I'm new to this community and wanted to share my experience for anyone else considering plasma donation while on UI. I actually just started last week after reading through this entire discussion! I was initially terrified about the reporting requirements, but seeing all the real examples from @Sean Murphy, @Ethan Campbell, and @Ravi Patel really helped me understand how the partial earnings formula actually works. The 25% disregard rule means you're not losing dollar-for-dollar what you earn. I went ahead and did my first two donations last week (made $150 total) and reported it as "other income" during my certification yesterday. I wrote a brief note that it was "plasma donation compensation" and the system accepted it without any issues. My WBA is $380, so with the 25% disregard ($37.50), only $112.50 was deducted from my weekly benefit. I still got $267.50 in UI plus the $150 from plasma = $417.50 total vs just $380 if I hadn't done anything. The peace of mind from being fully transparent with EDD is honestly worth it alone. I'm keeping all my receipts and payment records just in case, but so far the process has been smooth. For anyone still on the fence - the partial earnings formula really does work in your favor, and being compliant removes all the stress about potential audits later.

As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to jump in and say thank you to everyone who has shared their real experiences! I'm currently on UI benefits and have been considering plasma donation but was really confused about whether I needed to report it. Reading through all the detailed examples from @Sean Murphy, @Ethan Campbell, @Ravi Patel, and now @Drew Hathaway has been incredibly reassuring. Seeing the actual numbers and how the partial earnings formula works in practice - with the 25% disregard before deductions - really shows that you still come out ahead financially even when reporting plasma income. @Drew Hathaway - thank you for sharing your recent experience! It's so helpful to see that you just went through this process successfully. Your example of making $150 from plasma but only having $112.50 deducted (due to the 25% disregard) perfectly illustrates how the system actually encourages supplemental income rather than punishing it. I was initially worried that any additional income would completely wipe out my benefits, but all these real-world examples prove that's not the case. The consistency in everyone's advice - report as "other income," keep detailed records, be transparent with EDD - gives me confidence this is definitely the safest approach. I'm planning to start plasma donation next week and will absolutely report it during certification. The peace of mind from full compliance is worth way more than trying to navigate gray areas and potentially facing fraud issues later. Plus, seeing that multiple people have done this successfully with EDD makes the decision much easier. This thread really should be required reading for anyone on UI considering safe ways to supplement their income!

¡Hola Isaiah! Siento mucho que estés pasando por esta situación tan frustrante. Yo tuve una experiencia similar el año pasado y sé lo desesperante que puede ser. Una cosa que me funcionó fue crear un "plan de ataque" diario - cada mañana dedicaba 2 horas específicamente a esto: primera hora llamando al EDD usando múltiples números, segunda hora trabajando en otras estrategias como emails, contactar representantes, etc. También quería agregar algo que no he visto mencionado: si tienes algún familiar o amigo que hable inglés con fluidez, a veces ayuda que ellos llamen también. He notado que algunos agentes del EDD responden diferente dependiendo del idioma o acento, lo cual no debería ser así pero lamentablemente pasa. Otra estrategia que me ayudó fue crear una hoja de cálculo con todos los números, horarios, y resultados de cada intento. Esto me ayudó a identificar patrones - por ejemplo, descubrí que los martes y miércoles temprano tenía mejor suerte que otros días. Y algo súper importante: cuando finalmente logres hablar con alguien, pide el nombre del agente y un número de referencia de tu caso. Esto ayuda si necesitas hacer seguimiento después. ¡Todos los consejos que han compartido aquí son oro puro! Con tanta información valiosa, estoy seguro de que vas a resolver esto pronto. ¡Mantén el ánimo alto! 💪

¡Isaiah, qué situación tan desesperante! Yo pasé por algo muy similar hace 8 meses y entiendo perfectamente esa frustración de no recibir ninguna comunicación del EDD. Una cosa que me funcionó después de leer todos estos consejos increíbles fue combinar varias estrategias al mismo tiempo. Primero, contacté a mi asambleísta estatal usando findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov - llenaron un formulario especial y a los 5 días ya tenían respuesta del EDD sobre mi caso. Mientras esperaba esa respuesta, también usé el truco de llamar al (833) 978-2511 exactamente a las 8:00 AM con redial automático, y al mismo tiempo intenté el (714) 736-3000 presionando 1 para español y diciendo "claims" - ese segundo número me funcionó mejor. Lo más importante: revisa TODA tu correspondencia física y digital, incluyendo spam. Yo descubrí que tenía una carta del EDD de hace 6 semanas pidiendo verificación de identidad que nunca vi, y por eso mi caso estaba pausado. También documenta todo en una hoja de cálculo como sugirió @a56355fb2c70 - fechas, números de confirmación, con quién hablaste. Y cuando logres hablar con alguien, pregunta específicamente si tu caso está marcado como "pendiente" por algún motivo. ¡No te rindas! Con toda la información valiosa que hemos recopilado aquí entre todos, tienes muchas herramientas para resolver esto. Estamos contigo en esto 💪✨

