Wow, reading through all these experiences has been both frustrating and reassuring at the same time! I'm currently dealing with this exact issue - been locked out for about 10 days now because I can't remember my last payment amount from early 2022. It's honestly mind-boggling that they'd use such a flawed security system that locks out legitimate users while asking for information that's realistically impossible to remember after years. What really stands out to me from this thread is how Jackson came back to share his successful resolution - that kind of follow-up is so valuable for everyone else struggling with this! The 8 AM calling strategy seems to be the real key here, and knowing that EDD reps have alternative verification methods available gives me actual hope instead of just despair. I'm also really encouraged to hear they're phasing out these payment-related security questions. It's about time they recognized this was a terrible approach! For a system that's supposed to help people, creating barriers that prevent legitimate users from accessing their own accounts is just backwards. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories and solutions here. This thread has convinced me to stop procrastinating and make that call tomorrow morning. The community support in dealing with these government bureaucracy nightmares really makes all the difference!

This thread has been incredibly helpful and shows exactly why peer-to-peer support is so valuable when dealing with government systems! I'm bookmarking this for future reference because the collective wisdom here is way better than anything on the official EDD website. What really strikes me is how this demonstrates a fundamental design flaw in their security system - asking people to remember specific dollar amounts from years ago is just setting everyone up to fail. It's like they prioritized creating barriers over actually helping legitimate users access their accounts. The 8 AM calling strategy that keeps coming up seems to be the real game-changer here. Jackson's 40-minute wait time is honestly much better than I expected based on all the horror stories floating around. And the fact that EDD reps have alternative verification methods available (but don't advertise this clearly) is both reassuring and frustrating at the same time. I'm really glad to hear they're finally phasing out those payment-related security questions. Hopefully other government agencies will learn from this mess and design better user experiences that don't punish people for being human and not memorizing every financial detail from their past!

To all those having trouble reaching a human at California Unemployment. I just ran across this video that gave me a shortcut to reach a human. Hope it helps! https://youtu.be/Ize0EkN4HDI

I'm dealing with a similar situation - pending payments for weeks now. One thing that helped me was calling right at 8:00 AM when they open, and I kept hitting the prompts quickly: 1-2-1 then your SSN, then 1. Sometimes it takes dozens of tries but I finally got through. Also, make sure you don't have any flags on your account that might be causing the hold - things like identity verification issues or work search requirements. When you do get through, ask them specifically what's causing the pending status. Don't let them just transfer you without an explanation. Good luck Santos!

Wow, thanks for the detailed update! This is super helpful. I've been struggling with the same verification code issue for my UI claim. I'm definitely going to check my contact info in UI Online tonight and try calling right at 8am tomorrow. It's encouraging to hear that you actually got through and resolved your issue. The fact that it was an employer documentation problem makes sense - seems like a lot of these "pending" claims are just waiting for some kind of verification or correction that could be handled much more efficiently. Fingers crossed I have similar luck!

This is exactly why I've been putting off dealing with my pending claim for weeks! The thought of waiting hours just to potentially get disconnected because of some verification code I might not receive is so demoralizing. Reading through everyone's experiences here though, it sounds like the key is really making sure your contact info is 100% accurate in UI Online first. I'm going to bite the bullet, double-check all my account details tonight, and try the 8am strategy tomorrow. It's ridiculous that we have to strategize this much just to get basic assistance, but at least there seems to be a path forward. Thanks for sharing your success story - gives me hope that persistence actually pays off sometimes!

I feel your pain! I went through this exact same nightmare with my SDI claim last year. Here's what finally worked for me: I called the main number at exactly 8:00 AM on a Wednesday using the redial feature on my phone. I set up my phone to automatically redial every 30 seconds while I did other things. After about 2 hours of this, I finally got through to the queue instead of the max capacity message. The key is persistence and timing - avoid Mondays and Fridays at all costs. Also, make sure you have all your paperwork ready before you call because once you get through, you want to handle everything in one call. The wait time was still 1.5 hours once I got in the queue, but at least I was making progress. Don't give up - you've got 10 days which is more time than you think if you're strategic about it!

I went through this exact same frustration with my FMLA/SDI claim about 6 months ago. What ultimately saved me was a combination of the strategies mentioned here. I used the auto-redial technique on Wednesday mornings starting at exactly 8:00 AM, but I also had my partner call from their phone at the same time using a slightly different approach - they would call the main number but select different menu options to try to reach a different queue. One of us finally got through after about 90 minutes of this tag-team calling. The rep told me that if you're dealing with SDI transitioning to PFL (which it sounds like you might be), there's actually a specialized unit for those hybrid cases that sometimes has shorter wait times. Also, pro tip: once you do get through, ask the rep if they can schedule a callback appointment for any follow-up questions rather than having to go through this phone hell again. Some reps can do this, though not all know about it. Hang in there - 10 days is definitely enough time if you're persistent!

UPDATE: I ended up using that Claimyr service that someone mentioned above and it actually worked! Got connected to an EDD tech support person in about 30 minutes. Turns out my account WAS locked because of too many incorrect password attempts. They unlocked it, helped me set a new password, and I was able to certify right away. Also took the advice about setting up text verification so this doesn't happen again. Thanks everyone for your help!

So glad you got it resolved! This thread is going to be super helpful for other people who run into the same issue. I've bookmarked it because I have a feeling EDD's password/account lockout problems are pretty common. The fact that they don't clearly distinguish between "wrong password" and "account locked" messages is such poor UX design - no wonder people get stuck in these loops trying the same password over and over.