially that specific DI line @Yuki Sato mentioned. The reps on the disability line seem way more knowledgeable about these account issues than the general UI folks.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called, they did ask me to verify info for both accounts, but they weren t'suspicious about it at all. The rep I spoke with said duplicate accounts are super common because of how confusing their system was during COVID. They actually seemed relieved that I was calling to clean it up rather than trying to use both accounts fraudulently. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and never got anywhere - they kept telling me to call. Phone really seems to be the only way to get account consolidation done. One more tip: try calling right at 8 AM when they open, your wait time will be much shorter!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - they did ask me to verify for both accounts, but they were actually relieved I was being upfront about the duplicates rather than trying to hide them. The rep told me it s'super common and they deal with it all the time, especially from the pandemic era when people were desperate and the system kept crashing. As for online chat, I tried it first but they have limited authority - they can see the issue but can t'actually merge accounts. You definitely need to call for account consolidation. Just be honest and explain the situation clearly. They re'more understanding than you d'expect!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification part! When I called the DI line, they did ask me to verify for both accounts, but they were actually really understanding about it. The rep explained that duplicate accounts are super common because of how confusing their system was during COVID. They didn t'flag me or anything - they just walked me through the consolidation process step by step. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and never got anywhere useful. The chat agents seem to have limited access and kept telling me to call anyway. The phone is definitely your best bet, even though the wait times can be brutal. Pro tip: call right when they open at 8 AM for the shortest wait time!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called the DI line, they did ask me to verify info for both accounts, but they were actually relieved I was being upfront about the duplicates. The rep told me it happens ALL the time and they d'rather help people consolidate than have the system glitched out. As for online chat - honestly, don t'waste your time. I tried that route for weeks and they kept telling me to call anyway. The phone agents have way more access to actually fix account issues. Pro tip: have your ID.me login ready too, they might ask you to verify through that while you re'on the call. Good luck! 🤞