I'm so grateful I found this thread! I've been dealing with the exact same Money Network nightmare for the past 4 days - card declining everywhere despite showing a $987 balance, and their customer service keeps giving me the same "no restrictions" nonsense. Reading through everyone's experiences has been eye-opening, especially learning about these "secondary identity verification holds" that Money Network reps apparently can't even see! I had no clue there were EDD-side flags that could block transactions without showing up in Money Network's system. I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service tomorrow to bypass EDD's impossible phone system and ask specifically about "identity verification status" and "backend security flags" like everyone suggested. Grace, thank you SO much for following up with your solution - knowing exactly what to ask for when I call EDD is going to save me so much time and frustration. It's absolutely insane that we have to become technical experts on their broken systems just to access our own benefits, but this community support is incredible. I'll definitely update once I try these methods. Fingers crossed this gets resolved before my car payment is due on Friday!

This thread has been absolutely amazing! As someone who's been dealing with EDD and Money Network issues on and off for over a year, I wish I had found this information months ago. The detail about "secondary identity verification holds" that Money Network reps can't see is crucial information that should be shared everywhere. I've bookmarked this thread and will definitely be referring other people here when they hit similar issues. Grace, your persistence in getting this resolved and then coming back to share the exact solution is what makes communities like this so valuable. For anyone still dealing with this, I'd also suggest taking screenshots of your Money Network balance and any error messages you get - having visual proof can help when you're explaining the situation to EDD reps. It's honestly shameful that the system is this broken and we have to become technical support experts just to access our own benefits, but threads like this show how powerful community knowledge sharing can be!

I've been struggling with Money Network for weeks and this thread has been a lifesaver! After reading everyone's experiences, I tried calling at 8:05am (slightly later than the usual 8am rush) and used the "lost/stolen card" option that @Lukas Fitzgerald mentioned. Got through to a human in under 10 minutes! The rep was super helpful and explained that my payment delay was due to an automated fraud review that required manual clearance. For anyone still dealing with this, I'd also suggest asking the rep to walk you through setting up their text alerts - now I get notified immediately when payments are processed AND when they're actually available on the card. This way I know right away if there's a delay instead of wondering for days. One more tip: the rep told me that calling on Tuesdays and Wednesdays typically has lower call volume than Mondays and Fridays. Might be worth trying if the 8am strategy isn't working. This whole experience has been so stressful but seeing how everyone here supports each other really helps. Don't give up - the persistence really does pay off!

I've been dealing with Money Network issues myself and wanted to share another strategy that worked for me recently. If you're still having trouble with the main customer service line, try calling their technical support number instead (sometimes listed separately on their website). I found that the tech support reps can often help with payment issues even though it's not technically their department, and their wait times are usually much shorter. Also, for anyone considering switching to direct deposit like others have mentioned, you can actually set this up through your EDD online account under "Payment Method" - you don't have to call EDD directly. It took about 10 business days for mine to take effect, but it's been so much more reliable than dealing with the card system. One last thing - if you're really desperate and have a Bank of America account, try going to a branch and explaining your situation. Even though BofA doesn't handle the Money Network cards anymore, some branches still have contacts who can help escalate card issues. Not guaranteed to work, but worth a shot if you're at your wit's end!

Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! I'm definitely going to continue keeping detailed records and doing legitimate job searches. The potential consequences aren't worth the risk. I'll check out CalJOBS and set up that email folder system too. Better safe than sorry!

Smart decision to keep doing everything legitimately! I've been on unemployment twice and always kept meticulous records - it's definitely worth the extra effort for peace of mind. One tip that helped me: I started using a simple Google Form to log my job search activities in real-time instead of trying to remember everything later. You just fill it out right after applying somewhere and it automatically creates a spreadsheet with timestamps. Way easier than manually maintaining records and you'll never forget the details. Plus having that timestamp data could be really helpful if you ever need to prove when you applied somewhere.