Another option that worked for me - try contacting your state representative's office! I know it sounds like overkill, but their constituent services team can sometimes cut through the EDD bureaucracy when you're truly stuck. I called my assemblymember's office, explained the situation, and they had someone from EDD call me back within 48 hours to help reset my password. It's a free service and they deal with EDD issues all the time. Worth a shot if the other suggestions don't pan out! Good luck Kaylee! 🍀

I went through this exact same nightmare a few months ago! Here's what finally worked for me: I contacted my credit union and they were able to pull up a detailed statement going back 18 months showing all my EDD deposits with exact dates. Even if you bank with a big bank, most have online chat support that can help you search for specific transaction types. Also, if you have Google Pay, Apple Pay, or PayPal linked to your account, check their transaction histories too - sometimes they capture payment details that can help you piece together the timeline. The key is being persistent and trying multiple angles. Don't let EDD's broken system defeat you! 💪

That's fantastic news that you got through to EDD and they released your payments! What a relief after all that stress and uncertainty. Your experience really highlights how important it is to be proactive about following up once you win an appeal - it sounds like those payments might have sat in limbo indefinitely if you hadn't called. I'm new to this community but have been lurking and reading everyone's stories while dealing with my own EDD issues. Your thread has been incredibly helpful in understanding the appeals timeline and what to expect. The fact that you got your decision in exactly 7 business days and then got your payments released the very next day after calling gives me a realistic roadmap for my own situation. It's so frustrating that EDD's system doesn't automatically process favorable appeal decisions, but at least there are people like you sharing what actually works to get things moving. Congratulations again on your victory - you clearly had a strong case with that 60% hour reduction, and I'm glad the judge recognized it for what it really was. Thanks for keeping us all updated throughout this journey!

This is such an incredible success story! Congratulations on winning your appeal and getting your payments released so quickly! 🎉 As someone who just discovered this community while dealing with my own EDD nightmare, reading through your entire journey from the initial hearing to getting paid has been incredibly informative and inspiring. Your case with the 60% hour reduction being classified as "voluntary quit" is exactly the kind of wrongful denial that seems to plague EDD's system. The fact that you meticulously documented everything and the judge saw right through EDD's weak arguments gives me so much hope for others facing similar situations. What really stands out to me is how proactive you were about calling EDD immediately after getting your favorable decision. It's ridiculous that their system doesn't automatically process appeal victories, but your experience shows that being persistent really pays off. Getting through on your third try and having the rep manually release your payments within hours is exactly the kind of outcome everyone here is hoping for. Thank you for taking the time to update this thread throughout your entire process - from the initial anxiety about waiting for the decision, to celebrating the victory, to successfully getting your payments released. Your timeline of 7 business days for the decision and next-day payment release after calling provides such valuable insight for others navigating this broken system. Stories like yours make this community so valuable for people fighting these wrongful denials!

Quick tip from someone who's been through this exact situation - if you're really worried about timing for rent, you can also call Bank of America at 1-866-692-9374 and ask if they can expedite your debit card for a small fee (I think it was like $5 when I did it). They can usually get it to you in 1-2 business days instead of the usual week. Also, once you get your UI Online account set up, you'll see that EDD actually shows the exact date your payment was "sent" to your card, which helps with planning. The payment amounts can vary week to week depending on any part-time work you report, so don't be surprised if it's not always the same. Hang in there - the first few weeks are definitely the hardest part of navigating the system!

I went through almost the exact same situation about 6 months ago! Filed by phone after my retail job suddenly closed, got that same confusing text, and had no idea what to do next. Here's what I learned: The "payment issued" text usually means your money will hit the debit card within 24-48 hours if you already have one, but since this sounds like your first payment, they're probably mailing your card now. I was able to track my card shipment by calling Bank of America at the number others mentioned - they could tell me it had been sent and when to expect it. One thing that saved me was setting up UI Online immediately. Even though I filed by phone, I could still create the online account using my SSN and the claim info from my paperwork. Having that online access made everything so much easier for future certifications and checking payment status. Also, don't stress too much about the amount varying - mine fluctuated based on whether I did any gig work that week. The system is confusing at first, but once you get into the rhythm of bi-weekly certifications through UI Online, it becomes much more manageable. You'll get through this!

This entire thread is a masterclass in community problem-solving! As someone who works in customer service, I'm honestly amazed at how you all have collectively figured out workarounds for what should be basic account recovery. The EDD system seems intentionally designed to be frustrating. One small addition to all the great advice here: if you're calling multiple times and getting different representatives, ask each one to add notes to your account about your lockout situation. This way if you get disconnected or need to call back, the next person can see your case history instead of starting from zero each time. Some reps are better about this than others, but it's worth requesting. Also, for future prevention - consider using a password manager! I know it's closing the barn door after the horses have escaped, but it prevents this whole nightmare from happening again. Most of them can generate and store security question answers too. Really impressed by how supportive everyone has been in helping @Anastasia Kuznetsov through this crisis. This is exactly why online communities matter - real people sharing real solutions that actually work!

This thread has been incredibly eye-opening as someone who's never dealt with EDD account lockouts before (thankfully). Reading through everyone's experiences, I'm genuinely shocked at how unnecessarily complicated their security system is. Like, I get that they need to protect sensitive information, but locking people out of their own benefits when they're already stressed about unemployment seems counterproductive. The collective wisdom here is amazing though - you've all basically created the unofficial EDD account recovery manual that should exist on their website but doesn't. I'm definitely saving this whole thread and the key phone number (1-833-978-2511) just in case I ever need it. One thing I'm curious about - has anyone ever tried reaching out to their state representatives about these systemic issues with EDD's website and phone system? It seems like the kind of thing that affects enough people that it might be worth escalating beyond individual troubleshooting. Not that the immediate solutions you've all shared aren't incredibly valuable, but the root problem of their terrible system design seems worth addressing too. Anyway, huge props to everyone who took the time to share detailed, actionable advice. This is exactly the kind of community support that makes a real difference when people are dealing with bureaucratic nightmares!

This entire thread is such a lifesaver! I've been dealing with this exact SSN rejection issue for over a week now and was starting to panic that I'd never be able to file my claim. Seeing that @Ava Kim got it resolved and that it was just a simple data entry error gives me so much hope. I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service first thing tomorrow morning. It's honestly ridiculous that EDD's system has so many of these validation bugs, but at least now I know it's not actually my fault and there IS a solution. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community support makes dealing with EDD's broken system so much more bearable!

This thread has been incredibly educational! As someone who works in tech support, I see similar validation issues all the time - they're almost always caused by small discrepancies in data formatting or entry errors in the backend system. The fact that so many people here experienced the same "invalid SSN" error that turned out to be typos in birthdates, names, or other personal info really highlights how common these database inconsistencies are at EDD. For anyone still dealing with this issue, I'd also suggest when you do get through to a rep, ask them to read back ALL of your personal information in their system (full name spelling, birthdate, address, etc.) and verify it matches your documents exactly. Sometimes the error isn't obvious and you need to go through each field systematically. These validation systems are usually very literal and even a missing middle initial or extra space can cause rejections. Great work @Ava Kim on getting it resolved and thanks for updating the thread - success stories like yours give people the motivation to keep pushing through these frustrating technical barriers!