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer part of your question! When I called the disability line, they did ask me to verify identity for both accounts, but they weren t'judgmental about it at all. The rep actually said duplicate accounts are super common because of how confusing their system was during COVID. She was able to merge them on the spot once I provided the info for both. As for online chat - don t'waste your time. I tried it multiple times and they always said they couldn t'help with account consolidation issues and directed me to call. Phone is definitely the way to go, even though the wait times are brutal. One more tip: if you get disconnected which (happened to me twice ,)don t'start over completely. Call back and explain you were already working with someone on account consolidation - they can sometimes pull up notes from your previous call and continue where you left off.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I actually just went through this exact situation! When I called the DI line, they were super understanding about the duplicate accounts - apparently it s'really common from the pandemic era when everyone was scrambling to get help. They didn t'flag me or anything, just asked me to verify my identity once and then merged everything. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and honestly it was useless - they kept telling me to call anyway. The phone really seems to be the only way to get real help with account issues like this. One thing I d'add to @Yuki Sato s advice:'when you call, try to call right when they open. I had the best luck getting through around 8:05 AM. And if you get disconnected which happened (to me twice , don)t start'over - call back immediately and tell them you were just speaking with someone about consolidating accounts. They can usually see the recent call activity and pick up where you left off. Hope this helps! The system is definitely broken but once you get the right person, they can usually sort it out pretty quickly.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification! When I called, they did ask me to verify both accounts, but they were actually really understanding about it. The rep explained that duplicate accounts were super common during COVID because the system was so overwhelmed and people got frustrated trying to get through. They didn t'flag me or anything - they just merged everything under my primary SSN. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and it was useless. The chat agents can only handle basic questions and kept telling me to call. Phone is definitely the way to go for account consolidation issues like this. Pro tip: call right when they open at 8am - your wait time will be way shorter than calling later in the day.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer the identity verification question! When I called about my duplicate accounts, they actually were really understanding about it. The rep told me that tons of people created multiple accounts during COVID because the system kept crashing and people thought their first attempts didn t'go through. They just had me verify my SSN and date of birth, then they could see all the accounts tied to my info. They merged them on the spot and didn t'give me any grief about it. As for online chat - I tried it multiple times and they always said technical issues like this need to be handled over the phone. Save yourself the frustration and just call the DI line directly. Good luck!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer the identity verification question! When I called, they did ask me to verify both accounts, but they were actually really understanding about it. The rep told me that duplicate accounts happen ALL the time, especially during COVID when everyone was panicking and the system kept crashing. They didn t'flag me or anything - they just needed to confirm I was the legitimate owner of both accounts before merging them. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and it was useless for account merging issues. They kept telling me to call. Phone is definitely the way to go for this kind of technical problem. Pro tip: call right at 8 AM when they open - your wait time will be much shorter!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called, they actually were relieved that I was being upfront about the duplicate accounts! The rep told me it happens all the time, especially during COVID when people were panicking and creating multiple accounts trying to get through. They just had me verify my SSN, birthdate, and current address, then they could see both accounts in their system. As for online chat - don t'waste your time. I tried that for weeks and they kept giving me generic responses or saying they couldn t'help with account issues. Phone is definitely the way to go, even though the wait times are brutal. One more tip: if you get disconnected which (happens way too often ,)immediately call back and explain you were disconnected mid-conversation. They can usually see notes from your previous call and pick up where you left off instead of starting over. The disability line really is your best bet - they re'specifically trained for these issues whereas the general line reps often don t'know how to handle DI claim problems.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called the DI line, they actually were pretty understanding about the duplicate accounts situation. They explained that it happened to A LOT of people during COVID because the system was so overwhelmed. They didn t'flag me or anything negative, they just walked me through verifying my identity for the primary "account" and then deactivated the duplicate one. As for online chat, honestly I tried that first and it was useless - they kept giving me generic responses and couldn t'actually DO anything about merging accounts. Phone is definitely the way to go for this specific issue. The wait times are brutal but it s'worth it to get a real person who can actually fix the problem.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer the identity verification question - when I called about my duplicate accounts, they actually didn t'give me any trouble about having them. The rep told me it s'super common and they deal with it all the time, especially after the pandemic when everyone was scrambling to get benefits. They just asked me to verify my SSN and address, then walked me through which account had the most recent activity. As for online chat - don t'waste your time. I tried that route for weeks and they kept giving me generic copy-paste responses that didn t'address the duplicate account issue at all. Phone is definitely the way to go for this specific problem. The DI line tends to have shorter wait times too since fewer people know about it. Pro tip: call right at 8am when they open. I got through in about 45 minutes vs the 3+ hour waits others mentioned for the main line.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called, they did ask me to verify info for both accounts, but they were actually relieved that I was being upfront about the duplicates. The rep told me it happens all the time and they d'rather help people consolidate than have the system clogged with duplicate accounts. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and they always just told me to call the phone line for account issues like this. Phone really seems to be the only way to get the duplicate account problem fixed. Just be honest and prepared with all your info - they re'used to dealing with this mess!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer part of your question - I tried the online chat multiple times and it was useless. They kept giving me generic responses and couldn t'help with account issues. Phone is definitely the way to go. When I called the disability line, they did verify my identity but they weren t'upset about the duplicate accounts - apparently it happens all the time during high-volume periods like COVID. They actually seemed relieved that I was being proactive about fixing it rather than trying to work around it. The rep told me that duplicate accounts cause way more problems if you don t'address them upfront. Just be honest about when and why you created the extra accounts and they should be able to help consolidate everything.

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer your identity verification question! When I called, they did ask me to verify both accounts, but they weren t'suspicious about it at all. The rep I talked to said duplicate accounts are super common because their system was so glitchy during COVID. They just had me confirm basic info for both name, (SSN, addresses used and) then merged them on the spot. Took about 10 minutes once I got through. As for online chat - don t'waste your time. I tried that first and they kept telling me to call anyway. Phone is definitely the way to go for account issues like this. Good luck!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer about the identity verification - when I called the DI line, they did ask me to verify info for both accounts, but they were actually really understanding about it. The rep explained that tons of people created multiple accounts during COVID because the system was so overwhelmed and confusing. They didn t'treat it like fraud or anything, just a technical issue to clean up. As for online chat - I tried it multiple times and never got anywhere. The chat reps seem to have very limited access compared to phone agents. Phone really is your best bet, especially the dedicated disability line that @Yuki Sato shared. Just be patient and honest about the situation when you get through!

@Zoe Alexopoulos I can answer part of your question! When I dealt with duplicate accounts, they didn t'flag me or make it seem like I did anything wrong - the rep I spoke with said it s'super common and happens all the time, especially during COVID when everyone was scrambling to get benefits. They just asked me to verify my identity once and then merged everything. As for online chat, I tried it multiple times and they kept telling me to call for account issues like this. Phone is definitely the way to go, even though it s'a pain. The disability line @Yuki Sato mentioned is way better than the general number - I wish I had known about it earlier!