I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience since it might be relevant to your son's situation. I work in HR for a logistics company and we've dealt with similar cases before. From an employer perspective, when someone can't fulfill a job requirement due to circumstances truly beyond their control, it's generally not considered misconduct for unemployment purposes. The key factors EDD typically looks at are: 1. Was the employee meeting the job requirement when hired? (Yes - he had a working vehicle) 2. Did the employee willfully fail to meet the requirement? (No - transmission failure is mechanical, not intentional) 3. Could the employee reasonably remedy the situation? (No - $4,300 is prohibitive on a $22/hr salary) In my experience, EDD tends to be pretty reasonable about these situations. The employer will likely contest the claim initially, but if your son presents the facts clearly during his phone interview, he should have a strong case. One thing I'd add to the great advice already given - if possible, have him get something in writing from his employer about the termination reason. Even a text message or email stating it's due to the vehicle issue helps establish that this wasn't performance-related misconduct. Hope this helps, and best of luck to your son during this difficult time!

I'm new to this community but dealing with a somewhat similar situation, so I wanted to chime in with support and a question. My heart goes out to your son - having your car break down when it's essential for work is such a nightmare scenario, especially when the repair costs are so high. From everything I've read in this thread, it sounds like he has a really solid case for unemployment benefits. The fact that multiple people have shared successful outcomes from nearly identical situations is very encouraging! I'm curious though - has anyone here had experience with whether it matters if the car was financed vs owned outright? My situation involves a financed vehicle, and I'm wondering if that affects how EDD views the "ability to repair" aspect. Just thinking that if someone has car payments, it might actually strengthen the case that they truly can't afford a major repair on top of monthly payments. Regardless, your son should definitely apply right away if he gets terminated. This absolutely wasn't his fault, and from what everyone's shared, EDD seems pretty reasonable about these vehicle breakdown cases. Keeping my fingers crossed for a positive outcome for your family!

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! My Money Network card was suddenly deactivated three days ago and I have about $1,600 stuck on it. The customer service rep gave me the same "email override" explanation and promised a check in 7-10 business days, but reading everyone's experiences here, it sounds like I should expect 3+ weeks realistically. This is so frustrating - I had no idea this was such a common problem with Money Network cards! Based on all the helpful advice in this thread, I'm planning to call EDD's payment services line (1-866-401-2849) tomorrow morning around 7:30am to switch to direct deposit and request a payment hold until it's set up. Quick question for those who've been through this - when Money Network sends the check, do they mail it to the address on file with EDD, or do I need to update my address with Money Network directly? I recently moved and want to make sure it goes to the right place. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's such a relief to know there's actually a way out of this nightmare loop between EDD and Money Network!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this - I went through the exact same nightmare about 4 months ago! Money Network suddenly locked my card claiming there was "suspicious activity" and I had $2,800 stuck on it. The customer service reps kept giving me different stories and timelines. Here's what actually happened in my case: The check from Money Network took 22 business days to arrive (despite them promising 7-10 days multiple times). I called EDD's payment services line at 1-866-401-2849 and it took me 6 attempts over 3 days to get through, but once I did, they were incredibly helpful. The EDD payment services rep switched me to direct deposit during that same call and put a hold on my account so no new payments would go to the defunct Money Network card. She also gave me a confirmation number and sent an email confirming the change. I know it feels hopeless when you're stuck in that loop, but you WILL get your money - it just takes way longer than it should. Keep calling that EDD payment services number early in the morning (around 7:30am worked best for me) and don't give up. Once you're on direct deposit, all these headaches disappear. Hang in there!

Wow, reading through this entire thread as someone who just started the EDD process has been incredibly educational! I filed my claim 2 weeks ago and was starting to get worried about not receiving my card yet. @Jacob Smithson, thank you for sharing your complete experience from start to resolution - it really shows the step-by-step process others can follow. The address synchronization issue between EDD and Money Network seems to be such a widespread problem that affects so many claimants. It's honestly shocking that these systems don't communicate properly in 2025! I'm definitely going to be proactive and call Money Network at 1-866-692-9374 tomorrow to verify my address and check on my card status rather than wait and potentially face the same delays. Also really appreciate everyone mentioning the direct deposit option - I had no idea that was available and it sounds much more reliable than dealing with potential card delivery issues. This community is invaluable for navigating these bureaucratic challenges!

This entire thread has been such a goldmine of information! As someone who just submitted my first EDD claim application yesterday, I'm already bookmarking all these resources and phone numbers. The fact that so many people are experiencing the same address sync issues between EDD and Money Network is really concerning - it seems like such a basic system integration problem that should have been resolved years ago. I'm definitely going to be proactive about calling Money Network at 1-866-692-9374 once I get to the point where I should have received my card, rather than waiting and hoping for the best. The direct deposit option also sounds like a much better long-term solution. Thank you to everyone, especially @Jacob Smithson, for sharing such detailed experiences and practical solutions. This community is proving to be far more helpful than any official government resource I've found so far!

Just wanted to share my experience for anyone else dealing with this! I had the exact same email issue a few months ago. After trying everything suggested here, I finally got through using the early morning call strategy (around 8:02 AM on a Tuesday - seemed to have shorter wait times mid-week). The rep was actually super helpful and updated my email instantly. One thing I'd add to all the great advice here: make sure you log out and back into your EDD account after they make the change to confirm it went through. Also, they'll send you a confirmation to BOTH your old and new email addresses, so don't panic if you see emails going to your old one initially. The whole process took about 90 minutes of hold time but only 3 minutes once I got someone. Patience and persistence really do pay off! Good luck Emma! 🍀

Hey Emma! I was in a similar situation a few months back and totally get the anxiety about messing something up after already certifying. The good news is that updating your email won't affect your benefits at all - it's just a contact info change. I ended up calling the main EDD line (1-800-300-5616) around 8:05 AM on a Wednesday and got through in about an hour. The rep was really understanding and made the change super quickly. Just have your claim number, SSN, old email, and new email ready to go. Also, don't worry if you see some emails still going to your old address for a day or two - it takes a bit for everything to update in their system. You've got this! 💪

As someone who works in unemployment benefits (though not specifically for CA EDD), I wanted to add some context about why first payments often take longer. New claims go through additional verification steps including cross-referencing with other state databases, verifying employment history with your previous employer, and sometimes waiting for employer responses to separation notices. The 7-10 day timeframe everyone's mentioning aligns with what we see across most state systems. One tip that might help future claimants: when you first file, the system assigns you a "waiting week" which is unpaid, but after that your benefit year clock starts ticking. So even if payments are delayed, you're not losing potential benefit weeks - they're just processing slower than you'd like. The most important thing is to keep certifying on schedule as Diego did!

I'm currently going through this exact same situation! Just filed my claim two weeks ago and certified for my first week 6 days ago - still showing pending. Reading through this entire thread has been such a huge relief because I was convinced something was wrong with my claim. The professional insight from Yara about the verification process really helps explain what's happening behind the scenes. It's so reassuring to know that 7-10 days is actually normal and not a sign that my claim has issues. I've already set up the text alerts that Isabella mentioned and sent a message through Contact Us like Anastasia suggested. This community is amazing - thank you all for sharing your experiences and helping newcomers like me understand what to expect!